First of its kind virtual health hub coming to Whitecap Dakota First Nation

An indigenous-led virtual health hub will be built on Whitecap Dakota First Nation, about 20 km south of Saskatoon, the first of its kind in Canada.

The province calls the hub a Remote Presence Technology initiative, made possible with the help of the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine, and Dr. Ivar Mendez who was being called a pioneer of the project.

According to a news release from the province, once it’s built, the health hub will provide virtual health services for up to 30 remote communities.

“Robotic ultrasonography will be the initial line of service provided by specialists at the hub with plans to expand services as technology and training come online,” the statement read.

The virtual hub will allow for comprehensive assessment of a patient virtually, Dr. Mendez explained.

“A lot of these communities only have nursing stations, there’s no doctors,” he said. “ So we will be able to support those communities.”

For example, a young pregnant woman in need of her first ultrasound can have one with a robotic ultrasound arm using telecommunications technology guided by a technician in Saskatoon.

Bringing the diagnostic technology to patients would allow for services like prenatal ultrasounds to be done in their own community, surrounded by family, instead of traveling to the city Mendez explained.

Mendez said laboratory work that is typically done in a hospital, will also be possible using a special chip that goes into a handheld device in these communities. Other technologies include X-Rays run by artificial intelligence.

According to the province, the hub will have classes of 12 students at a time to learn about delivering the services using these advanced virtual care technologies, which will be done through the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies.

“Graduates will be able to set up these technologies in rural and remote communities across the province and assist patients with their appointments, while clinicians and technologists at the hub location perform the services remotely,” the province’s news release said.

Eventually, Mendez said it could move into home care where patients can have a device that will monitor vital signs and be connected to the virtual health hub.

The Government of Saskatchewan is putting $9.1 million in to cover one third of the facility’s construction budget, the rest will be funded by the federal government.

Premier Scott Moe said on Thursday the hub will provide greater access to health care for Saskatchewan residents regardless of location, noting it won’t be for just northern communities but also places like Gravelbourg.

“The opportunities are really quite endless when it comes to not only health care but education, engagement, and the training of people in delivering the health care that we want in our communities,” Moe said.

He said this expansion will work in coordination with the existing health-care system.

Whitecap Dakota First Nation Chief Darcy Bear says a new virtual health hub will change the way health care works in the province. May 23, 2024 (Mia Holowaychuk/650 CKOM)

Whitecap Dakota First Nation Chief Darcy Bear said the project has been a journey and that he was interested in the use of technology to make health care more effective when he when he met with Dr. Mendez in 2018.

“It’s going to change the way we do health care, and Saskatchewan is going to be that leader,” Bear said.