{"id":325131,"date":"2025-12-04T16:11:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T16:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/325131\/"},"modified":"2025-12-04T16:11:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T16:11:19","slug":"how-the-nwt-plans-to-improve-healthcare-access-in-small-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/325131\/","title":{"rendered":"How the NWT plans to improve healthcare access in small communities"},"content":{"rendered":"

NWT health officials plan to use licensed practical nurses, paramedics, nurse practitioners and virtual care to improve access to healthcare in small communities.<\/p>\n

Minister Lesa Semmler, alongside other officials from the Department of Health and Social Services, gave a public briefing<\/a> this week on progress toward redesigning how healthcare is delivered in small communities amid a national nursing shortage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like \u2013 as I\u2019ve been travelling through the communities, the small communities \u2013 they\u2019re the forgotten land,\u201d Semmler said.<\/p>\n

The minister said she has approved work on five recommendations from a review to improve healthcare in communities. That work is expected to be complete by 2028.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is my hope that this work will further support residents\u2019 access to care and will reduce health system pressures in acute care,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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Sara Chorostkowski, the department\u2019s assistant deputy minister of programs, said work is under way on the first two recommendations \u2013 analyzing the use of licensed practical nurses, or LPNs, and paramedics in the NWT. That work is expected to be complete by March 2026.<\/p>\n

Chorostkowski said the current use of LPNs and paramedics in the territory\u2019s heatlhcare system is inconsistent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to fine-tune, standardize and formalize the use of these roles,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Chorostkowski added that health officials want to use LPNs and paramedics to support \u2013 not replace \u2013 community health nurses.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe have a recruitment challenge and so we need to be able to implement other types of health professionals into our system,\u201d Semmler said. <\/p>\n

Other planned work includes:<\/p>\n

developing a blueprint to support the integration of LPNs and paramedics into the health system;<\/p>\n

turning NWT community health nursing administrative policies and guidelines into standards; and<\/p>\n

continuing work to recruit and retain community health nurses.<\/p>\n

Semmler said her department and health authorities are also looking at tools such as virtual stethoscopes and ultrasounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cRealistically, you\u2019re not going to get a sonographer to go into all these communities, then we\u2019re going to be sending people out,\u201d she said. \u201cThe goal of this is to be able to do as much at home as we possibly can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond redesigning the small community care model, Semmler said primary care reform is also under way.<\/p>\n

She said that includes an initiative in which nurse practitioners are spending rotations at health cabins in the Dehcho region. <\/p>\n

Semmler added community wellness workers now have access to electronical medical records and are being provided training to increase their skillset. <\/p>\n

That includes training on how to use equipment such as automated external defibrillators, check for vital signs and conduct pregnancy tests.<\/p>\n

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Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart was critical of the department\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy overall feeling with this plan is you\u2019re doing a lot of investigations. You\u2019re not doing a lot of actions, and we know the problems have been persistent for a long time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He called for shorter timelines to complete the recommendations. <\/p>\n

Semmler said the work is \u201cmultifaceted\u201d and argued that analysis and policies are needed prior to implementation, to ensure different healthcare professionals understand their roles within the system.<\/p>\n

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