Each week, the Indigenous Health department highlights good news stories from the North and from across the country.
Aunties Within Reach: New health care program helps Indigenous families in Wood Buffalo
Aunties Within Reach is a joint project between the Ihkapaskwa Indigenous Wellness Collective and the University of Alberta. This new program launched in March 2022 helps Indigenous families’ access culturally appropriate health care and support.
The program consists of an Aunties Within Reach crisis line or an immediate response line where people call for help to navigate the health care system, get referrals, or have an Auntie go to them to support families. This program is open to any Indigenous person in the region and the aunties travel to all communities in Wood Buffalo.
"It's been widely known that there's a gap in services within the region," said Maddie Amyotte, one of the three workers in the program. The goal of the program is to provide wrap-around services that address some of the determinants of health.
Learn more about the Aunties Within Reach program from CBC Edmonton.
Drop-in webinars for phase four of FNHA Regional Health Survey
All community members, leaders, and health directors are welcome to join a series of upcoming webinars regarding the First Nations Regional Health Survey . The webinars will provide a background on the survey which assists in capturing the health and wellness of First Nations Peoples within First Nations communities across Canada. This survey is important for capturing health information that can inform meaningful change. There is no need to register.
See the full webinar schedule and learn more on the FNHA website.
New Indigenous wellness consultant earns national award
Nicole Yawney is an Indigenous youth wellness consultant at Toronto Sick Children’s Hospital. In her role, she helps to address barriers in the health system for Indigenous youth and their families. She is now being recognized for her work and she has won the Canadian Impact Award at the Children’s Hospitals Week Conference in Orlando, Florida.
Although Yawney has only been in her role for 10 months, she is breaking down the barriers to Traditional Healing for youth. She does this by providing access to Elders and consultants on site and provides access to ceremony and the four sacred medicines: sage, cedar, tobacco, and sweetgrass.
Yawney has been able to bring lived experience to her position, having been raised as a member of the Fishing Lake First Nation in the Treaty Four territory of Saskatchewan. "It's been exciting, and it's been so fun," Yawney said of receiving the award. "I think it speaks to the program and how much it makes a difference in kids' lives. It's really special to me," she said of her work, "and speaks to my heart and to the community."
Read the full story and learn more about Nicole Yawney from CBC Indigenous.
FNHA’s compliment and complaints process aims to improve health care one story at a time
FNHA’s Quality Care and Safety Office (QCSO) acts as the first line of contact for Indigenous people who live in BC to share their experiences with health and wellness programs and services.
The QCSO helps First Nations people and families to provide support and a culturally safe avenue to give feedback on their experiences within the health system. The services provided by the program include:
- FNHA delivered services (such as nursing stations and Virtual Doctor of the Day)
- Services run by BC health authorities (such as hospitals)
- Services funded by the FNHA
Learn more about the program and watch the short video on FNHA’s website.