Officials with Prairie Mountain Health are looking for ways to improve health care delivery.

More efficient ways can be hard to find but it is something CEO Penny Gilson says staff always work to find when it comes to how health care is delivered in Western Manitoba.

"No I wouldn't say I was satisfied with how things are going because we have ongoing sustainability challenges so I think we have to be creative and innovative in how we provide services."

Gilson focused on the EMS service as one area under consideration. "We are moving to more 24-7 type of stations in some of rural communities. We hope it results in more sustainable and reliable service in those areas" said Gilson.

She added they have moved in that direction in Melita and have filled some of the shifts but not all of them.

"We are looking at some of our EMS staff moving into para-medicine models."

Gilson says they can't hold onto the past for the sake of keeping things the same. She points out they need to make changes to be more efficient while offering improved health care services.

The communities also have a role to play in future change. "We've had good luck in dealing with communities. Sustainability can be a challenge and when we can't offer the same service communities have been good at coming to the table to find the best solutions for their residents" said Gilson.