A program that provides health care support hopes to grow and support more people in small Renfrew County communities, such as Barry’s Bay.
Tiina Cote, of the Ottawa Valley Parish Nursing Initiative, says the program has had success helping Pembroke residents gain access to a nurse who can help with holistic care. That, she says, is care that helps “mind body and spirit.”
Three Pembroke churches behind the Initiative recently gained funding through the United Church of Canada and federal grants to hire a nurse and administrators and stage health education events.
Cote says the Initiative will continue to apply for grants, so it can expand to have virtual health sessions that anyone in Renfrew County can attend. She says the Initiative is here to help those who have questions about health care services available to them, particularly those without family doctors.
“We’re here. We’re trying to test out something. We’re growing,” Cote says. “We’re going to change. The ultimate question is, is there value in bringing holistic health care to the (community’s) table?”
Cote says the Initiative formed out of worries over Renfrew County data, which shows about 30,000 residents, or 28 per cent of the population, do not have family doctors.