Rural healthcare matters to every farm family

Access to health care is a concern for people across Ontario, regardless of where they live. Even in large urban centres, many residents struggle to find family doctors, wait for hours in emergency rooms or face long delays for specialized care and testing.

But while access challenges exist everywhere, hospitals, clinics and specialists are usually not far away in urban areas. In rural Ontario, however, the situation is often very different — and when services are reduced or unavailable, patients may be forced to travel hours to access care they need.

For farm families, the issue is especially personal. That’s because agriculture is one of the most physically demanding and dangerous professions in Ontario. Farmers work with large machinery, livestock, chemicals, heights and unpredictable conditions every day, and when accidents happen on farms, quick access to emergency care can make all the difference.

That is why it is deeply concerning to see rural hospitals across Ontario continue to face temporary — and in some cases permanent — emergency room closures because of staffing shortages and limited resources.

My family and I farm near Mitchell in southwestern Ontario, and when you live in a rural area, a closed ER does not just mean inconvenience. It can mean driving an extra hour or more in an emergency or delayed care during a heart attack, serious injury or farm accident. And for aging rural populations, it creates even more uncertainty and stress.

Rural communities also continue to struggle with shortages of family doctors and primary care providers. That affects everyone, including farm families trying to bring the next generation home to the farm. Young families considering building a life in rural Ontario want to know there will be access to doctors, emergency care and health services for their children.