The Western Zone continues to work with partners in the community to strengthen supports and services for Indigenous patients across all healthcare facilities, so that everyone can be taken care of in a way that honours their path of health and well-being as Indigenous people, an important advancement of reconciliation. Two of current initiatives include the Journey of Collaboration and an Indigenous Patient Navigator position.
Journey of Collaboration
In 2018, the Journey of Collaboration was created in partnership with Qalipu First Nation, members of the Mi’kmaw community, Grenfell Campus and the Western Regional School of Nursing.
The Journey of Collaboration Project was established to give voice to the Mi’kmaw community of Western NL to create a framework and action plan to co-design health and wellness strategies, services and programs, to address calls to action outlined in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. This builds upon Western Health’s Person and Family Centered Care (PFCC) strategy and L’nu priorities.
The Journey of Collaboration framework lays the foundation for a health care system that follows a two-eyed seeing approach which benefits all people. This approach promotes using one eye to view health through a western lens, and the other eye to view health through an Indigenous lens. It has three core principles: share, include and collaborate, which the Mi’kmaw community consider essential.
Progress will be made on this journey through weaving together the principles of inclusion, sharing, and collaboration to create a braid which encompasses holistic health and wellness for all. This braid serves as a reflection of and honors the ancestors and the culture of the Mi’kmaw people. Its explicit purpose is to show the strength that comes from the interconnectedness of the three principles with the whole being exponentially stronger than the sum of its parts.
The Action Plan accompanies the Framework. It outlines community’s recommendations through actions in the action plan. Together, the Journey of Collaboration Framework and Action Plan explains the next steps.
Framework and Action Plan:
For more information, please review the following resources or contact our Project Coordinator:
Current community opportunities:
Wendy Brake, Project Coordinator
Telephone (Toll Free): 1-833-662-0140
Email: wendybrake@westernhealth.nl.ca
Indigenous Patient Navigator
An Indigenous Patient Navigator is available at Western Memorial Regional Hospital. Services are available in-person for the healthcare facilities in the Corner Brook area and virtually, upon request and availability, to other healthcare facilities.
The Indigenous Patient Navigator’s mandate is to assist individual Indigenous people with access to appropriate healthcare, while providing advocacy at the community level. As a personal guide, the Navigator is there to help the patient and family through their healthcare journey. The Navigator acts as a bridge between patients, their community, and the healthcare system through consultation and referral services. In addition, the position will connect patients and their families with the resources and cultural support that they will need while strengthening their access to services upon hospital discharge.
Some of the responsibilities of an Indigenous Patient Navigator include:
- Help remove barriers and challenges that patients may face with healthcare systems.
- Assist individuals in connecting with community cultural support.
- Attend appointments with the patient if they need extra support.
- Respond to general questions related to healthcare systems.
- Visit patients during their stay at healthcare facilities in the Corner Brook area or meet virtually to other healthcare facilities based on individual request and availability.
Resources:
For more information or to request support, please contact:
Scott Janes, Indigenous Patient Navigator
Telephone: 709-640-9007 or (toll-free) 1-833-640-9007
Email: IPN.Western@nlhealthservices.ca