Sheep River Health Trust

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Pediatric And Family Wellness Network Receives Approval

Family wellness took a giant step forward this week when Alberta Health Services approved the operational plan for the Pediatric and Family Wellness Network, developed by the Steering Committee comprised of representatives  of community agencies and services.
The goal of the initiative is to provide all families with skills and support for optimizing child and family health. This will also include a point of entry for specialized healthcare and minimize gaps in services provided for children and families in our local communities.
The project is the vision of Dr. Robert Haslam, a prominent pediatric neurologist and Past Chair of SRHT. “The future depends on today's children. The Sheep River Health Trust is committed to the health and well-being of the children in our community. We strive to ensure that today's children have positive health outcomes in order to become productive and healthy leaders of the future,” says Dr. Haslam.
The Pediatric and Family Wellness Network reflects needs and opportunities to improve access to community health resources for children and families in the Sheep River area. The initiative is supported by trends such as:
    25.5% of the Okotoks population is under 15 years of age. Many young families do not have the benefit of a family network within the region.
    The most prevalent issues for developmentally vulnerable children are learning and behaviour issues; most of these are preventable with early enough intervention.
    In April of 2008, the United Way published the results of a study on community social needs. Two major recommendations for the Okotoks community were to a) support and build capacity for parents and b) strengthen collaboration among agencies serving children and families.