I had the pleasure of attending a national summit on February 22, 2017 in Ottawa dedicated to improving healthcare access and equity in rural communities in Canada. The event marked the launch of the Rural Road Map for Action, which provides 20 recommendations to enhance rural healthcare.

It was held at the award-winning Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health, which provides a wide range of medical clinics, social services and support, and youth programs for Ottawa’s nearly 40,000 Aboriginal people. I really was impressed by their facility, which was a beautiful space, but also really reflected their vision statement:

We envision a world in which all First Nation, Inuit and Métis people have achieved full and equitable access to the conditions of health including: pride in ancestry, cultural reclamation, peace, shelter, education, food, income, a stable environment, resources, and social justice. And where the gifts and wisdom of First Nation, Inuit and Métis cultures are recognized as valuable, distinctive and beautiful.

The Wabano Centre was a superb venue for a very productive day that united national leaders in education, practice and human resource planning, as well as physicians of rural and Indigenous communities.

Advancing Rural Family Medicine: The Canadian Collaborative Taskforce was created in 2014 as a joint taskforce of the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) and the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada (SRPC). Key leaders on this taskforce include our own Tom Smith-Windsor, SRPC President, and Kathy Lawrence, CFPC Past-President.

The taskforce worked collaboratively over the last two years leading up to the summit and the launch of the Rural Road Map for Action, which outlines four directions that aim to:

• reinforce the social accountability mandate of medical schools and residency programs to address healthcare needs of rural and Indigenous communities
• implement policy interventions that align medical education with workforce planning
• establish practice models that provide rural and Indigenous communities with timely access to quality healthcare
• institute a national rural research agenda to support rural workforce planning aimed at improving access to patient-centered and quality-focused care in rural Canada

The summit focused on how the recommendations can be translated into actions that are coordinated, comprehensive, measurable and sustainable. The aim is to engage all stakeholders in applying these recommendations to future policy-making and planning, as well as to identify roles in addressing issues related to healthcare equity for rural Canada.

The College of Medicine had a prominent role in the day. In addition to the leaders mentioned above, we were very well represented in a video about rural healthcare and rural education shown early in the day. I can also say we are making progress or have already implemented some of the recommendations.

I highly recommend you check out the road map document and look at the 20 recommendations. As always, I would love to hear your feedback.