Serving the communities of Rimbey, Bentley, Bluffton, Winfield, Alder Flats and Buck Lake
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Volume 15 Number 11
www.rimbeyreview.com
Renal dialysis group waits for response from inquiry By Treena Mielke A Rimbey group has taken their concerns about rural patients who travel for dialysis in front of a formal inquiry, but so far no word has been received regarding their case. The Renal Dialysis Rimbey Support Group presented a written submission pleading their cause to Justice John Z. Vertes at the Alberta Health Services Preferential Access Inquiry, in Calgary Feb. 27. Hours before the group was ready to go to Calgary, they heard from a representative from the inquiry telling them they could sub-
mit a written report and they didn’t need to attend. They decided to go anyway. “We received a phone call telling us it wouldn’t be necessary to come down but we had already made arrangements and so we went anyway and presented our submission,” said group spokesperson, Irene KurtaLovell. The group hasn’t heard back since the submission was presented. However, KurtaLovell is pleased they were allowed to submit their concerns. “We were extremely fortunate to be part
of the inquiry. We managed to slide in there through a tiny crack in the door. We will just have to wait and see what happens.” Kurta-Lovell also gave credit to John Church, a political science professor at the University of Alberta who helped them formulate their written submission. In their submission, the Rimbey group gave reasons why dialysis patients should have the option of being treated in Rimbey. Travelling to Red Deer for treatment is costly, time-consuming and even dangerous for rural patients, they said. In their report the Rimbey group said pa-
tient costs including meals, gasoline, parking fees and vehicle maintenance totaled more than $10,500 yearly for residents in the Rimbey area compared to under $2,000 for urban patients. The time for rural patients to receive a dialysis treatment is 10 hours compared to six hours for an urban patient, their submission stated. The report states collision rates for the road travelled by Rimbey and area dialysis patients are 60 per cent higher than the provincial average. Continued on Page 3
Monkey business: Sam Swanson, seven, Ainsley Dansen, eight and Caydi Kuzio, seven, enjoy some upside down fun on the monkey bars at Rimbey Elementary School. A fundraiser for a new playground will be held at Rimbey Community Centre, March 15. Treena Mielke Photo
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