Coming home: Elders return to Nunavut for care after years of living in the south

CBC

2 days ago

Three years ago, Eric Anoee Jr., along with his family, made the difficult decision to move his brother Bernard from Arviat, Nunavut to Embassy West, a seniors' living facility in Ottawa.
Bernard had just been diagnosed with dementia and there was no 24-hour care available to him in Nunavut. As Anoee Jr. describes it, they had no choice.
But after three years, Bernard is coming home.
He's one of a handful of Nunavut elders who are being transferred back to the territory to live in the new 24-hour elder care facility in Rankin Inlet which opened this month.
Last week, Anoee Jr. received a call that Bernard would be one of the elders sent to live in the new home.
"It's been a long time waiting," Anoee Jr. said. "Obviously Ottawa is very far away from home and we can't see him ... so we were very excited about Bernard coming home."
Although Rankin Inlet is still a short flight away, Anoee Jr. said there's a world of difference between Ottawa and Nunavut.
"When I visit the Embassy West, I can kind of feel that the Inuit residents feel out of place," he said. "They know that they're far away from home. Coming back to Nunavut is a going to be a really good thing for patients."
Elders coming back
In a statement in the Legislative Assembly this week, Health Minister John Main said the first few elders have already arrived at the new care home in Rankin Inlet, which has 24 beds.
He said three or four elders will arrive every week for the next few weeks.
"A state-of-the art facility, the first of its kind in Nunavut, awaits them with a culturally enriching, safe, and home-like environment," Main said.
He also said the health department has placed a "strong focus" on employing Inuit at the home.
"We know that the elders who will live there want to hear Inuktitut being spoken. They want Inuit values and culture reflected in the activities, and in the food they are served," Main said.
Anoee Jr. remembers when he and his other brother were tasked with moving Bernard out of Arviat.
"It was a pretty long, emotional journey having to move him to southern Canada," he said.
Despite not having full-time care available in Arviat, Anoee Jr. said the whole community helped to support Bernard.
"I found out that the support system is there even though it's not a whole lot. The health department really helped us there, and the family and community. If he was wandering away from town our friend would tell us to pick him up."
It was also the first time Anoee Jr. had experienced caring for someone with dementia.
"It's very hard to have a loved one suffering from dementia," he said.