Manitoba paramedics will soon be doing more than responding to medical emergencies. Starting next month, they\u2019ll also be helping seniors combat loneliness and social isolation through a new social prescribing initiative.<\/p>\n
Starting in June, paramedics in rural communities will begin providing patients 65 and older with awareness and education about the importance of social connection.<\/p>\n
This initiative builds on an earlier announcement from the provincial government, which\u00a0highlighted that access to social prescribing is now available in all five Regional Health\u00a0 Authorities.<\/p>\n
Social connection seen as part of health care<\/p>\n
“Social prescribing reflects an important shift in how we think about care, recognizing that health\u00a0is shaped by more than medical treatment alone,” said Jason Little, Chief Operating Officer of\u00a0 Shared Health ERS. “By linking individuals to local supports such as senior centres, community\u00a0programs, and social services, we help reduce isolation and improve quality of life in\u00a0meaningful, everyday ways.”<\/p>\n
The Shared Health program recognizes that paramedics responding to emergency calls are the first point of contact with the health-care system for many seniors, placing them in a unique position to identify individuals who may benefit from stronger community connections and support services.<\/p>\n
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Not every call requires a hospital visit<\/p>\n
Shared Health says it also recognizes that not all paramedic calls result in a hospital trip, and in some cases, connecting patients with community supports may be the better solution.<\/p>\n
“We know that strengthening these connections can help prevent avoidable hospital visits,\u00a0support smoother transitions in care, and enhance quality of life for patients and families,” said\u00a0Loren Bacala, Provincial Manager of Community Paramedicine with Shared Health ERS. “By working collaboratively with Regional Health Authorities, community\u00a0organizations, and partners across the system, we can help Manitobans access the right care,\u00a0in the right place, at the right time.”<\/p>\n
Partnership across Manitoba health regions<\/p>\n
This initiative is made possible in part through a grant from Healthcare Excellence Canada and\u00a0the collaborative efforts between Shared Health ERS and Services to Seniors Coordinators from\u00a0Northern Health Region, Interlake Eastern Health Authority, Southern Health \/ Sant\u00e9 Sud and\u00a0Prairie Mountain Health.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manitoba paramedics will soon be doing more than responding to medical emergencies. Starting next month, they\u2019ll also be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":686491,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-686490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=686490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686490\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/686491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=686490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=686490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=686490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}