Rural women have mixed diagnoses about what regionalization has done for health care in Manitoba.
Health reform hasn’t been perfect, especially when it comes to women’s health issues, they said.
At a recent conference involving women from all parts of the province, some rural women spoke about opportunities and challenges in the new structure of regional health authorities, which began two years ago.
Laurie Potovsky-Beachell of Rosser, Man., sat on an advisory council that helped the provincial government determine how to form RHAs.
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She said she was excited about the direction health care seemed to be taking, focusing on community-based prevention and health promotion programs, as well as continuing acute care in the form of doctors, nurses and hospitals.
But two years later, there still doesn’t seem to be enough funding or staff for these types of programs, said Potovsky-Beachell.
She is involved with a working group on women and health-care reform that meets once a month to learn more about what’s happening and take collective action to spur improvements in the system.
The working group helped ensure that recent changes to the provincial breast care program did not tear apart some positive comprehensive aspects of the program, she said.
In southeastern Manitoba, four advisory councils provide residents with easy access to health care information.
“For us, regionalization has just been a godsend,” said Murielle Bugara of St. Pierre Jolys, Man.
The councils are comprised of community members rather than health-care professionals.
“I think that’s where it’s really refreshing, because it gives us a totally different perspective.”
The councils started The Health Corner, a centre with 300 books and documents about health issues.
“We’ve got a thirst for education and taking ownership of our own health,” said Bugara.
Every two weeks, they hold a clinic or seminar on health issues such as Alzheimer’s disease, menopause or herbal treatments.
Positive results
A seminar on breast cancer screening, held just before a mobile clinic came to town, attracted almost 100 women.
“We know that we’re making a difference,” she said.
But Marion McNabb said she wants to see more women on the four advisory councils in her part of the province.
“There weren’t a lot of people knocking down the doors to get on the district health councils,” said McNabb, who sits on the board of the Marquette RHA northwest of Brandon.
Because of the lack of interest, most council members are local government councilors who tend to be male, are busy with other jobs and don’t have time for meetings.
“They don’t seem to give it a priority,” said McNabb.
In the Parkland RHA, most board members are white males, and most members of the district advisory councils are white females, said Esther Fyk, who chairs one of the councils.
“The resultant attitudes that must be dealt with only impede the real work of both councils and board,” said Fyk.
She said councils have made few gains in reforming health care in the region. They have no funding, and have been instructed by the board to correspond only with the board. Women have to persist in nominating a diverse range of people to RHA boards so they can make good decisions for the whole region.
Potovsky-Beachell said it can be intimidating to sit on a board with people who have academic and professional expertise rather than anecdotal experience.
She said it helps to know there’s a “body of voices behind you” when sitting on a board.
The working group on health reform is trying to encourage rural women to form health networks and build interest in RHAs, and to provide support to women who get on boards and councils. The group received some federal funding to organize and report on “kitchen-table meetings” in southwestern Manitoba, said Potovsky-Beachell.
At these meetings, women learn about health-care reform in hopes they will become involved in RHAs and advisory councils.
Women’s health issues involve families and communities, she said, making women more than just a special interest group.
