Please note the following sites may be affected by holiday hours.

RAAM Clinic – Closed Dec. 25 & 26

Clinics – hours are posted here: https://www.ierha.ca/find-us/

Community Health Offices – Call before attending the week of Dec. 23-27. Phone numbers are listed here: https://www.ierha.ca/find-us/

Quick Care Clinic – Closed at 5 p.m. on Dec. 24 and closed Dec. 25

Emergency Department Schedules: https://www.ierha.ca/emergency-department-schedules/

Diagnostic Labs: All sites closed at noon on Dec. 24. Closed all day Dec. 25, 26 and Jan. 1
https://www.ierha.ca/programs-services/primary-health-care/diagnostics/

If you or a family member require non-urgent health care services, some doctors’ offices and clinics in the region offer extended hours care and same day appointments. Contact your local doctor’s office for appointment information.

Selkirk QuickCare clinic is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends and most holidays. (Closed Christmas Day). Call 204-482-4399 to make a same-day appointment. Phones answered starting at 9:30 a.m.

For minor ailments and non-life threatening concerns virtual care is available through QDoc, a free, provincially funded, online platform that connects patients to doctors by video. Visit qdoc.ca for more information.

Some pharmacists have additional training that allows them to provide medications for conditions such as rashes or acne and some infections like recurring bladder infections. Please call before you attend to confirm the service you are seeking is available and that you are a candidate for treatment. To find a pharmacy near you, visit https://cphm.alinityapp.com/Client/CorporationDirectory.

Health Links – Info Santé is staffed with registered nurses and nurse practitioners who are available 24 hours a day every day of the year. Depending on patients’ described condition and community location in Manitoba, nurses can provide clinical guidance to contact a family physician or a walk-in clinic, present to an emergency department or to an urgent care centre and they can provide advice on self-care treatments at home. Call toll-free 1-888-315-9257.

If you’re caring for a sick child with a fever, visit www.ierha.ca and select “Patient Information” > “Where to go” > “Kid Care”. Helpful short videos featuring Dr. Andrea Wilkie-Gilmore, a pediatric emergency physician at Health Sciences Centre, will help to navigate questions about fever, symptoms, medicating and when to bring a child for emergency care.

Anyone experiencing mental health or addiction concerns can call Interlake-Eastern Health’s 24 Hour Crisis Line at 1-866-427-8628. Other mental health resources are profiled at www.ierha.ca > Programs & Services > Mental Health & Addictions.

If you are experiencing a medical emergency, always call 911. In the event you need to visit an emergency department, visit “Emergency Dept. Schedules” to see emergency department status within the Interlake-Eastern health region. You can also call 1-886-267-5818 to select your community of choice and listen to a recorded message on emergency department status.

Memory trees offer a place to reflect on loss of loved ones

This year, there will be holiday memory trees in many facilities and public places for people to mark the loss of a loved one. Barb Ramsay, palliative care volunteer coordinator, says this is a significant way for people to process their grief and help themselves through the holidays.

“Every year we try to make the grieving process a little easier with the palliative care memory trees. We have all experienced loss and grief to some degree,” says Ramsay. “Support systems and ways to honor are an important part of the healing process.”

This year, Interlake-Eastern Health’s palliative care program has several places hosting memory trees to honor people who have passed away.

Southwest District Palliative Care(SWDPC) supports clients and their families specifically in the municipalities of Rockwood, Rosser, St. Laurent, Woodlands, part of Armstrong and the towns of Stonewall and Teulon, who are dealing with declining health or in need of grief support. SWDPC is now a part of the Nav-CARE program which facilitates the development of volunteer navigators to support persons living at home with declining health.  The Board is thankful for donations and community support as SWDPC depends solely on both for its funding.

Traditionally, SWDPC also places Memory Trees in the South Interlake Regional Library branches of Teulon and Stonewall. Donation envelopes are available or can be made online.

