Service

When we think about service, we think about improvement; making an impact. Putting our boots on the ground and connecting face to face with our farmers and our rural communities to positively impact their lives. Learn more about the services we offer through the Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health below.

Our research to action crosses three platforms:

Agricultural Health and Safety Network

Discovery Days 

  • taking agricultural health and safety to elementary schools Grades 4-6
  • participating schools must be located within RMs that are members of the Agricultural Health and Safety Network. Not a member? Contact your RM and our Network!  

One2One Clinic 

  • Health and safety clinic for agricultural producers
  • Can be at the Centre or conducted in RM offices with RMs that are members of the Agricultural Health and Safety Network (see below)

Respiratory Clinics

  • The program is an educational and respiratory screening service for farmers and their families that is delivered by professionally trained staff in the local community.

What's the Process?

  • The Respiratory Health Maintenance Program involves a lung function test. Each participant:
    • complete a respiratory health questionaire
    • has their blood pressure measured
    • performs a lung function test
    • has the results interpreted
    • recieves personalized health teaching and resource materials
    • recieves a copy of their lung test results
    • when necessary, is referred for follow-up

Hearing Clinics

  • The program is a hearing screening service for agricultural producers that is delivered by professionally trained staff in your community.

What's the Process?

  • An individual who is interested in having their hearing tested will be given a Noise Exposure questionnaire to complete prior to the hearing screening.
    • Hearing screening takes 15-20 minutes. Staff will:
      • Review your questionaire
      • visually check your ears
      • do the hearing screening
      • interpret the screening test
      • provide you with a copy of your results
      • refer you for follow-up when necessary

Network Workshops

  • The Agricultural Health and Safety Network presents a variety of workshops throughout the province. Workshop topics include:
    • Farm Safety Plan
      • Workshops are motivational and instructional for building a Farm Safety Plan, and focus on areas of concern such as:
        • Physical risks
        • Long work hours and fatigue
        • Vulnerable populations
        • Farming practice modification
    • Aging Farmers
      • According to the CAIR program, the percentage of males who die in agricultural incidents was highest for adults aged sixty and over (95.2%).  It is with this information in mind that we focus on techniques to encourage older farmers to practice safer farming techniques.  This workshop includes a wealth of tips and tricks to compensate for the signs of aging.  It is also designed for younger farmers to attend who work with older family members.
    • Stress and Agriculture
      • This workshop is based on the popular resource put out by the Network:  “Difficult Times:  Stress on the Farm.” Farmers have a strong tradition of being independent and may not seek support until things are absolutely desperate.  This workshop is a way of enabling farm families to understand stress early warning signs and its impact, and learn skills to help balance stress when farming in difficult times.
    • Making Sleep Work for You
      • Sleep affects your health and safety.  Getting enough sleep is vital to the personal well-being, safety, and the success of Saskatchewan agricultural producers, those involved in an agricultural lifestyle, as well as those who live and work in rural Saskatchewan.
    • Caring for a Caregiver in Rural Saskatchewan
      • Many rural dwellers are working off the farm while still participating in farm work and caring for growing families.  This workshop is designed to encourage them to take the time to take care of themselves.
    • Respiratory Safety and Hearing Loss Prevention
      • Recent studies show that older farmers are generally as healthy as non-farming Canadians, except in the areas of respiratory and hearing health. These two workshops focus on prevention methods for all farmers to ensure that these two areas of their health are not neglected and that they remain healthy in later years.

RaDAR: Rural Dementia Action Research

Rural and Remote Memory Clinic

The objectives of the specialist memory clinic study are to increase the availability and accessibility of dementia care in rural and remote areas, to determine the acceptability of the one-stop clinic and of telehealth versus regular follow-up, and to develop culturally appropriate assessment protocols for assessment of dementia in aboriginal older adults. Our focus is on diagnosis and management of atypical and complex cases of suspected dementia, where an interdisciplinary team assessment is most needed.

The clinic streamlines assessment and diagnosis in order to reduce repeated travel over long distances and to shorten the time to diagnosis by coordinating an interdisciplinary assessment on one day.

RaDAR memory clinics are currently provided by primary health care teams in the Saskatchewan communities of Kipling, Bengough, Weyburn, Carlyle, Maryfield, Lampman, and Esterhazy. The memory clinics continue to spread in the province, with plans to become available in more communities.

Other Centre Services

CANWORKSAFE

  • occupational health and industrial hygiene fee for service 
  • Lung function, hearing, respirator fit testing, medical fitness to wear respirator evaluations, on-site flu clinics, wellness clinics, industrial hygiene services/monitoring

Occupational Medicine Clinic 

Faculty Lead: Dr. Niels Koehncke

  • through the Saskatchewan Health Authority and Department of Medicine

Sleep Medicine Clinic

Faculty Lead: Dr. James Dosman

  • through the Sasaktchewan Health Authority and Department of Medicine