Report sheds light on health needs of fast-growing Beaumont, Alta.
Beaumont, Alta., just south of Edmonton, is taking a closer look at how to accommodate its booming population amid growing health demands.
Beaumont has been the fastest-growing municipality in the Edmonton metropolitan region, with the latest municipal census data showing a population of over 21,000 as of 2022.
Its population grew by nearly 20 per cent between 2016 and 2021, making Beaumont the third-fastest growing municipality in Alberta.
That growth sparked the city to pursue a health needs assessment to better understand what its residents are most concerned about when it comes to getting their health needs met.
“This assessment highlighted that the front-line health-care staff in Beaumont, across the spectrum, have been serving the community here really well, despite the growth that we’ve been seeing,” city project manager Kassandra Squires said in an interview.
Released in February, the report was created by the City of Beaumont and independent third-party service firm MNP in collaboration with Alberta Health Services.
Research included reviewing health-care data from AHS, cataloguing health care services within 15 kilometres of Beaumont, surveying 940 residents and conducting a series of interviews with community groups and health-care providers.
AHS data found Beaumont residents have significantly more access to family doctors than the average Albertan.
Ninety per cent of residents have a family doctor, compared to 82 per cent of Albertans, the report says.
The survey found that a significant issue was that local physicians and clinics don’t have the capacity for new patients.
Residents also cannot access after-hours service within the community. As a result, they visit emergency rooms at hospitals in Edmonton and Leduc for non-emergency care.
“In the community, only one of our clinics offer walk-ins and there’s no regular after-hours care in the communities. So that’s something we’re hoping to improve,” Squires said.
AHS administrative data shows that some clinics are open as late as 8 p.m. on some weekdays, but none are open on weekends, and none provide regular after-hours care to their patients.
Additionally, data indicates the majority of family doctors in Beaumont practise part-time.
READ: Here’s what concerns Beaumont residents when it comes to health care:
Seeking care elsewhere
Family doctors practising in Beaumont saw a total of 64,642 visits from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023.
Local residents accounted for 32,701 visits while 27,436 were attributed to Edmontonians.
The report notes that the large volume of visits from non-Beaumont residents may contribute to the lower availability and capacity of family doctors practising in the community.
Moreover, many Beaumont residents travel to Edmonton for primary care services. Beaumont is part of the Edmonton Zone of AHS.
Beaumont Physiotherapy and Impact Physio was among the stakeholders consulted during the report’s creation.
Navdeep Kaur, one of the clinic co-owners and a physiotherapist, said there has been an increase in demand for their services.
While the clinic has not reached a point where it needs to turn away clients, Kaur said she would like to see increased targeted support for seniors.
She said increasing awareness about specialized care is key as well.
“We have been seeing different types of injuries, knee injuries, mostly back injuries, neck arthritis, with the geriatric population,” Kaur said.
“I have also seen the need more for vestibular and concussion … treatments and assessment because that wasn’t available in all the clinics and our clinic is multi-specialty clinic.”
Other key findings from the report include:
- The leading health issues for Beaumont residents are high blood pressure, ischemic heart disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
- A lack of local transportation options is a barrier for some residents accessing health services.
- Gaps in social supports for seniors, people with disabilities and their caregivers and 2SLGBTQIA+ children and youth.
- A need for more awareness among health-care providers of services available in the community.
An action plan will be presented to city council on April 9 to look at implementing possible recommendations.
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