Prince Albert Carlton MLA Kevin Kasun, Prince Albert Northcote MLA Alana Ross and city councillor Dawn Kilmer pose outside of a new Community Wellness Bus for Prince Albert March 21, 2025. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

By paNOW Staff

Mobile health care

Community Wellness Bus designed to ‘meet people where they live’ with access to health care

Mar 21, 2025 | 11:24 AM

Residents in Prince Albert will soon have another avenue to get the care they need in the community.

The Government of Saskatchewan unveiled a new mobile Community Wellness Bus that will provide basic primary health care and mental health and addictions services.

“Health care teams on the bus will create a partnership with the community and establish trust by offering non-judgmental, flexible, and trauma-informed care while also connecting people to further supports as needed,” said Alana Ross, MLA for Prince Albert Northcote.

An exam room in the Wellness Bus which is expected to be fully operational within a month in Prince Albert. (Submitted photo/Gov’t of Sask)

(Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff

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The bus will be staffed by a nurse practitioner or registered nurse, a licensed practical nurse and a social worker or addictions councillor. Services offered may include:

• basic health assessments (physicals);
• chronic disease monitoring;
• vaccinations;
• take home naloxone (THN) kits and training;
• sexually transmitted and blood borne infection (STBBI) point of care testing;
• opioid agonist therapy/withdrawal management;
• reproductive health services/supplies;
• mental health and addiction assessments and counselling/referrals;
• wound care, stitches, routine health care;
• referral to housing, social services;
• referral to addictions and mental health treatment and services;
• connection to culturally relevant Indigenous services (traditional medicine, connection to spiritual services and Elders); and
• other primary health care services.

Andrew McLetchie, the Vice President of Integrated Northern Health and the Chief Nursing Officer for the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) said to start, the bus will be in a key location in the city near the downtown bus depot that allows easy access for at-risk populations.

“It is designed to meet people where they live and allow us to expand our capacity to deliver care closer to home by reducing barriers for people who have experienced challenges accessing timely services in traditional ways,” said McLetchie.

McLetchie responds to questons from the media. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

Project Manager Thomas Laughton said the ultimate goal is to divert the number of people to hospital and help reduce the severity of cases by rebuilding trust and the relationship with the SHA and the people who are struggling.

“One of the main things we are really hoping to do is being able to see vulnerable populations before they get so sick that they have to be admitted to the hospital because they are so reluctant to go to emergency, especially if you’re one of the downtown core people – getting all the way to Victoria Hospital is a bit of a journey and then they’ve had some negative experiences so they tend to not want to go until its so bad that they end up having to be hospitalized. The cost is absolutely through the roof when you start talking about those, especially with someone being in ICU,” Laughton explained.

Wellness Bus project Manager Thomas Laughton gave local MLAs Alana Ross and Kevin Kasun a tour Friday morning. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW)

There are similar wellness buses running in Regina and Saskatoon. The Prince Albert bus has been stopping at various locations this week to offer the public a chance to see what will be offered. McLetchie said it is expected to be fully operational within a month. And, while it will be located in the downtown to start, other locations will be considered in the future. Residents can call 306-940-9943 for locations and hours of operation.

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panews@pattisonmedia.com