LAC LA BICHE - Community officials hosted an appreciation BBQ for local healthcare workers on April 22.
Organized by Lac La Biche County and the Regional Attraction and Retention Society – RARS – the event served up burgers and appreciation to local healthcare professionals for their efforts and contributions to the community.
The RARS group is made up of local stakeholders and elected officials tasked with raising awareness to the area’s healthcare needs and attracting healthcare professionals to the region.
The barbecue was part of the group’s continuing efforts to recruit and retain those needed positions.
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Those who were honoured at the event, which was held at McArthur Place, included doctors and nurses, ambulance crews, pharmacists, as well as custodial and facility staff. Dr. Conrad Claasen, who has practiced medicine in Lac La Biche for two decades prior to his recent retirement announcement, also received special recognition.
Those who attended the special night to honour local healthcare workers were treated to a BBQ which was put on by members of the Rotary Club of Lac La Biche.
Sue Ward, the club’s past president, said local Rotarians were pleased to be part of the community event.
“I think it’s important that we acknowledge the healthcare people in this community that are working very hard to keep us well,” she said.
Lac La Biche County councillor Charlyn Moore, who is also a founding member of the RARS group, says the big picture for local healthcare seems to be improving. She said several new medical professionals will soon be calling the community home.
“We have three new doctors on the way,” she said, explaining the new physicians should be in place by the fall of this year.
The process of recruiting these physicians, Moore explained, takes a long time and requires going through the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta.
Recently, more international nurses have moved to the Lac La Biche area.
Moore stated that one of the initiatives of RARS is when Alberta Health Services (AHS) has secured nurses-who come from a diverse array of countries-to work in town, the committee ensures that they are welcomed into the community and helped to get settled in.
This includes helping new healthcare professionals get accustomed to the region’s often harsh winters.
“Some of these people are coming from Nicaragua and Mexico and so they’ve never seen our winters, and they don’t know how to operate without transportation,” she said.
She said healthcare resources are also improving in the community through increased awareness and support from groups like RARS and the Lac La Biche Regional Health Foundation. She said any attention to the community healthcare issue is good news.
The barbecue event has been several years in the making, said Moore, adding that ironically, it was a large-scale health issue that caused the delay in recognizing the healthcare heroes. Just prior to the COVID pandemic, she said, RARS was given a grant by the Rural Health Professionals Action Plan (RHPAP) to host a large event such as a BBQ – but the global health crisis postponed the plans.
