It was a moment Lesleigh Campbell will never forget.
Standing in her kitchen struggling to feed her premature twin boys, Campbell was completely exhausted and feeling overwhelmed when in walked Sue Guebert, an early childhood intervention (ECI) coordinator, who reassured her everything was going to be ok.
鈥淥n her very first visit to my house she walked in and I had two crying babies,鈥� recalled Campbell, who gave birth nine weeks early by emergency cesarean section on March 10, 2008.
鈥淚 was trying to feed one of the babies and the other one was crying and I just looked at her and asked if she could feed the other baby and she said 鈥榓bsolutely.鈥欌��
Based out of Hinton, Guebert鈥檚 visit was the first of 13 monthly appointments Guebert made to the Campbell鈥檚 home to help the family care for their premature boys.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what I would have done without her,鈥� said Campbell. 鈥淪he taught me so much I didn鈥檛 know and helped me and reassured me, especially when I was sleep deprived and overwhelmed.鈥�
The Campbell family was one of dozens of families Guebert helped in Hinton and Jasper over the years, until July 1, 2015 when she went on medical leave.
The position was never filled.
Since then, families with vulnerable children, including children with genetic conditions such as Tuberous Sclerosis or Down Syndrome, have more or less been left to their own devices, a situation many in the community are concerned about.
鈥淚鈥檓 very concerned,鈥� said Guebert, who worked with 18 to 28 families at any given time in Hinton and Jasper when she was the ECI coordinator.
鈥淭here are so many families in town that need services that aren鈥檛 getting them.鈥�
According to Guebert, the position has not been filled since July 2015 relegating cases to the Edson Community Health Services office where a part-time staff member has been maintaining a full caseload in Edson with more than 25 families.
The maximum caseload for an ECI coordinator is 25 families.
鈥淭he need for early intervention is very well documented,鈥� said Guebert.
鈥淲hen you have child with a challenge of any kind and if you鈥檝e never dealt with that before you don鈥檛 know how to manage that child and as far as early intervention goes we try to support the family and teach them the right way to encourage their child to develop to the best of its ability.
鈥淚f you don鈥檛 have that you end up with problems down the road in the school system and even just basic life skills.鈥�
Alberta Health Services (AHS) confirmed the position hasn鈥檛 been filled, but denied the ECI coordinator was moved to Edson.
鈥淎HS has not removed the early childhood development program from Hinton to Edson. A staff member is currently on leave,鈥� wrote Kerry Williamson, communications director for the AHS north zone
He said there is still one full-time early childhood position in Hinton providing local services and staff in Edson are assisting by picking up extra shifts as needed.
鈥淲e are confident that parents and children in the Hinton area continue to receive timely early childhood development service,鈥� wrote Williamson.
鈥淲e know that early childhood development is important鈥揺vidence clearly shows that addressing developmental delays by providing targeted programs for children aged 0鈥�5 results in greater success for those children as they move into their school years and beyond, as well as alleviating pressures on the health and social systems.鈥�
According to Lisa Daniel, childcare service manager for Wildflower Childcare in Jasper, she has referred five children to the Edson Community Health Services office since July 2015, but the coordinator has only been able to see two of those children often using her own time on weekends to make the trip to Jasper.
In response council agreed to write a letter to the minister of health expressing its concerns. The mayor from Hinton also wrote a letter on Nov. 30, asking the minister to reinstate the position.
For Campbell, the thought that there are other mothers out there like her who are currently struggling to raise their children is deeply concerning.
鈥淚 feel like it鈥檚 a shame that we鈥檝e lost that service,鈥� said Campbell, whose boys are turning nine in March.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if they would be where they are today if we didn鈥檛 have Sue. This was an invaluable service to me.鈥�
Paul Clarke
[email protected]
