Cathy Dobson/The Independent

Local First Nations and health care providers across Sarnia-Lambton are celebrating an $850,000 provincial announcement they say will meld western style and traditional indigenous medicine.

The funding is expected to provide barrier-free access to health services and improve outcomes for Indigenous patients from Lambton’s three First Nations and Indigenous living in the local urban area.

Already, the money has been used to hire two Indigenous patient navigators for Bluewater Health’s emergency department.  Maggie Lewis and Jane Nahdee will start their roles April 1 and cover the department 12 hours a day, seven days a week, said Nadine Neve, executive lead for the Sarnia-Lambton Ontario Health Team (OHT).

They are supporting and providing follow-up for those from Aamjiwnaang First Nation, Kettle & Stony Point First Nation and Walpole Island First Nation, as well as urban Indigenous populations, she said.

The money is also being used for:

• increasing existing mobile primary and mental health services to Walpole Island;

• expanded access to traditional healing services;

• increased support to primary care through the Twin Bridges Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic;

• culturally-responsive cancer and chronic disease prevention and support at cancer and chronic disease screening, as well as access to a prevention specialist;

• training to provide better trauma-informed care and improve patient experience; and

• a two-day symposium to increase understanding among all care providers of traditional practices and Indigenous health.

In fact, Wednesday’s funding announcement was made during the symposium, called “Reclaiming Health, Honouring Traditions,” held at the Best Western Guildwood Inn in Point Edward with about 200 Indigenous and non-Indigenous health care providers.

“This funding will have a significant impact on our ability to improve access to culturally-responsive care,” said Sara Plain, manager of health services at Aamjiwnaang First Nation.

“(It) allows us to create a bridge between services in our communities and mainstream health care, giving our communities access to safe care that honours our cultural identity while meeting our health needs,” she said.

The announcement means local Indigenous people can expect less escalation in their health issues and more preventive care, said Michaella Sarazin, community health supervisor at Walpole Island First Nation.

By integrating cultural knowledge with conventional western medicine, the region’s three First Nations will receive a more comprehensive approach to health care “that respects and uplifts” Indigenous traditions, she said.

Strong collaboration among all local health care providers involved in Indigenous care will also improve mental health supports, said Paige Boris, health director at Kettle & Stony Point First Nation.

“Together we can build a healthcare system that leaves no one behind,” she said, calling expanded access to services “transformative.”

The funding includes $700,000 for each of the next three years from the Ontario Ministry of Health’s Locally Driven Population Health Model fund, plus $150,000 this year from the ministry’s preventive care program funding.

Bluewater Health and the Sarnia-Lambton Ontario Health Team are the facilitators while the decision-making is being left to local Indigenous leaders, noted hospital CEO and OHT vice-chair Paula Reaume-Zimmer.

“And I think that’s the right recipe for our community and that’s what brings us success,” she said.