(FILE PHOTO / iNFOnews.ca)
November 06, 2015 - 2:30 PM
KAMLOOPS - A partnership between the hospital in Kamloops and a local group which supports vulnerable citizens will continue to provide support services after receiving a boost from the province today.
The ASK Wellness Society and Royal Inland Hospital have been working together, through a health navigator, to help people discharged from the hospital connect with basic services to support their recovery, from housing and transportation to health care. Health care could include anything from wound care and medical tests to managing chronic diseases such as HIV or hepatitis C.
Today, Nov. 6, Health Minister Terry Lake announced $150,000 in funding to help continue that partnership.
"The health navigator can really help people living at risk or without a home get the supports they need to better manage chronic diseases and health needs," Health navigator Pamela Pickering says in a media release. "I am honoured to have this job — sometimes it's getting prescription glasses for a client or taking them to a medical appointment so they are not alone when they hear a life altering diagnosis, but each of these supports can make a big impact in the quality of a person's life.”
This year the Health Navigator program helped 84 clients in the Kamloops area between April 1 and Sept. 30. Addressing health needs early and in the community can help reduce emergency room visits and costs to the health care system as well.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Jennifer Stahn at jstahn@infonews.ca or call 250-819-3723. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015