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Our New Entrance

 JOB OPPORTUNITY: The Vulcan Medical Clinic is currently recruiting a full-time or part-time physician. Please see the  Medical Clinic page for application requirements. Applications open until position is filled.

Job Opportunity: The Vulcan Community Health Centre is always in search of healthcare workers from different disciplines. For nursing positions, please send your resume to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or drop it off at the hospital. For other positions, you can drop your resume off at the hospital and ask to have it forwarded to the appropriate manager or look on the AHS website for Job Opportunities to see what is needed in Vulcan. If you are looking for casual work, Casual positions are also available for RN's, LPN's and HCA's as well as in other departments in the hospital. 

 

 Congratulations to the Vulcan and County Attraction and Retention Committee, the 2022 winners of the RhPAP Community Rhapsody award. View the video below:

Facebook

https://fb.watch/dntQW_D0lo/

YouTube

https://youtu.be/1IH_s1n6_04

RhPAP Blog

https://rhpap.ca/news-events/rural-alberta-health-care-heroes-receive-well-deserved-recognition/

RhPAP NEWS ARTICLE

 

 

 

A Message from the Vulcan Community Health Centre - May 1, 2020

... If you are in immediate danger…call 9-1-1 ...

... Go to the nearest emergency room ...

... or urgent care centre ...

Need immediate help?

  • Vulcan RCMP – Complaint: 403-485-2266. Admin: 403-485-2267
  • Vulcan Regional Victim Services Society – Support and information for victims of crime and tragedy.
    • .Contact:  403-485-6163, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Facebook page - Vulcan Regional Victim Services Society
  • Family Violence Info Line, 1-403-310-1818
  • Rowan House Emergency Shelter, emergency shelter and support for women fleeing domestic abuse, community outreach and healthy relationship workshops , 403-652-3316, email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Need someone to talk to? 24/7

  • Addiction Helpline
  • Mental Health Helpline
  • Health Link
    • Call 811 to speak with a Registered Nurse about your health concerns.
  • Homelessness emergency, Vulcan Regional Food Bank Society
    Vulcan FCSS and Food Bank 403-485-2192 (open 8-4:30 pm)
  • Crisis Hotline, 403-485-5846 or 24 hour 1-877-303-2642

Vulcan Community Health Centre Help

Are you losing control…angry, stressed, frightened?

It is a fact that in pandemics there is an increase in domestic violence and child abuse.

We care and there is help available at the Vulcan Community Health Centre.

Call and get help for yourself, your family or your loved ones.

Contact:

Heather, Registered  Social Worker

Mental Health Clinician Vulcan Community Health Centre

403-485-3356


Meet Some of our Staff: 

HOMETOWN GIRL ENJOYS RURAL PRACTICE

Taryn Hartung is a Medical Radiation Technologist at the Vulcan Community Health Centre. She graduated from SAIT in 2018 and has been working in Vulcan since then.

Taryn grew up in Vulcan as her parents, Don and Janice Monts,  moved here 30 years ago “temporarily”. However, they found they loved the community so much that they never left. Taryn and her husband now have two children that they are raising on farm just outside of town. She says they love being a part of the community and being close to family.  When asked what words of advice she would give to someone considering a rural practise, she said “It’s a great place to grow up and to raise children. There is lots to do with sports, the pool, etc. And the people are great!”

Taryn explained that working in a small hospital can be challenging as the equipment may not always be as up to date as in the city but its very fulfilling for her to meet that challenge and get “perfect” x-rays.  Even with the less than ideal machines, she says she likes her profession because she gets to work with “really cool equipment.”  Another great thing about working in Vulcan is she gets to meet “all kinds of people”, including her friends and neighbors and those seeking medical help from other communities. Vulcan County is home to several recreation lakes and parks and the hospital is always a busy hub, but especially in the summer time.

One final thought that Taryn wished to share about her local Health Care team is “The staff is so helpful and goes above and beyond to give the best patient care”.

 

The Vulcan County Attraction and Retention Committee want to send a BIG THANK YOU to Taryn and her team for choosing Rural, for their dedication and providing our community with such great care!

 

“Best Hospital Ever”

 Deb Younggren is a Registered Nurse at the Vulcan Community Health Centre and Foothills School of Nursing graduate of 1981. In June she will have been practising her chosen profession for 42 years. Deb is married to Dean and lives in Nanton where they have raised a son and a daughter. Coming from a small dairy farm at Duchess, she wanted to raise her family in a small town. She says rural living is safe and it’s great to live among family and friends as you raise your family.  

Deb came to work in Vulcan in 1986 after working for 5 years in the Foothills ICU. On her interview to be hired, she was asked, “Why would you want to work here after ICU?” Her answer was “Whatever you put into your job, you will get out of it.” Deb puts 100% effort into her work everyday and always strives to do her best. She says she has “so much satisfaction with rural nursing. Daily I reap the benefits of working in rural.” She says people remember and comment on when “you fixed me up” or “made me better”.  She goes on to say “Never a day goes by when someone sees you and they remember that moment that you made a difference to them or their family. A smile and kind words or another ‘thankyou for your care that day’ makes my job so great.” Deb has worked fulltime and part time in the Vulcan Community Health Centre for a total of 37 years.

Deb’s favorite area of nursing is the Emergency department where she enjoys the fast pace. She has said that if you want a challenging job that has variety, come to Vulcan. In rural nursing in Vulcan, one has to use all their skills and more will be learned on the job. Rural Nursing requires knowledge from all areas which makes one a highly educated nurse.  Deb says she also loves the variety that her rural practise offers as she sees different scenarios every day. She laughs as she says the challenging part is “staying sane” as you are pulled between the ER, Inpatients and Long-Term Care.  Vulcan is a good example of how rural nursing requires good organizational skills and competent nursing skills to be successful.

