Virtual health-care comes to Pictou County libraries
CBC
Three libraries in Pictou County, N.S., are providing a new pathway to the health-care system for people without a primary care provider.
The branches in New Glasgow, River John and Westville now have private, dedicated spaces for people to use VirtualCareNS, the program that links unattached patients with a family doctor or nurse practitioner. People can also use the spaces for virtual appointments with specialists.
Michelle Ferris, executive director of the Aberdeen Health Foundation, said the one-year pilot program stems from the initial rollout of VirtualCareNS and the recognition that some people faced barriers accessing the service.
That includes a lack of available technology or reliable high-speed internet for some people, challenges navigating the system or perhaps not having a private space to conduct an appointment.
"We thought that these could be very real barriers for some folks and we're well aware of our local libraries as being a place where people go for help to access, you know, other government programs," she said.
"So we wondered if there was an opportunity to create a partnership."
As it turned out, there was.
The libraries already had space and equipment, they just needed help making them fully accessible and some money from the province to train and dedicate people to help members of the public who want to use the service.
The service at the three libraries started with a soft launch at the beginning of the month, followed by an email to the 10,000 people in Pictou County on the need-a-family-practice registry. Ferris said interest was immediate.
"Apparently, on the first day that the email went out to all the folks on the registry, they had over 50 phone calls at the library," she said.
"Obviously it caught notice and great interest and I think that they've been busy with it since."
Space can be booked by calling or emailing the libraries, or by visiting in person. Nova Scotia Health officials will evaluate the program and determine whether to expand it to other communities.
The evaluation process includes a survey that people using the library can fill out. Health-care officials will get a sense of who is using the service, what would happen if the service wasn't in place and the barriers people face, said Ferris.
MORE TOP STORIES
Salome Solomon, who is legally blind, relies on two things to get around Ottawa: her guide dog, Zurich, and Uber.
Thunder Bay, Ont., police chief Darcy Fleury says the proposed police budget for 2026 is not a “wish list” for the service.
Sexual assault survivor calls for accountability after police comments left her feeling ‘humiliated’
An Ontario woman who regularly shared her experiences as a sexual assault survivor at police training courses says she’s ending her relationship with the Ontario Police College and is raising concerns about what she and several experts say are harmful biases among some officers and a lack of accountability from the college.
Provincial officials will meet with St. Mary’s town council on Monday, after high winds tore the side of an abandoned fish sauce plant — but the town’s mayor is also calling on the federal government for help.
Get those snow shovels ready.
An independent police watchdog agency is investigating a fatal "police-involved" shooting that occurred on Neqotkuk, formerly known as Tobique First Nation, in northwestern New Brunswick, Sunday evening.
Finding school too overwhelming, 17-year-old Lily Boucher Rodriguez stopped going altogether after almost two years of intermittent attendance.
Thousands of Iranian Canadians and their supporters marched down Vancouver's West Georgia Street in solidarity with protesters in Iran on Sunday.
Beekeepers on Prince Edward Island are sharing concerns about the bee population, as hives struggle through changing weather conditions.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is considering sending soldiers to Greenland for military exercises with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies, as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens tariffs on European nations unless they let him purchase and control the semiautonomous island.
An orangish-pink glow painted the eastern sky where elders gathered in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, to welcome the sun after a polar night where the solar system’s only star hung below the horizon for 42 days.
Environment Canada has issued a yellow snowfall warning for Queens and Kings Counties, P.E.I. for Sunday evening, lasting until noon on Monday.
Two London-area hockey stars say they're ecstatic to be living out their childhood dreams of representing Canada on the world stage at the Winter Olympics in Italy next month.