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CBC
5 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Report outlines ways to improve N.W.T.'s health-care system for Indigenous patients
A new report on health care in the N.W.T. lays out a number of ways to improve the system for Indigenous patients, by addressing systemic racism as well as underrepresentation in senior leadership positions, among other things. The report, titled "Honouring the Voices of Indigenous Peoples," was done by a team composed of advocates and health service representatives from across the territory and backed by the non-profit Healthcare Excellence Canada with federal funding. The original focus was on the Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife and the work being done by the Indigenous Wellness Program there, but it evolved to include insights from across the territory's health-care services. It's not the first analysis of longstanding issues in the territory's health-care system, so the report stresses the need to build off of existing work and implement its recommendations. The 99-page report outlines several actions for change and steps to achieve them. It's focused on patients, staff, program design, and institutional design and leadership. Preet Dhillon is the project manager for the report. Dhillon said its 13 recommended actions for a more culturally safe health-care system came from relationship-building and listening to community members' experiences. "It was their honesty and their vulnerability and the strength that they have, that lie at the heart of this work. And we hold the trust that they have in us with very deep respect," said Dhillon. "It's all of our hope that as residents engage with the report and read it, that they truly feel seen and heard and that their voices and experiences are valued and being used in a way to inform change that will ultimately support them in their future health care." The report says that both health staff and patients want to see more Indigenous leadership in the system. "Decisions that impact Indigenous peoples in the [Health and Social Services] system should never be made without Indigenous representation at the table," it reads. Indigenous representation in senior staffing in health care is slim. For 2022-2023, the territorial government identified two Indigenous senior management employees out of 29 in the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA). Within the Department of Health and Social Services, there were two out of 17. The report also highlights racism experienced first-hand by Indigenous people and makes recommendations to address the issue. It describes participants who encountered "outright racism" from health staff, and encounters ranging from stereotyping comments made toward patients to neglect of care. Participants have said they've been left feeling doubted or ignored by the health care system. "Some described instances of reporting symptoms of serious health issues, feeling that their concerns were not taken seriously at Health and Social Service facilities, and being advised to take Tylenol without receiving proper diagnosis," the report says. Recommendations for improvement The report lists 13 recommended actions for improvements. One is aimed at addressing individual and systematic racism within the system. It would involve health system leaders taking three separate cultural and anti-racism training programs and developing a system to monitor training outcomes. To increase Indigenous leadership and representation, the report recommends that NTHSSA look into creating a territorial Indigenous branch of the organization. It also suggests strengthening support for and expanding the elder-in-residence program at Stanton Territorial Hospital, including by hiring a female elder to be a part of the program. Fraser Lennie, the report team lead, said the report has been submitted to health officials, and that the work was done in time to be shared at the Hotıì ts'eeda annual gathering last week.
CBC
5 days ago
- General
- CBC
Anishnawbe Health Toronto celebrates grand opening of new Indigenous health centre
A Indigenous organization in Toronto is celebrating the grand opening of a new health care facility that brings together traditional Indigenous healing and Western medicine under one roof. The Indigenous Health Centre, located in the West Don Lands, will serve more than 90,000 Indigenous people, the majority of whom live below the poverty line, according to Michael Milward, interim executive director of Anishnawbe Health Toronto (AHT), an Indigenous community health care centre. Milward said the Indigenous health centre, the first of its kind in Ontario, provides a blended model of health care for the Indigenous community in Toronto. "What we do offer here are both Western health care practices as well as traditional health care practices," he said. Milward said the centre has traditional healers on staff that come to the centre to offer healing sessions, services and ceremonies for clients. "The main purpose of all of that is, we very much feel that helping our clients find themselves, find their identity, their traditions and culture is vital to their health and well-being," Milward said. The building features ceremonial spaces, a sweat lodge and healing gardens. Its programming includes Indigenous palliative care and services for 2SLGBTQ+ clients. Building was vision of former AHT executive director Milward said the building was the dream of former executive director Joe Hester, who was executive director from 1993 to 2025. Hester died on Jan. 31, 2025 at the age of 77. "This building was his vision. It's something that he worked on for 23 plus years," he said. In an expression of condolence for Hester, Toronto city council said on Feb. 11, 2025: "He dedicated his life to advocating for and supporting Indigenous communities by creating the foundation of urban Indigenous health in Toronto. "Through his work, he ensured Indigenous people in and around Toronto had proper access to both traditional and western medicine delivered in a culturally appropriate way." Milward said all service providers of AHT, who worked in several offices previously, are now able to work in one location, making it easier for them to collaborate on care plans for clients, ensuring that both spectrums of health care are included in the planning. AHT has been seeing clients in the space since it moved into the building a year ago. Leslie Saunders, manager of AHT's traditional palliative care program, said the centre merges traditional teams of healers, medicine people who run ceremonies and provide traditional teachings and health care from an Indigenous perspective, with a Western approach to health and wellness. "Together this creates amazing health outcomes for the urban Indigenous community," Saunders said. In palliative care, for example, the centre has a clinical partner, Mount Sinai Hospital, which provides medical and palliative care, while the traditional palliative care program uses Indigenous teachings and ceremonies to "decolonize death." That means preparing the client and their family for the journey back home to the spirit world, Saunders said. "In Indigenous tradition, there is no ending. There's a circle of life and people come from the spirit world and they go home to the spirit world," she said. The program provides support, guidance, teachings and direction for the client and family to engage in that process, she added. According to AHT, the centre is Toronto's only fully accredited Indigenous-led community health centre. "From a public health perspective, this is a powerful example of how culturally grounded care improves outcomes for underserved populations facing chronic illness, trauma, addiction, and systemic barriers," AHT said in a media release.
