Île-à-la-Crosse is one of Saskatchewan’s oldest northern communities, located along the shores of Lac Île-à-la-Crosse in the province’s northwest. With deep Métis and Indigenous roots, it serves as a regional hub for education, healthcare, and services, while offering access to fishing, boating, and the surrounding boreal wilderness.
Community Profile
A Strong Sense of Community
Pemmican Lodge, Île-à-la-Crosse
Welcome to Île-à-la-Crosse (IleX), a Métis and Woodland Cree Village in the Saskatchewan north that is home to approximately 1,400 people. IleX is the second oldest community in Saskatchewan and has a rich history of being connected to the Churchill, Beaver, and Canoe River systems. Because of this connection, the community was a strategic location and an important supply depot for the fur trade route in the late 18th century.
Today, IleX has commercial fishing, forestry, wild rice harvesting, and natural resource industries. Educational institutions include an elementary and high school that also provides adult educational programming. Overall, Île-à-la-Crosse provides a strong sense of community where you will build connections that will last a lifetime.
Health Care Services
The community offers strong health-care services that support both the local community and the wider northwest Saskatchewan region. St. Joseph’s Hospital and Health Centre provides acute and emergency care, primary health and long-term care, along with essential clinical and laboratory services. Complementing this care, the community’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) delivers critical response across a vast geographic area, ensuring timely, professional support people in surrounding communities.
Local Physician’s Perspective
Wild rice harvesting, Pemmican Lodge, Île-à-la-Crosse
“The community of IleX itself is very close and supportive, as is the medical team here. As we are a relatively small team, we (MDs, nurses, EMS, lab techs, clinic staff, etc) work closely together to provide excellent patient care. It is a challenging environment: remote, but not completely isolated, and never without support. As we don’t have all the tools and specialties that a healthcare practitioner would have access to in the south, we practice a broader scope of medicine and really have to use our clinical skills. We have a very close-knit team and work exceptionally well together.
IleX is the most warm, welcoming community I’ve ever lived in. There are all kinds of community events and activities to become involved in. Situated on the Churchill River system, there is no end of water activities in the summer including hiking, boating and fishing. It becomes a winter wonderland once the ice freezes, ideal for those who love skating, skiing, sledding, ice fishing or hunting.
The physicians here enjoy:
- A broad scope of practice, including clinic (providing primary care services to outposts by road and by air), hospitalist, emergency department, long-term care, home visits, and palliative care. Every day is different here!
- The challenge of working in a remote emergency department, stabilizing and preparing patients for transport (usually by air, to a tertiary care centre); as well as managing emergencies in the outpost clinics (via phone, with EMS ground transfer to IleX hospital if needed).
- The opportunity to teach, as we host students in all stages of the training, from medical school through residency.
- Excellent remuneration, and if community based, a salaried position through Northern Medical Services / University of Saskatchewan with paid vacation, education leave, medical/dental plan, life insurance, pension, subsidized housing, etc.
- The opportunity to practice “old school” medicine, develop close ties with patients, families and community, and practice patient-centered, cradle-to-grave care.”
–Dr. Sierra de Ciutiis
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Community Resources
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“We have a relatively small employee pool but everyone from environmental, nutritional services to nurses and doctors all work towards the common goal of exceptional patient care.”
"The challenges and experiences that St Joseph’s has to offer was one of the reasons for my family deciding to return and settle into our careers here. We are not limited to a specific role within the hospital setting as we may work our acute care but are additionally covering the emergency department not knowing the multitude of potential patients we may see over the course of the day.
From a team perspective, we have a relatively small employee pool but everyone from environmental, nutritional services to nurses and doctors all work towards the common goal of exceptional patient care."
Robert Dubrule
Registered Nurse and Intermediate Care Paramedic
Saskatchewan Health Authority
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Saskatchewan is known as the “Land of Living Skies” and is a great place for healthcare practitioners to practice due to the quality of life and professional satisfaction that this province offers.
Its vast space has remained how nature intended it to be, providing a variety of unique experiences for physicians, allied health & nursing professionals and their families while boasting a high quality of life. Saskatchewan provides everyone with an opportunity to choose their own adventure.