“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” Henry Ford

One of the advantages of a rural Primary Care Network (PCN) is having the opportunity to focus on creating conditions for physicians, healthcare providers and community stakeholders to work together in the most effective and efficient way to produce the best health outcomes for individuals and their families. 

Throughout its entire programming compliment, the Camrose PCN has taken a leadership role in a change process designed to facilitate more community collaboration.  The benefit of community collaboration to patients/clients, community physicians and healthcare providers in primary health care are being illustrated in a number of our projects such as the PCN Virtual Trek Initiative and On Your Weigh Program as well as prevention campaigns such as the Heart and Stroke Awareness Month and the upcoming Atrial Fibrillation Program. 

The Camrose PCN focuses on bringing health care as close as possible to where people live, learn and work. We look to partner with other services, for example Alberta Health Services, Covenant Health St. Mary’s Hospital, the City of Camrose as well as local schools knowing that effective responses at the primary health care level also diminish the need for services at other levels and in other sectors.

Camrose PCN as a whole focusses on:

Patient/Client Engagement

• They are the priority focus, and services must be responsive to their needs and respectful of their cultural, linguistic, age and gender differences.
• Patient/client engagement in their own health issues and health-related decisions, together with a corresponding client-centred approach by Camrose PCN physicians, healthcare providers and community stakeholders, is a fundamental operating principle for the PCN.
• Working together, the PCN team looks to optimize the physical, cognitive and mental health and wellness of their patients/clients with a goal of addressing immediate problems, preventing future health concerns and promoting healthy lifestyles.
• In this continuum of care, the patients/clients are actively engaged in decisions and the management of their health status.

Collaboration

• Camrose PCN physicians and healthcare providers and administration work with community stakeholders to assess needs and health problems present in a community.
• Programs and services are subsequently tailored to address the determinants that influence patient/client health and are provided in a holistic fashion across the continuum of care (local solutions for local issues).
• Where collaboration is present, patients/clients have access to the “right service, provided at the right time, in the right place”.  Through this approach, geographic barriers are minimized
• Programs and services are evaluated to assess their impact on the health of patient/clients and families

“The PCN is very fortunate to be able to partner with existing services within the community”, states Stacey Strilchuk, Camrose PCN Executive Director.  “The Camrose PCN physicians recognize the importance of collaborating with community partners in a way that is meaningful and relevant to individuals in their journey towards health and well-being.”