Partnership brings physiotherapy to two First Nations communities

Winnipeg Regional Health Authority
Published Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Residents of Lake Manitoba First Nation and Pinaymootang First Nation now have access to physiotherapy and rehabilitation expertise without having to travel.

Since April of this year, tele-rehabilitation services, which use videoconferencing to connect clients with healthcare professionals, have been available in the two Interlake communities through a collaboration between Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority, Riverview Health Centre and the University of Manitoba (UM).

"Tele-rehab physiotherapy services will help ensure folks living in Lake Manitoba and Pinaymootang First Nations can receive quality care closer to home," says Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara. "Innovative healthcare solutions are critical to ensuring every Manitoban has access to care when and where they need it."

Partners including the Ashern-Hodgson and area My Health Team steering committee initially identified a need for these services in the area. The team experienced difficulty recruiting a physiotherapist, making it even more challenging for residents of the First Nations to obtain care.

Now, a partnership is in place to fund tele-rehab services and Riverview Health Centre has hired Tim Romanec, a UM-educated physiotherapist. Romanec is working out of Riverview in Winnipeg and travelling to Lake Manitoba and Pinaymootang First Nations every second week for in-person consultations. Between visits, he works with clients via videoconference, linking a room at Riverview with health centres in each First Nation.

"I operate a remote-controlled camera to make sure I can see the client correctly as I'm treating them remotely," says Romanec. "There is also a rehabilitation assistant from the community on hand at each First Nation health centre to assist the clients and me."

"This is something that has been long-needed in our community," says Gwen Traverse, health director of Pinaymootang First Nation. "This new model will help our community members and alleviate the travel pressures that patients used to deal with when seeking services."

According to Lawrence West, health director of Lake Manitoba First Nation, "This is a way for our community to transition into the future. I'm open to anything that can make it easier on our community and community members."

The project expands on tele-rehab services that UM's College of Rehabilitation Sciences, part of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, has been offering through its student-led clinic at Riverview Health Centre since 2022.

"Tele-rehab is an innovative and invaluable service that ensures patients can continue recovery at home with the benefit of a physiotherapist's expertise," says Kathleen Klaasen, Chief Executive Officer of Riverview Health Centre.

"The College of Rehabilitation Sciences and Riverview Health Centre have a strong relationship and overlapping visions of outreach," says Mark Garrett, head of the UM physical therapy department.

"Students on clinical placements at Riverview will now have the potential for an even broader experience that connects them with remote Indigenous communities. And rehab services will be more visible in these communities, which we anticipate will attract more Indigenous learners to careers in this field."

The college will provide program evaluation through the work of faculty members Amine Choukou, Margaret Hart, dean Reg Urbanowski and Funminiyi Olatoye, a PhD student in Applied Health Sciences.

"If this model proves successful, we hope to be able to expand it to other communities in the future and include access to occupational therapy and speech therapy services," says Riverview's Klaasen.

Watch this video for more on how this program is making a difference in these communities

For more information, please contact WRHA communications: [email protected]