The Rural Obstetrical and Maternity Sustainability Program (ROAM–SP) funds maternity teams in rural British Columbia to strengthen their peer, facility and regional networks and enhance rural maternity care services. ROAM also helps rural communities to develop and roll out tailored plans that address the specific needs of their maternity care providers.
The ROAM activities were so impactful for our community. Without the support of ROAM, the maternity team wouldn’t have been able to flourish as a team.
ROAM Community Team Member
The need for ROAM–SP
Maternity services in small rural communities in British Columbia are being eroded or eliminated, forcing people who require routine or even urgent maternity care to travel to distant regional facilities. This increases risks, costs and inconvenience for patients and, at the same time, increases stress and even burnout for maternity providers in regional sites with extremely large caseloads.
Get started with ROAM
Bring ROAM to your community
Healthcare providers or administrators involved in the delivery of maternity services from one of the eligible communities listed below can take the lead in bringing ROAM to their community. Broad participation of the entire maternity team in the area is strongly recommended. This may include: Family physicians providing maternity services, midwives, obstetricians, nurses, nurse practitioners, health administrators/directors of maternity programs, and others.
- Interior Health
Cranbrook, Creston, Fernie, Golden, Invermere, Nelson, Penticton, Revelstoke, Salmon Arm, Trail, Williams Lake, Vernon - Northern Health
Dawson Creek, Hazelton, Kitimat, Prince Rupert, Haida Gwaii, Quesnel, Smithers, Terrace, Vanderhoof, Fort St John - Vancouver Coastal Health
Powell River, Sechelt, Squamish - Island Health
Campbell River, Comox, Duncan, Port Alberni, Port Hardy/Port McNeill, Salt Spring Island
Support provided by ROAM
- Funding and other support for initiatives identified by the maternity team in each community to strengthen relationships and enable the maternity team to provide high-quality maternity care in the community
Examples of activities conducted by ROAM teams
- Inter-professional case review meetings
- Care planning meetings for complex cases
- Inter-professional meetings to plan maternity pathways of care, changes in local services or other emerging priorities
- Meetings with nearby First Nation and/or other communities to discuss enhancing coordination of care
- Development of maternity team learning plans
- Peer coaching for individuals and/or maternity teams with coaches from within or outside the community
Provincial-level activities supported by ROAM
- Working with provincial partners to support mapping of corridors of maternity care
- Support for the expansion of rural-relevant real-time virtual obstetrics services
Connect with a ROAM team member
2023 Rural Maternity Summit: Focusing on People to Strengthen the Heartbeat of Care
In late 2023, approximately eighty health partners from across British Columbia convened for the Rural Maternity Summit. Participants gathered in a learning community to identify common interests, build on existing strengths, and foster new collaborative approaches for addressing pressing issues affecting the sustainability of rural maternity services and the rural health workforce.
Generous support from the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues, RCCbc and Perinatal Services BC made the summit possible.
Team Involved
Related Content
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RSON stabilizes, supports and enhances the delivery of quality healthcare to vulnerable rural populations in British Columbia, including Indigenous populations.
Point-of-Care Ultrasound
The POCUS initiative enhances the availability of point-of-care ultrasound in rural, remote and Indigenous communities across British Columbia.
