Saskatoon’s Primary Health Bus was a retrofitted 1993 RV until community volunteers and health officials built and unveiled a brand new one – thanks to a matching gift from PotashCorp.

“This new Health Bus wouldn’t have been possible without PotashCorp’s support, no question about it,” said Troy Davies, Director of Public Affairs for Saskatoon’s MD Ambulance and volunteer with the Synergy 8 Community Builders, the group behind the new health bus initiative. “As soon as PotashCorp committed to match the $180,000 we needed from the community, we knew we had a shot at making this thing a reality.”

“It could have taken us two or three years to raise that amount. PotashCorp helped make it happen in six months. It’s just phenomenal.”

Davies and others started working on the idea of a Primary Health Bus in 2008 after returning from a conference in the United Kingdom where a similar program was showing signs of success. The concept was simple: create a mobile “clinic on wheels” to reach out to some of Saskatoon’s underserved populations and connect them to care.

Discussions with the Saskatoon Health Region and seed funding from Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Health gave the group the go-ahead to retrofit an RV and launch a pilot program.

The bus was visited by 900 people in its first six months.

While the program gained steam, the bus itself simply ran out of gas. Plagued with mechanical difficulties and ongoing repairs, many thought the bus could not survive another winter, threatening the delivery of the program and putting renewed pressure on area hospitals.

“The trickle-down effect of this bus going down would have been significant. It would have meant another 3,500 people going back to local emergency rooms for basic services,” explained Davies who, as a paramedic, has seen the negative effects of ER overcrowding for both patients and healthcare providers.

“The Health Bus helps take the pressure off of our emergency rooms and ambulatory services so that everyone can focus on treating the critically ill and injured,” said Davies. “At the same time, it gives us the means to take basic treatment and service directly to patients in the comfort of their own neighbourhoods.”

It’s this local connection and community impact that prompted PotashCorp to get involved.

“We care about quality of life in our home communities,” explained Wayne Brownlee, the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at PotashCorp. “When we learned about the success and benefits of the Primary Health Bus program, and its grassroots connection to children and families, we wanted to get involved and help build momentum behind the campaign.”

Saskatoon’s new Health Bus houses washroom facilities, basic diagnostic technology and equipment, and medical supplies. It will be staffed by a paramedic and nurse practitioner.

Jodi Spence, 32, is grateful for the services of the new bus. A daycare worker and mother of four children, Spence visited the inaugural one for medical advice and assistance to address the health needs of her young family.

“I really trust the staff on the Health Bus,” said Spence at the event marking its unveiling. “They are always calm, friendly, they don’t rush you like some clinics and are very thorough when dealing with a young child.”

In 2009-2010, 5,936 people visited the Primary Health Bus – over 1,000 of whom were children. Repeat clients accounted for 43 percent of these visits.