You can use your smart phone to browse stories in the comfort of your hand. Simply browse this site on your smart phone.

    Using an RSS Reader you can access most recent stories and other feeds posted on this network.

    SNetwork Recent Stories

Improved access to First Nations-led primary care on the way to communities province-wide

by ahnationtalk on September 3, 202430 Views

Sept. 3, 2024

Unceded territories of the Songhees, Esquimalt and WSÁNEĆ Nations | VICTORIA – The Province of British Columbia and First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) are moving ahead with 13 First Nations primary care centres (FNPCCs) as a key step toward increasing access to culturally safe, primary health care in B.C.​​

“Dismantling and eradicating Indigenous-specific racism from B.C.’s health-care system continues to be a key priority for our government,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “Part of this work is expanding access to First Nations-led, cultu​​​rally safe health care and work in partnership with the local First Nations and FNHA. The new FNPCCs will help deliver high-quality, patient-centered primary care for communities around B.C., bringing the care and services​ people need closer to their homes, and are another important step forward in our journey toward Reconciliation.”

Once all the clinics are in operation, there will be three clinics in each of the five regional health authorities for a total of 15 FNPCCs in B.C.

Of the 13 new centres, 10 will be welcoming patients by fall of 2024, including the Kwakwaka’waka First Nations Primary Care Centre, Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations Primary Care Centre, Coast Salish First Nations Primary Care Centre, Gitxsan-Wet’suwet’en Primary Health Care Centre on Gitxsan Territory, Dadzi Wellness Centre on the Dak’elh First Nations Territory, northern St’át’imc Primary Care Center, Nlaka’pamux Nation First Nations Primary Care Centre in Merritt, Nuxálk Primary Care Centre, es zúmin’ Primary Care Centre and the MîÝoMâCihêwi Kamik Northern Nations Wellness Centre on Treaty 8 Territory.

Other centres in development are the Éyameth First Nations Primary Care Centre on Sts’ailes Territory as well as the Fraser West and Fraser South mobile medical units.

“The First Nations Health Authority values its partnerships with the Ministry of Health and First Nations Communities to increase access to culturally safe, team-based care province-wide,” said Dr. Terri Aldred, FNHA Medical Director for Primary Care. “We recognize more work needs to be done to achieve our vision of healthy, self-determining and vibrant First Nations children, families and communities in B.C., and we invite all health-system partners and municipalities in B.C. to support our shared journey towards a safe and sustainable health-care system.”

These centres will combine primary health care, social services and Indigenous health supports into teams that will provide culturally safe, person-first health-care services across the province. Service delivery in each centre will be unique and tailored to the needs of the communities it serves and will be operated in partnership with the local First Nations, FNHA and the Ministry of Health.

Recruitment for clinical and traditional roles is currently active in all regions of the province. Centres offering services in phases will offer limited services to begin with and provide more as positions are filled.

This expansion of First Nations-led primary care aligns with the Ministry of Health’s commitment to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act to deliver services that are First Nations-led as well as informed by traditional wellness values and by the lived experiences of Indigenous Peoples.

Establishing these centres is part of the Province and FNHA’s First Nations-led Primary Health Care Initiative, which is intended to improve and increase access to culturally safe health services province-wide. This announcement builds on the 2019 opening of the Lu’ma Medical Centre in Vancouver, the 2022 opening of the All Nations Healing House in Williams Lake and the ground-breaking ceremony at Éyameth, formerly the Sts’ailes Community Care Campus, in Harrison Mills.

Learn More:

To learn more about recruitment, interested applicants can find positions listed here: https://workwithus.fnha.ca/​

To learn more about the First Nations Primary Care Initiative: First Nations-led Primary Health Care Initiative – YouTube

To learn about Lu’ma Medical Centre, B.C.’s first FNPCC, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2019HLTH0129-001783

To read more about the All Nations Healing House in Williams Lake, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2022HLTH0217-001657

To see and learn more abo​ut the All Nations Healing House, visit: https://youtu.​be/ZDTHmbeMFbE

To learn more about Éyameth, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2023HLTH0025-000345

To learn about actions underway for the 24 recommendations from In Plain Sight, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021HLTH0075-002294

To learn more about the Province’s Primary Care Strategy, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/accessing-health-care/bcs-primary-care-system

Two backgrounders follow.

​​Media Contacts:
First Nations Health Authority
Media Relations
604 329-9544
media@fnha.ca

Ministry of Health
Media Relations
250 952-1887

NT5

Send To Friend Email Print Story

Comments are closed.

NationTalk Partners & Sponsors Learn More