BARRHEAD-One of the obstacles to receiving much needed medical care in rural communities is the inability to get to larger urban centres for treatment due to lack of transportation.
This has been the case in Barrhead and the surrounding communities as they have been without a bus service connecting them to the larger centres for several years. The only option for those without access to a vehicle is hitching a ride with friends, family or reaching out on community bulletin board and social media.
However, the Barrhead Community Cancer Centre (which is operated at the Barrhead Healthcare Centre) is hoping to change that, at least when it comes to people getting to their cancer treatments in the city with its Ride to Home program.
The basic concept of the program is volunteer drivers will pick up clients from their home, drive them to their treatment or medical appointment in the city and seeing them safely home.
Barrhead Healthcare Centre site manager Linda Wolfram said the program is made possible through an endowment left to the hospital by Dr. Bireswar Bose, who passed away in 2018. Funds from the endowment will go towards reimbursing the volunteer drivers.
Bose, a general surgeon, came to Barrhead in 1970 and served the community until his retirement in 2002.
In addition to his practice in Barrhead, Bose was a consultant surgeon to the breast cancer unit at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton and was involved in both clinical and research work.
Through Bose's work at the Cross Cancer Institute, he was credited with helping make significant contributions in several cancer treatments including developing a technique for excision of nail-fold for in-grow toenails and using the amniotic membrane to treat burn wounds.
"We have been looking at ways we could support the community based on what his wishes were, which was in part, to support the patients who are going through chemotherapy," she said. "It was the staff at the [Barrhead Community Cancer Centre] who decided it would be fitting that the endowment fund the Ride Home program."
The initiative is in its initial phases and they are currently looking for volunteer drivers. Ideally, the drivers will come from the communities in which the program hopes to serve.
As the Barrhead Community Cancer Centre serves residents from several surrounding communities, Wolfram added they hope to serve Barrhead, Westlock, Fort Assiniboine, Swan Hills, Mayerthorpe and Sangudo.
Volunteers will need to undergo a Criminal Record check and have a vehicle suitable for the trip and the appropriate insurance.
"The insurance requirements won't be too onerous, just normal liability but we will go over all that with the volunteers when they sign up," she said.
For those interested in volunteering for the Ride Home program, call or text Violet Schriever at 780-282-0152.
The Ride to Home program is expected to begin sometime in late summer or early fall.
"It is going to take some time to organize and get the volunteers we need and COVID is going to impact our ability to drive people, but we feel by the time everyone is immunized, hopefully by September, the program will be ready to go."
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
