For those of you who don’t know Manitoba’s demographics and geography, there are just over a million people in our fine province, two thirds of whom reside in Winnipeg, our capital. There are a number of northern communities accessible only by means other than roads (air, rail, winter roads).

Understandably many services, including those for advanced medical treatment, are located in Winnipeg, and people from rural Manitoba are required to travel to Winnipeg for treatment and often required to spend significant time here. This can be stressful, disruptive and expensive for many people and really the last thing you need to worry about when you are seriously ill.

A group here in Manitoba is trying to solve that. They are hoping to establish a residence, A Port in the Storm, in Winnipeg that will offer affordable, comfortable accommodation for rural patients required to stay in Winnipeg. Some of these stays can be significant, such as 80-100 days for those undergoing a stem-cell transplant.

Even more remarkable, two of the founders of this project are former nurses of mine from CancerCare.

I think this is a great idea and will be very important here in Manitoba, so I thought I would share. I hope I can find a way to get involved and use my talents. I’ll keep you up to date on how it goes.