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Alberta
Growing up, Dr. Rithesh Ram, like many children, was fascinated with space and dreamed of one day being an astronaut. Fast forward to present day, while going into space still fascinates him (he did go through several rounds of the Canadian astronaut selection process), Rithesh now can’t imagine being anything other than a rural physician. Dr. Ram is formally trained as a family physician, but his passion is that of a rural generalist in Drumheller, Alberta. Aside from his MD, he has a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alberta and a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Calgary. Dr Ram is passionate about teaching with clinical appointments at both the U of C and the U of A. He is also Director of the UCLIC Program (University of Calgary Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship) which is a research-based, educational experience that allows medical students to learn in the continuum of patient care throughout southern Alberta. Dr. Ram is highly involved in many leadership roles locally, provincially and nationally including treasurer of his PCN, President-Elect of the Alberta Medical Association Section of Rural Medicine, former chair of the Alberta Medical Association’s Health Issues Council, and former Provincial Knowledge Lead for Primary Care for Connect Care / CKCN. And his favourite time of the day? Breakfast. “I make it a point to always be there with the family for breakfast.” With his busy schedule, Rithesh often doesn’t make it home early enough in the evening to eat dinner with his wife, two daughters, and son, but breakfast as a family usually works, even if it means everyone has to get up a little earlier to share that time together. Dr. Ram resides in Drumheller with his family. He enjoys reading endless stories to his children, walking his dogs amongst the hoodoos, curling during the season, and remaining active on a daily basis (even just doing push-ups while on call when there is even the shortest break). A medical entrepreneur, in 2017 Dr. Ram opened an award winning and highly recognized patient medical home, primary care practice in Drumheller, Riverside Medical, winning Business Professional of the Year due to that accomplishment. The practice, as well as Dr. Ram, have been subsequently recognized numerous times from various organizations, and is currently a finalist for a national medical innovation award. We hope to have two or three representatives from various regions of Alberta to help voice and promote our interests. The committee welcomes applicants from students to retired members! Please submit a personal letter and CV to info@srpc.ca. Rural Health Professions Action Plan (RhPAP)
Established in 1991 as the Rural Physician Action Plan, a renewed Rural Health Professions Action Plan, or RhPAP, is a small non-governmental organization, funded by the Alberta Ministry of Health. RhPAP is overseen by a mix of rural and urban directors, with representation from Alberta Health Services, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, Alberta Medical Association, College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta, Health Quality Council of Alberta, and the Rural Municipalities of Alberta. Our goal is to help rural Alberta have and sustain the right number of rural health practitioners in the right places, offering the right services, through community and professional development programs, services, and evidence informed advocacy.
If you’re a rural physician practising in rural Alberta right now, and are looking toward support for professional development, RhPAP may be able to cover a variety of costs and related expenses. You can find out more about the different programs we offer here. If you have any specific questions please contact our program coordinator: Collette Featherstone "Driving Rural Access to Vaccines" with Drive HappinessDrive Happiness (DH) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to enhance mobility and connect older adults to the resources needed to live and age well; by providing access to affordable transportation. This is made possible through our volunteer drivers in the community who use their vehicles to drive seniors to medical appointments, the grocery store, and other engagements they may have. Established in 1998, DH has proven to be a force in enhancing the quality of life for countless members of our aging community. Through fostering trusting, reliable, safe services, we provided thousands of rides, enabling adults to mobilize without restriction. The Public Health Agency of Canada funded Drive Happiness through the Immunization Partnership Fund to increase access to vaccines, creating "Driving Rural Access to Vaccines"; A project addressing transportation barriers to vaccine appointments. To do this, we use our volunteer-based transportation program. We aim to increase access to vaccines in rural Alberta, filling the transportation gaps as a supplementary service in rural communities. A trusted and safe resource the community can lean on. DRAV and DH are looking for more community partners and volunteers in Grande Prairie and Grande Prairie County. We have established a small base of volunteer drivers in the region thus far and are ready to take on riders! Any resident of Grande Prairie or the County of Grande Prairie who needs transportation to a vaccine appointment, regardless of age, can contact us. We will get back to them within one business day to book transportation for their vaccine appointment, free of charge. Three Simple Steps to accessing our DRAV transportation program:
I have attached our new posters and brochures that we can provide and a link to our website. To contact us or for any additional inquiries, do not hesitate to reach out by phone toll-free number (1-888-336-4503) or email (DRAV@drivehappiness.ca); we would be more than happy to address them! Thank you so much, and we look forward to hearing from you. Follow the SRPC Alberta pages
Provincial and Territorial Representatives are volunteers elected by members as per the by-laws at the annual meeting. Representatives from across the country help to make the work of the Society of Rural Physicians happen. They are your contacts. Please feel free to share information, questions and concerns with them for discussion at quarterly meetings. The outcome will come back to you via the SRPC Newsletter, emails, the RuralMed mailing list, or directly via your representative. We can always use more human resources and ideas. If you have something to contribute, let us know! |
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