Rural Health Services is responsible for serving rural and remote communities effectively. A variety of health services are provided directly in communities as well as in hospitals, health centres, and medical clinics.
About Rural and Remote Areas
About one in four people living in the VIHA region live in a rural or remote community.
This rural population spreads across a geographic area of approximately 56,000 square kilometers, including Vancouver Island, the Gulf and Discovery Islands and part of the mainland opposite northern Vancouver Island.
The mix of geographies and people includes very isolated island communities as well as a mixture of industrial and tourist economies.
Types of Health Services
Services in rural and remote areas include:
- urgent / emergency room services
- inpatient beds
- outpatient ambulatory care
- rehabilitation
- primary health care
- chronic disease management
- home and community care
- public and environmental health
- mental health and addictions
- lab and diagnostics
- telehealth
We are currently developing a Rural Health Services Framework.