Saskatchewan’s rural and urban municipal associations are teaming up to encourage Saskatchewan residents to get immunized against COVID-19.
“One of the messages that we really want to get across to people in this province is the importance of being vaccinated,” said Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) President Ray Orb in an interview November 9. “Our counterparts in the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) are also stressing this.
“We have to work together on this one and get everyone on side in order to stem the fourth wave.”
Health care in rural communities was a major topic at the SARM online midterm conference November 9. A resolution adopted by delegates called for the organization to lobby the provincial government to increase the number of nursing and lab technicians in rural areas.
“There are many people in rural ares that don’t have as good access to health care as they should have,” said Orb. “We’d like to see the shortage of nurses and trained health care staff addressed quickly.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought those shortages into sharp focus.”
Delegates to the SARM convention endorsed a call to have “creative solutions” including financial and tax incentives for health care professionals to work in rural communities. The organization noted that 45 per cent of the province’s population lives outside cities.