When Dr. Jade Young walked into her new clinic for the first time as owner and physician, the moment represented more than the start of a business. It was a return to the place that raised her — and the beginning of a medical model she hopes will reshape rural care in the northern Interlake for years to come.
Young was born in Dauphin in 1993 and raised in Eriksdale, later moving to Lundar Collegiate for Grade 9 through 12 before graduating in 2011. Like many rural students, she left home to pursue higher education, completing a bachelor of science at the University of Manitoba and later earning her MD at the Max Rady College of Medicine in 2019. She finished her residency through the Northern and Remote Family Medicine Program in 2021 — training built around the realities of practising where resources are thin but needs are great.
Her path since then has been anything but conventional. Instead of remaining in an urban centre, Young chose to work in remote First Nations communities through Ongomizwiwin Health Services (OHS), beginning immediately after graduation.
Since 2021 she has provided clinical care in Garden Hill and Red Sucker Lake, and recently added Cross Lake and Wassagamak to her rotation. She spends one week and one weekend per month in the north, also providing remote call coverage and serving as chief of staff for the Island Lakes communities — a leadership role requiring frequent off-site meetings and ongoing coordination with local health teams.
At the same time, Young returned to the Interlake to practise in Eriksdale. Between 2021 and 2025 she worked across settings — clinic, hospital, emergency room, personal care homes and at Lake Manitoba First Nation. She describes those years as formative, demanding and deeply rewarding.
“I was fortunate to work with an amazing administrative team, skilled allied health and a supportive group of providers in Eriksdale,” she said. “I loved many aspects of my job and learned to manage a lot during that time.”
But as she settled into motherhood and gained experience in system navigation, she began to see gaps that felt increasingly difficult to ignore. Young emphasizes that her decision to leave the regional structure was not about a lack of commitment — but about being unable to deliver care in the way she believed would actually move outcomes.
“Over the years it became apparent that the priorities and goals I had for improving health outcomes in my communities were not aligned with regional leadership,” she explained. “Reconciling the love for my job and my commitment to community with the inability to make that job either sustainable or authentic became impossible.”
Young submitted her resignation to the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority in November 2024. The choice, she said, was painful — but necessary.
At the same time, an opportunity emerged. The RM of Coldwell and Sigfusson Northern approached her with the idea of building something new — a private clinic created from the ground up to reflect community needs rather than system limitations.
“I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to open Prairie Sky Health & Wellness,” she said. “It allows me to honour the commitments I’ve made to my communities while participating more fully in my family life and being true to myself.”
Prairie Sky Health & Wellness officially opened Oct. 20, 2025. It offers primary care in Lundar and at Lake Manitoba First Nation, where Young provides two to three clinic days per month. The building in use today is Phase 1 of a longer development plan made possible through infrastructure partnerships with Sigfusson Northern.
Inside the clinic are exam rooms, therapy spaces, administrative offices and room for growth. Mental health services are already offered on-site through Newleaf Therapy with therapist Amber Dregger, and massage therapy is scheduled to begin in March 2026.
Young is clear that the clinic was designed to evolve. Capacity exists — and is actively open — for additional family physicians, nurse practitioners, physiotherapists, foot care nurses and other allied health providers, with flexible participation models to attract diverse practitioners.
Students from the Masters of Physician Assistant Studies Program and Northern Remote Family Medicine Program also train at the clinic — something Young says is strategic.
“Hosting learners is an important part of recruiting medical professionals to rural and remote Manitoba,” she said. “It is also of benefit to youth in our communities to connect with these learners. We look forward to working with Lundar Collegiate on a longitudinal wellness program.”
As staffing grows, Phase 2 will include furnished housing for visiting professionals — addressing a barrier familiar across rural Manitoba. Young also plans to begin biannual wellness days, community outreach events and ongoing mentorship for local students considering health careers.
Young identifies proudly as Métis, emphasizing that the way she experiences medicine — from patient relationships to systemic navigation — cannot be separated from identity.
“My perceptions and experiences along this journey were often influenced by my Métis identity,” she said. “As an Indigenous person navigating medicine and now a woman in a position of privilege, I have not often felt like I belonged. More commonly I have felt I needed to make a place for myself — not just for me but for others who have yet to come.”
Prairie Sky Health & Wellness, she hopes, can be that place.
She does not have formal training in Indigenous healing practices but values community-held knowledge and welcomes respectful learning.
“I believe in its value, and I am always thankful to patients and community members who share their knowledge with me,” she said.
Looking ahead, Young sees the future of rural medicine rooted not in physician recruitment alone but in multidisciplinary teams — a model expected to grow under Canada’s upcoming funding changes recognizing “physician equivalent” services such as nurse practitioners.
“Broadening the disciplines of providers broadens the pool of people to recruit from,” she said. “When built thoughtfully, multidisciplinary teams utilize physician expertise more effectively and allow the team to reach more patients. I believe this model is the model to strive for.”
Her goal is a clinic environment where professionals feel supported, community-connected and able to practise sustainably.
“There is more work here than I could ever hope to attend to on my own,” she said. “I look forward to sharing this work — and my communities — with new team members.”
The response so far has encouraged her. Community members have stopped in, sent gifts and offered thanks. Others simply say “Welcome home.”
And for Young, coming home — and building something built from home — is exactly the point.
