Community health clinic to open in Eckville November 1

Health care will be closer to home for Eckville residents as the community will once again have a medical clinic.

It’ll mark the first time a local medical clinic has operated in the community since the previous clinic closed down in 2012.

A joint announcement from Mayor Colleen Ebden and Montana First Nation Chief Ralph Cattleman says the community would see a physician take appointments at a leased space in the Eckville Community Health Centre.

“It’s a lifeline,” says Ebden. “We have new moms and seniors who maybe don’t drive and need to see (a doctor).”

Previously, Ebden says residents had to travel to other communities such as Rimbey, Sylvan Lake or Rocky Mountain House for appointments.

The First Nation’s lead physician, Dr. Tersia Lichtenstein will will start seeing patients at the Akamihk Health Care Services Clinic starting Friday Nov. 1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Ebden says Dr. Lichtenstein will only be seeing patients on Fridays, however, there may be potential for expansion in the future.

Since the last clinic closed in Sept. 2012, the town had been looking at options to reopen.

By 2013, officials say a space was leased at the Eckville Community Health Centre, however, finding a physician proved to be a daunting task.

Ebden says former mayor Helen Posti and CAO Jack Ramsden often travelled to Sylvan Lake and Rocky Mountain House to advocate for a physician to travel to Eckville to see patients, but to no avail for years.

Other more recent efforts included trying to get a nurse practitioner to be present in the community, says Ebden, which was also unsuccessful.

Fast forward to 2023, Ebden says town officials received a message from Cenovus Energy suggesting the town should contact the First Nation, as it had recently opened its own clinic and was looking to establish other medical clinics.

The town met with representatives from Montana First Nation in March of 2023 with a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two entities in Sept. 2023.

Ebden says a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony will be scheduled soon, with a date to be determined.

To book an appointment, residents can call the Akamihk Health Care Services Clinic at 403-754-4853.