Interlake-Eastern RHA facilities and the two libraries have memory card ornaments available to place on any of the trees for the communities, as well as any for patients, residents, families and employees in each area.

Below is a list of the locations and communities where Memory Trees can be found, each setup along with the help of RHA program staffand SWDPC Board members and volunteers. Everyone is invited to honor the memory of their loved onesand appreciate some time for reflection.

• Arborg Personal Care Home
• Ashern Hospital
• Ashern Personal Care Home
• Beausejour Hospital
• Beausejour Primary Health Care Centre
• Beausejour East Gate Lodge
• Kin Place Personal Care Home in Oakbank
• Eriksdale’s E.M. Crowe Hospital
• Eriksdale Personal Care Home
• Fisher Branch Personal Care Home
• Gimli Hospital
• Interlake-Eastern Health Services Building
• Lac du Bonnet Primary Health Centre
• Lac du Bonnet Personal Care Home
• Lundar Personal Care Home
• Pinawa Hospital
• Pinawa Mall
• Selkirk Community Health Office
• Selkirk Regional Health Centre
• St. Laurent Community Health Centre
• Rosewood Lodge Personal Care Home (Stonewall)
• Stonewall SIR Library (SWDPC)
• Teulon SIR Library (SWDPC)
• Teulon Hospital
• Goodwin Lodge (Teulon)
• Whitemouth & District Health Centre

Ramsay goes on to say that during the holiday season when so much focus is on family, it can be difficult for people who are grieving to feel like celebrating.

“These are meaningful gestures which are so important around any special day when our sorrow is heightened.”

Public and facility trees are set up now, and card ornaments for all ages will be placed with each tree.

This holiday season, everyone can access online mental health support at anytime on www.ierha.ca www.ierha.ca/programs-services/mental-health/. The RHA also has a 24 hour crisis line: 1-866-427-8628.

MPox (Monkeypox)

• Mpox is caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV), an Orthopoxvirus related to vaccinia, cowpox, and variola (smallpox) viruses. It can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, fever and other symptoms. Most people fully recover, but some get very sick.
• For the most current and up to date information, including vaccine eligibility, see the Mpox website. 
• Preventive immunization for eligible people can be booked by contacting your Community Health Office.

More Surgeries at Selkirk Regional Health Centre Will Mean Lower Wait Times: Asagwara

The Manitoba government is making sure more families can get the care they need and enjoy their lives to the fullest by adding 800 hip and knee surgeries at the Selkirk Regional Health Centre, Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara announced today.

“We want to see more Manitobans lead active lives with their families and see less Manitobans waiting in pain,” said Asagwara. “Adding more surgeries in the Interlake means more patients and families are getting the care they need. Cutting wait times for surgeries doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t have to fly across an ocean to get good care, we just need more staff in Manitoba. That’s what this announcement is all about. More surgeons, more nurses, more surgeries, and faster care for you.”

Read more here: Province of Manitoba | News Releases | Manitoba Government Adds 800 Hip and Knee Surgeries in Selkirk

The Quick Care clinic in Selkirk is not accepting appointments today. We apologize for this inconvenience.

Please visit our Find Us page and click on “Clinics” to identify clinics accepting with walk-in appointments.

Health Links-Info Santé is a telephone health information service staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by knowledgeable, experienced nurses and is free of charge everywhere in Manitoba. If you’d like to speak with a nurse, call 204-788-8200 in Winnipeg or 1-888-315-9257 toll-free elsewhere in the province.

If you require emergency care, please dial 911.

View our schedule of emergency department status in the region.

Is your child experiencing illness – please see these video resources with health information.

There’s still time to get your flu and Covid shots this respiratory season.  Public health respiratory virus vaccine clinics are occurring until November 30.

Seasonal influenza, pneumococcal 20 and COVID-19 vaccine are available for those eligible as per Manitoba Health guidelines. Immunization with the most updated COVID-19 vaccine is strongly recommended for previously vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals at increased risk of COVID-19 infection or severe disease.

