Born with a hole in his back, a Jasper man is taking his adversity and using his knowledge to improve the province’s health care system.

Andrew Hendricks is representing Jasper in the Region 6 Health Advisory Council which has been advising Alberta Health Services on how to provide health care for area since January ’09. The Region 6 area includes Jasper but also stretches east to include Hinton and Edson, but for Jasper, Hendricks is one of the two voices talking to AHS about Jasper health issues.

Hendricks, 21, has spina bifida. Born with a undeveloped spine, he has spent his entire lifetime in a wheel chair. 

“It affects my whole life,” said Hendricks, who has lived in Jasper for 13 years. “There was basically a hole in my back when I was born. The nerves just weren’t there.”

He sees a local doctor at least once or twice a month in Jasper and a specialist, often in Edmonton, once a month again usually, depending on the circumstances of his condition. He has had more than 20 surgeries in his life.

While visits to medical facilities are common burden for Hendricks, they have given him an insiders view of how the health system works in Alberta.

“I’m in a unique position to serve as a representative for Jasper,” said Hendricks.

Hendricks is also taking his seat on the board at a unique time in the province. After the bountiful oil boom years, consolidation seems to be a distinct trend in Albertan health services right now. In a major change, the regional health boards were taken over by Alberta Health Services in 2008 and on a more minute level, the province is standardizing hospital menus and centralizing ambulance dispatch services. While the province increased funds for health services, budget cuts loom. Should energy revenues not match provincial forecasts, than health services in Alberta could take a hit.

“Consolidation is a reality. There are some money saving attempts happening around the province right now even and that’s good,” said Hendricks. “My concern right now has more to do with making sure that we don’t lose a lot of the stuff that we have.”

“I’m pulling for getting as much as possible into health services. Financial realities have to be recognized, but if there’s money to spare, I want it in health services. I’m probably biased.”

Hendricks said he had a number of priorities which he would be pushing for on the regional board. 

He wants to explore the idea of re-introducing child births at the Seton General Hospital. He said that while the drive to Hinton for a birth is fine for most Jasperites, there are emergency circumstances that could arise where the drive is not possible.

“It’s definitely a concern. We used to have more home births in this province, but that’s harder to do now,” said Hendricks.

He also mentioned that using more video teleconferencing equipment is something he’d like to explore. Some of the doctors he sees are able to examine him now without physically touching him, using only sight. While he’s never used video teleconferencing before, he believes that it’s possible for him and for other people in Jasper. In a town where people with serious conditions like spina bifida have to drive four hours to Edmonton, often on dangerous, slippery roads, devices that can cut that distance could be very important.

“It’s really good technology and the more they can develop that and make it as comfortable as possible, the better,” Hendricks said.