Rapides-des-Joachims seeks to address interprovincial health care issues

Rapides-des-Joachims seeks to address interprovincial health care issues

The far-flung municipality of Rapides-des-Joachims is an anomaly. Situated to the northwest of the rest of the MRC Pontiac, the tiny island community of roughly 150 year-round residents is only accessible from the Ontario side of the river. Due to long-standing agreements, the municipality is serviced by ambulances from Ontario, and patients routinely receive health care at the hospitals in Deep River and Pembroke. However, there are a host of complications related to the community’s isolation from the rest of Quebec. MRC Pontiac’s council passed a resolution at their meeting in August in support of a municipal resolution seeking improved access to cross-border services.

Mayor Lucie Rivet Paquette explained that they were looking to find some kind of inter-provincial agreement for patients requiring longer stays in hospital, such as those recovering from a surgery. She said that they are sent to the closest facility in Quebec, typically the Pontiac Hospital in Shawville, which is much further away than the two Ontario hospitals residents frequent for other types of care.

Outaouais health authority CISSSO maintains a CLSC in the municipality, with a secretary on duty half-days, four days a week. A nurse typically visits at least once a week, or more frequently depending on need. CISSSO’s Pontiac representative Nicole Boucher Larivière explained that even that minimal level of service isn’t always easy to maintain during a labour shortage, as it requires a three hour round trip for a nurse or other health professional leaving from Fort-Coulonge, or even longer if they’re taking off from the Shawville area.

Another area of concern for residents is pharmaceuticals. While some pay steeper prices out of pocket to use closer pharmacies in Ontario, many opt to drive to the closest pharmacy on the Quebec side of the river, located in Mansfield, a 3-hour round trip. Rivet Paquette said that they would be looking at different strategies better serve local residents, many of whom are elderly.

Boucher Larivière agreed that access to pharmaceuticals is a big issue for residents. She added that she will be attending a community get-together in Rapides-des-Joachims later this month where she will be consulting with local residents about their concerns.