Book an appointment by calling 1-844-626-8222 between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday or by using the online booking system found at www.ierha.ca “Programs and Services” and “Annual Immunization Clinics”.

“Public health has immunized over 5,000 people against both COVID and flu this fall,” says Wendy Fontaine, Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority manager health services, public health east. “Respiratory virus season is expected to last another three to four months, so there’s still time for people to protect themselves by getting the COVID and flu shots this fall.”

Respiratory virus shots are available for all ages with different doses administered according to age.

Parents with younger children are encouraged to check out www.ierha.ca, and click on “patient information”, “where to go” and “kid care” for tips on taking care of children experiencing respiratory illness and fever.

Immunizations are also available all season from community health offices, clinics and pharmacies.

In preparation for job action at Canada Post, Interlake-Eastern RHA paused use of Canada Post services on October 30, 2024. Interlake-Eastern RHA will be contacting patients with upcoming appointments by phone to provide information in advance of their appointments. If you have a scheduled surgery appointment, learn more about our surgery and endoscopy procedures.

Read more

Manitoba’s health system is preparing for a potential service disruption if Canada Post employees strike.

Clinics and service areas have paused use of Canada Post for distribution of patient appointment letters and pre-appointment information. Interlake-Eastern RHA will be contacting patients with upcoming appointments by phone to provide information in advance of their appointments.

Read more

Interlake-Eastern RHA is acknowledging the life and significant accomplishments of The Honourable Murray Sinclair who passed away Monday, November 4, 2024. Canadian flags at health facilities in Interlake-Eastern RHA will be at half mast until sundown on the day of his funeral.

He was raised on the former St. Peter’s Indian Reserve in the Selkirk area. A member of Peguis First Nation, he graduated from Selkirk Collegiate Institute as class valedictorian and Athlete of the Year. He also worked at the Selkirk Friendship Centre as an administrator and youth worker.

He went on to become a lawyer and then associate chief judge of the Manitoba Provincial Court, making him Manitoba’s first Indigenous judge and Canada’s second.  In this role, he was co-commissioner of Manitoba’s Aboriginal Justice Inquiry that studied relationships between Indigenous people in Manitoba and the justice system. This report had a significant impact on law and legal policy in Canada, requiring courts to consider the backgrounds of Indigenous offenders and alternatives to prison when sentencing.

In November 2000, Sinclair completed the Report of the Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Inquest, which led to significant changes in pediatric cardiac surgery in Manitoba and the study of medical and systemic errors in Canada.

In January 2001, he was the province’s first Indigenous person to be appointed as a judge to the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba. While in this position, he was appointed to chair Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). As head of the TRC, he participated in hundreds of hearings across Canada, culminating in the issuance of the TRC’s report in 2015 and the 94 Calls to Action.

He was nominated by leaders of Manitoba’s Indigenous community for an appointment to Canada’s senate and was appointed in April 2016.

While in the Senate, he served on the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Peoples, the Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, as Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and Rights of Parliament and as Chair of the Senate Ethics and Conflict of Interest for Senators Committee.

Awards and honours

• National Aboriginal Achievement Award (1994)
• Indspire Lifetime Achievement Award (2017)
• The Manitoba Bar Association
• Equality Award (2001)
• Distinguished Service Award (2016)
• Canadian Bar Association President’s Award from the (2018)
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research CouncilImpact Award (2019)
• Confederation Centre of the Arts Symons Medal (2019)
• Humane Canada Leadership and Innovation Award (2020)
• Adrienne Clarkson Prize for Global Citizenship (2020)
• Appointed a member of the Order of Manitoba (2024)
• Honorary Doctorates from seventeen Canadian universities

This summary was prepared with information from Wikipedia and CBC Manitoba

Statement From Premier Wab Kinew on the Passing of Former Senator Murray Sinclair