YORKTON — Saskatchewan’s Minister of Health, Jeremy Cockrill, emphasized the importance of community engagement during a recent visit to Yorkton.
In the city, Cockrill toured the Yorkton Regional Health Centre and met with local leaders and healthcare workers.
“This is the important part of the job—getting out around the province and hearing directly from people in different communities,” said Cockrill in an interview with SaskToday.ca.
“You can read all the briefing notes you want and look at all the maps you want but nothing compares to being in the community. Talking directly to people on the front line. Talking to local leaders,” added Cockrill.
Cockrill, who was appointed Minister of Health in November 2024, acknowledged the community’s interest in the future replacement of the Yorkton Regional Health Centre, describing the project as being in the “scoping portion,” with efforts focused on understanding the community’s needs and existing services.
“Obviously I know there’s been a lot of interest around the future replacement of the Yorkton hospital project,” said Cockrill, adding, “that was important for myself and Minister Carr—to get through the hospital building and understand what services are there and what we might be looking to in the future.”
Cockrill also addressed staffing shortages, a challenge faced by many communities across the province. He highlighted recent recruitment efforts, including initiatives in the Philippines and local training programs at Suncrest College, which have helped fill over 50 positions in the Yorkton area.
“In the fall three new doctors came to Yorkton. We’ve got another doctor through the SIPPA (Saskatchewan International Physician Practice Assessment) program. We’ve got another doctor starting in Yorkton this summer in June or July, and then we actually have two family medicine residents that have accepted job offers to come to the Yorkton area and they’re going to be starting this fall.”
Cockrill praised the efforts of local organizations such as the Society for the Involvement of Good Neighbours (SIGN) and the Health Foundation of East Central Saskatchewan, led by Ross Fisher, for their role in addressing healthcare challenges and recruitment.
“It’s exciting to go to a community and see local people identifying problems but then also identifying solutions and then chasing after that,” said Cockrill.
“That makes it a lot easier for the provincial government to come alongside them and say, ‘We see what you’re doing. We see you’re working hard. We see that you’re coming up with homegrown solutions. We want to be a part of that,’” added Cockrill.
Cockrill expressed optimism about the progress being made but acknowledged that more work remains to be done to improve access to primary care and address staffing challenges.
“We’ve made some good progress—still got a little bit more work to do there,” said Cockrill.