The Canadian military and Edmonton Medicentres clinics signed a memorandum Friday making health care more accessible for military families.

The ‘Memorandum of Understanding,’ signed by Lt.-Col. John Reiffenstein, Base Commander Area Support Unit Edmonton, and Dan Stannard, vice-president of finance and operations for Edmonton Medicentres clinics, at the Belle Rive Medicentre seeks to provide a better quality of health care to dependants of those in the Canadian Forces.

Reiffenstein said it was time that the families of men and women in uniform received equally good health care as the military personnel.

"While we have strived to give our men and women in uniform access to the best medical care in the world, the same could not be said for our dependants," Reiffenstein said in a release.

"It was a gap we had an obligation to fill, and I am very pleased with the arrangements we have reached with Medicentres clinics."

Families will benefit from immediate access to physicians and specialists in Edmonton and will have a formal line of communication between military health-care services and clinic in Edmonton.

Cmdr. Robert Briggs, Area Surgeon Land Force Western Area, said that the dependants of those in the Canadian Forces will be guaranteed access to a physical or a specialist who will meet their immediate needs.

"Families will benefit from such services as pediatric care, podiatry, orthopedics, gynecology, pap clinics, prenatal care, cosmetic medicine, immigration medicals, psychotherapy, sports medicine and general surgery. Medicentres also offer laboratory and X-ray services," Briggs said.