ATHABASCA — The Tri-River Health Neighbourhood made a virtual appearance at the Village of Boyle council in the hopes of recruiting new members to take part in a grass-roots solution to regional healthcare problems.
During the Nov. 15 meeting, councillors voted 4-0 — Coun. Mike Antal was absent — to accept Robyn Laczy, North Zone project coordinator’s presentation as information. Mayor Colin Derko said council will be in touch with Laczy to share more details about potential members for the initiative’s “mini working groups.”
“A special project that, I would say, is near and dear to my heart, is our North Zone health neighbourhoods,” Laczy told councillors via video conference from Edmonton.
“The health neighbourhood model was put together to bring folks together in a local way, across organizations, across identities, to really get together to make small, bite-sized impacts and quality improvement into primary healthcare,” said Laczy.
Laczy defined primary healthcare as being more than your family doctor or the nearest hospital. “It’s anywhere a patient has their first point of care — (it) could be a private mental health therapist, could be a support group service in the community.”
The Tri-River Health Neighbourhood, which spans from Athabasca, Westlock, and Barrhead to Boyle, was formed at the start of 2023, and has approximately 20 members. The neighbourhood meets on the first Tuesday of each month, and the mini working group mentioned by Laczy gathers for sessions every two weeks.
“This is not like your average inter-agency,” said Laczy. “This is very action-oriented, people leave their titles and regions at the door as we come together and work in honesty.”
Laczy added the group is relationship-focused, and meetings come with a healthy amount of humour and laughter.
Laczy noted the neighbourhood is seeking engaged members from all walks of life, but particularly members from outside of the healthcare industry. She added the mini working group for the Tri-River Neighbourhood was recently formed and has identified a few key priorities.
“The group decided to really focus on youth mentorship, because youth mental health has been such a concern, I would say across the North Zone, (and) across Alberta,” said Laczy.
Derko said the presentation to council came about after Laczy and Jon LeMessurier, councillor for the Town of Athabasca and co-chair of the Tri-River Health Neighbourhood reached out to gauge the level of interest in Boyle.
“I love what they’re doing, it’s almost like the lighter side of health,” said Derko. “We definitely want to get somebody from the area involved, we’ve got a couple that are interested.”
