Spreading the word: Rural healthcare isn’t just underserved. It’s structurally different.
That was our message during Alberta’s Rural Health Week, where Director Rebecca Brookham and Executive Director Neil MacLean delivered the inaugural keynote at the event hosted by John Sproule and the Institute of Health Economics.
We introduced Brightshores Research Institute, a new independent, not-for-profit organization with charitable status, purpose-built to reimagine rural health. Our focus: shift care upstream—out of hospitals and into communities—through bold, real-world innovation that addresses the persistent and systemic inequities facing rural communities across Canada.
Why does rural healthcare need a different lens? Because rural realities demand rural-first solutions. Here’s what we shared:
• Rural care needs rural models— not retrofitted urban ones
• Grey Bruce is our proving ground— a national microcosm for rural health challenges
• Upstream innovation works— when grounded in community and measured rigorously
• Partnerships are vital— public, private, and across sectors
• Local doesn’t mean small— tested ideas here can scale across Canada
We’re ready to collaborate with researchers, communities, clinicians, policymakers, and industry. Let’s create a future where geography doesn’t define health outcomes.