Huron Expositor, 2007-05-09, Page 3News
The Huron Expositor • May 9, 2007 Page 3
Trip to Kentucky brings back ideas for new FHT
building and innovative healthcare programs
Susan H u n d e r t m a r
After a recent trip to Hazard,
Kentucky, 14 Huron East represen-
tatives of council, the development
trust, the family health team (FHT)
and Healthkick Huron have
returned with ideas both for the
new FHT facility and for local
healthcare programming.
The trip was planned after
Healthkick representatives Gwen
Devereaux and Laura Overholt dis-
covered Hazard had a rural medical
centre with a reputation for train-
ing and retaining rural people as
medical professionals.
"They are very rural Kentucky
and we're very rural Ontario and
they've shown how you can start
small and build," says Devereaux.
Hazard has a population of 5,000
with a larger population of 25,000
in surrounding Perry County.
Located in the Appalachians, the
community has an average income
of $10,000 U.S.
As the three-year Healthkick pro-
ject comes to a close this December
and organizers begin to prepare a
new proposal to be submitted this
fall to extend and expand the pro-
gram, Devereaux says the trip gave
them "amazing" ideas to add to
Healthkick.
One idea is the strong relation-
ship the Hazard medical centre has
with the University of Lexington in
training healthcare professionals
and doing research projects.
"I'd like to start looking at a
research academic centre in
Seaforth, not to transplant medical
training here but to expand on their
opportunity to do research here,"
submitted photo
Huron East Mayor Joe Seili, Seaforth Coun. Joe Steffler and recruiter Gwen
Devereaux talk to representatives of the Hazard medical centre in Kentucky.
more focussed on the physical facili-
ty and how it was set up to accom-
modate teams of healthcare profes-
sionals.
"We were looking at how they set
up their medical suites and how to
grow it. They are going to supply us
with drawings," he says, adding
that the Hazard floorplan is similar
says Devereaux, adding that
research could be done into the high
incidence of age-related disease in
Huron County, such as coronary
artery disease and diabetes.
"We already have residents from
Western and a relationship with
Georgian College and we could
strengthen those relationships," she
says.
Another project Devereaux was
excited by was an outreach program
that allowed patients at home to
have their blood pressure read at
the clinic several times a day by a
machine that hooks up to the
phone.
"They said they had saved several
lives that way and because we're
rural too we could do that kind of
outreach," she says.
While Devereaux was looking at
programs, Mayor Joe Seili was
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to ideas the local architect has
already drawn.
Seili said the Hazard clinic
included combination classrooms
and meeting rooms that could be
opened up to create a conference
room.
"The big thing was the proof was
in the pudding that they train local
people and retain them," he says,
adding that the head of the physio-
therapy program had graduated
through the program at the same
facility.
He adds that of 16 rural nurses
trained in Hazard, 14 had stayed on
to work there.
While there, the Huron East con-
tingent were all dubbed honorary
"dukes and duchesses" of Hazard
and a reciprocal trip is being
planned with Hazard representa-
tives travelling to Huron East in
the summer.
"We were their first international
visitors and they're going to come
up here and see where we're start-
ing," says Devereaux.
The trip was paid for by those
who participated, says Seili, adding
the municipality paid for the gas
mileage.
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