NORTHERNSUNRISE Bag ‘3°°v 135 Sun" COUNTY Peace’ n01'therx1sun1'i May 20, 2020 Honourable Tyler Shandro Minister of Health 423 Legislature Building 10800 - 97 Avenue NW Edmonton, AB Canada T5K 2B6 Dear Minister Shandro, RE: Rural Healthcare Rural communities face healthcare challenges that differ significantly from those faced by our urban counterparts. Even attracting doctors to our communities can be a difficult. As such, Northern Sunrise County was concerned when we were made aware of the doctors’ response to the February 21, 2020 physician funding framework changes. As such, the Rural and Remote Northern Program comes as a relief to the County as it helps allay some of our doctors’ concerns. The County is proud to support the efforts of our doctors in building a strong healthcare system for our residents and our region. We recognize that our local doctors are experts on providing healthcare in rural communities. The needs of these communities are different from those of large urban centres and as such the input of these experts must be considered in any future changes to healthcare in the province of Alberta. While programs such as the Primary Care Networks support our unique needs, losing doctors would be a crushing blow to rural Alberta. Since ly, M/d//ow» arolyn Kolebaba Reeve Northern Sunrise County (3: Dan Williams, MLAfor Peace River ° : Pat Rehn, MLAfor Lesser Slave Lake / 0: Al Kemmere, President, Rural Municipalities of Alberta _ c: Town of Peace River Council X c: Peace River Medical Clinic Ltd. /J/L c 2 Rural Health Professions Action Plan 7 Northern Sum-ise County is a supportive > >» community where people can grow, prosper, and belong. » Wc’ve got it all!.