Prince Albert gets community wellness bus

WATCH: The government of Saskatchewan is launching a community wellness bus in Prince Albert.

Residents can expect to see a new healthcare initiative rolling down the streets of Prince Albert soon.

The Prince Albert community wellness bus is the second of three community wellness buses launched by the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA). A bus has already been running in Regina, and a third bus is expected to launch in Saskatoon this spring.

MLA for Prince Albert Northcote, Alana Ross, says the healthcare teams on the bus “will create a partnership with the community and establish trust by offering non-judgmental, flexible, and trauma-informed care while also connecting people to further supports.”

The healthcare staff will include a nurse practitioner, a licensed practical nurse, and an assessor coordinator to offer service referrals.

Services on the bus are set to include take-home naloxone kits and training on how to use them.

SHA Integrated Northern Health vice president and Chief Nursing Officer Andrew McLetchie says the goal is to have the bus operational within the next month.

“We’re working through the last things to do with IT connectivity, and then recruiting a nurse practitioner,” he explained. “Once we have those in place, we would look to have it operational very quickly.”

McLetchie says the bus will likely begin operations near the bus station downtown to make it accessible to at-risk populations.

“These community wellness buses are designed to meet people where they live,” said McLetchie. “[The buses] allow us to expand our capacity to deliver care closer to home by reducing barriers for people who have experienced challenges accessing timely services in traditional ways.”

The province says the Prince Albert bus will be open weekdays.