One final thought from Deb, “With my rural team of nurses, doctors, pharmacists, lab, x-ray, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, homecare, and all the other disciplines that keep the hospital going, great collaboration happens to provide best care ever. So…I really do believe when patients say this is the ‘best hospital ever.’

Many Thanks to Deb for sharing her story and to her and the entire Healthcare team at the Vulcan Community Health Centre for their “best care ever”. We, the Vulcan County Attraction and Retention Committee salute you as we celebrate Rural Health Week!  

 

 


 Thank you from the Vulcan County Health Care Worker Attraction and Retention Committee 

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Vulcan Medical Clinic Update

  • The Vulcan Medical Clinic is open daily.
    • clinic hours are Monday to Friday (9:00 am to 4:00 pm)
  • Be advised that the doctors are still seeing patients in the clinic for scheduled appointments.
  • The “on-call” physician will continue to see walk-in patients following the clinic’s normal protocols.

Doctor Appointments via Telephone

A telephone appointment will be booked for you if:

  • you are in isolation or quarantine
  • if would like a medical appointment with your family physician but would prefer not to come to the Vulcan Medical Clinic
  • To book a telephone appointment, please call the Vulcan Medical Clinic at 403-485-2216 and we would be happy to book a telephone appointment for you with your family physician.

Emergency

  • Generally there can be multiple support persons in the ED, however spacing at the site may limit this, (especially if both support persons are from different households).
  • Children, who are not patients, are allowed in the ED as long as they can wear a mask. 

Visiting in Acute Care:

  • Visiting is not currently restricted. For more information see the link below:

https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/topics/Page17001.aspx

Public Health Appointment

  • For Public Health Appointments call 403-485-2285.
  • For after hours booking of appointments, call 811.

Thank you for all the care and compassion you have expressed to our frontline workers.

It means a great deal to all of us!

Thank you all

from the Vulcan Community Health Centre Staff

and the Physicians and Staff at the Vulcan Medical Clinic

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Kidney Dialysis Unit

  • The approximate travel to the nearest service: 1 hour.

Cancer Treatment Services Available:

  • The approximate travel to the nearest service: 45 minutes to High River
  • 1 hour to the Jack Ady Cancer Centre-Lethbridge
  • 90 minutes to the Tom Baker Cancer Centre-Calgary

Obstetrics

  • The approximate travel time to the nearest hospital equipped to deliver babies is 45 minutes
  • We do labor assessments prior to transport and Fetal Monitoring for diagnostic purposes.

Surgical Services

  • Our doctors will refer to Lethbridge or Calgary depending on type of surgery,  patient preference and first available bed.
  • In an emergency situation, the site of surgery will be determined by a RAAPID consult.

Outpatients:

  • All patients that present to Emergency will be triaged by the CTAS scoring system and the on-call doctor will be notified.
  • During business hours for the medical clinic, the patient may be instructed to go there.
  • Nurisng Coverage of the emergency room is provided by nursing staff from the acute care / long-term care unit.

Medical Support for Emergency Room Physicians and Nurses

  • Emergency room personnel working the Vulcan Community Health Centre have access to two critical care resources – STARS (Shock Trauma Shock Trauma Rescue Society) Air Ambulance and RAAPID (Referral, Access, Advice, Placement, Information, Designation)

STARS

  • STARS is the specially trained team of doctor, nurse, and paramedics who dispatch helicopters or fixed wing aircraft to rural of Alberta areas to assist with critical patient transfers.

RAAPID

  • RAAPID is the central call line for southern Alberta to access specialists and tertiary care.
  • RAAPID will find an available bed in the city for critical transfers and will facilitate telephone consults with Calgary-based specialists. The doctor must call the number and give the information to the triage nurse. She will then find a bed in the appropriate facility and call you back with the transfer information.
  • Contact information for STARS and RAAPID can be found near the telephones in the trauma room, emergency room nurses station, and the main nursing station.

Alberta Health Services – Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

  • Emergency Medical Services is more than a transport service for patients – it is a critical clinical service. In an emergency situation, treatment begins as soon as the EMS team arrives and continues until the patient can be cared for in a medical facility
  • Alberta Health Services EMS coverage in the Vulcan area is described as Advanced Life Support Service with a paramedic on duty 24/
  • Advanced Life Support ambulances are able to respond to more complex medical situations with a staff of at least one paramedic with expanded training and scope of practice and more life saving equipment on board.

Mental Health

  • At this time, both our Mental Health Clinician and Social Work duties are handled by one individual who is onsite 4 days per week (Monday to Thursday 0830 to 1645).
  • This individual provides assessment and counselling for a wide variety of conditions and addictions.
  • As a registered social worker, this individual takes self referrals was well as referrals from other health care providers.
  • Counselling services include smoking cessation, grief support, alcohol and drug addictions, financial planning, and advanced care planning.

Psychiatrist

  • A psychiatrist is onsite on a monthly basis.
  • Appointments are booked through the medical clinic.
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Latest News

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The Vulcan and County Healthcare Workers Attraction and Retention Committee is an active organization of volunteers dedicated to “Keeping Rural Healthcare Close to Home”.

 

The A and R Commitee, in partnership with RhPAP, hosted a "Let's Go Rural" High School event in Nov 2023. For more information on this fun local event, go to the Recruitment Initatives page. 

 

 

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