CBC
28-05-2025
- General
- CBC
$24M research project looks to improve care Indigenous people with dementia
When Elizabeth Edgar-Webkamigad's mother first showed signs of dementia, it was a long and difficult process to get a diagnosis. "It was right smack in the middle of COVID," said Edgar-Webkamigad, who lives in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Because her mom started to show signs of dementia in the middle of a global pandemic, it took time just to get an appointment with a family doctor. But to get a brain health assessment, Edgar-Webkamigad's mother had to be referred to a geriatrician. "It took almost a year to get that actually happening," she said. Even after her mother's diagnosis, her care didn't always recognize her culture and the trauma she experienced attending the Spanish Indian Residential School for Girls. A doctor told Edgar-Webkamigad her mom was lashing out when a personal support worker tried to bathe her. "I can tell you in most of my life, I saw my mom bathe maybe a handful of times," she said. That was because her mother had traumatic experiences in residential school, and later a tuberculosis hospital (although she was never diagnosed with the disease) while bathing. "For her, bathing time was not a sacred time," Edgar-Webkamigad said. "It was a time where violence was introduced. It was a time where body shaming happened. It was a time where abuse happened." Because of those experiences she had sponge baths for most of her life. Edgar-Webkamigad said the health care system should do better at recognizing Indigenous traditions and medicines. She mentioned that in her part of northeastern Ontario, for example, there's a plant-based medicine that has a calming effect and has been used for generations to help people with dementia. Creating care 'bundles' Now Edgar-Webkamigad is sharing her family's experiences with a $24-million research project that spans seven universities across Canada along with several Indigenous organizations, such as the Maamwesying North Shore Community Health Services and the Métis Nation of Alberta. The Indigenous Brain Health Assessment Bundle Project has received funding from the New Frontiers in Research Fund to create bundles, which are region-specific resources for health care providers to provide culturally appropriate care for people who are showing signs of dementia. Sharlene Webkamigad, Edgar-Webkamigad's niece, is a researcher at Laurentian University who is involved in the project. She's been meeting with people like her aunt to hear their stories and help find better ways for the health system to care for their loved ones. "I've been hearing about the importance of healthcare professionals having knowledge of those more culturally specific ways of approaching somebody who has dementia, including the care for them within long term care facilities," Webkamigad said. The research project will span six years.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
STATEMENT - CMA looks to health care solutions in throne speech
OTTAWA, ON, May 26, 2025 /CNW/ - The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) urges the new government to uphold its election promises to expand access to care, graduate more doctors, build clinics and support Indigenous-led health care as they table their agenda for the upcoming parliamentary session. The CMA is pleased that its recommendations to improve health care for all Canadians were committed to in the Liberal platform in the recent election. Canadians are facing enough economic and affordability pressures - they shouldn't also need to worry about access to health care. We agree with Prime Minister Carney that our strength lies in our resolve to work together as a country. Health care solutions cannot be implemented in silos, one level of government at a time. To improve our health care system in a way that truly meets Canadians' needs is through federal leadership and across-the-board collaboration. The CMA is ready to work with the new government to implement the solutions that will make our health care system a driving force of Canada's economic agenda. Dr. Joss ReimerPresident, CMA SOURCE Canadian Medical Association View original content: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CBC
06-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Indigenous march outside London hospital calling for better health care support
Local Indigenous groups held a march outside London Health Sciences Centre's University Hospital Tuesday, calling for better support and access for Indigenous people seeking health care.
