The Northern Regional Health Authority (NRHA) is the
governing body responsible for
healthcare
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...
delivery and regulation for the Northern Health Region (NHR)—specifically
northern Manitoba, excluding
Churchill.
The NRHA covers the largest geographical area of the 5
regional health authorities (RHAs) in Manitoba, spanning over , or nearly two-thirds of the province.
It was formed in 2012 by the merger of the former NOR-MAN and Burntwood Regional Health Authorities.
Within the region, there are 2 cities, 6 towns, 1
rural municipality, 1
local government district, and numerous
unorganized territories made up of
hamlets and cottage settlements; as well as 26
First Nations communities and 16 Northern Affairs communities.
The NRHA maintains offices in each of its three major centres:
Flin Flon,
The Pas, and
Thompson.
Communities
Accounting for just below 6% of the provincial population, the Northern Health Region has a population of 74,175 people. With an area of over , the region has a
population density of 0.18 persons per km²—compared to 2.19 persons per km² for the entire province of Manitoba.
The region has a young population with a
median age of 26 (compared to Manitoba at 37), and nearly one in three residents (30%) of the region are under the age of 15 (compared to 19% of Manitoba residents). Contrastly, 6.1% of Northern Region residents are age 65 and older (compared to 14.1% of Manitobans).
Within the region, there are:
* 2 cities (
Thompson and
Flin Flon)
* 6 towns (
The Pas,
Gillam,
Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...
,
Leaf Rapids,
Lynn Lake, and
Snow Lake)
* 1
rural municipality (
Kelsey)
* 1
local government district (
Mystery Lake)
* 26
First Nations communities
* 16 Northern Affairs communities
* Numerous
unorganized territories made up of
hamlets and cottage settlements (e.g.
Norway House)
Indigenous communities
The NRHA serves 26
First Nations communities, or '
reserves'.
According to
Manitoba Health's 2012 census, about 40% of the region's residents live on reserves while the remaining 60% live off-reserve.
However, residents frequently travel on and off reserve and access health services in both locations. In addition to issues of gaps in patient follow-ups and on-going
continuity of care, having more than one health-services provider—First Nation Inuit Health (FNIH) for on-reserve services and the Region for off-reserve services—can cause confusion among residents in terms of accessing care.
2019-20 NRHA Annual Report
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There are over a dozen additional First Nations communities that the NRHA serves; a challenge for the NRHA is that many of these First Nations communities do not have year-round all-weather road access, with many of these First Nations communities relying on rail, boat, and/or air service to travel. This limited access has significant implications on the health of the residents.
Per the 2006 Census, over two-thirds (67.4%) of residents self-identify as "Aboriginal
Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to:
*Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology
* Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area
*One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...
." Residents of the Northern Health Region account for 81% of Manitoba residents who report speaking an Aboriginal language; just below one-third of residents (31.9%) report speaking at least one Aboriginal language compared to only 6% of Manitobans overall.
Facilities
The NRHA maintains offices in each of its three major centres: Flin Flon, The Pas, and Thompson.
References
Notes
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External links
Government of Manitoba - Regional Health Authorities
Health regions of Manitoba