A team of Edmonton women is working to make the health-care system easier to navigate for Indigenous patients from remote communities.
The Awasisak Indigenous Health Program aims to make staying at the Stollery Children’s Hospital less stressful for Indigenous children and their families. Awasisak is the Cree word for children.
Program manager Sherri Di Lallo spoke about the growth of the Awasisak Indigenous Health Program Wednesday. (AHS)
“We all deserve to have equitable access to health services no matter where we live in Canada. And so for our Indigenous families, it’s about providing the right supports to help them have those equitable services.”
About half of the children who go to the Stollery are from out of town — 35 per cent of which are Indigenous, Di Lallo said.
Since starting in 2016, Awasisak Indigenous Health has helped more than 200 kids from 53 communities across Alberta, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories. Di Lallo anticipates that number will skyrocket in the coming months, as the program has grown significantly.
The team expanded this year from one person to six. The staff of Indigenous women includes a registered nurse, a pediatric social worker, and a hospital host who focuses on making families feel comfortable in the Stollery.
They sit in on appointments, facilitate smudging ceremonies, connect families with resources, and help make sure patients are taken care of after they’re discharged.
The program team opens its office space to families. Indigenous art covers the windows and walls. (CBC)
Families can also visit the Awasisak program’s office space, which opened in January.
“They can have bannock, tea and coffee,” Di Lallo said. “We talk to them, we joke around with them, we welcome them, and [that] makes them feel like it’s home.”
The program is believed to be the only pediatric-specific Indigenous program in the country.
‘They’re really uncomfortable’
RN case manager Hailea Purcell is thrilled to be working alongside other Indigenous women.
“In my previous health-care experience, I rarely see an Indigenous person in the health-care field,” she said. “And if I do, I latch onto them.”
Purcell helps families navigate the hospital system and understand medical language.
“You see a lot of patients and families that come from far away that are Indigenous, and they’re really uncomfortable,” she said. “English might not be their first language, so providing that support and just seeing another Indigenous person really makes you feel comfortable.”
Hailea Purcell is a registered nurse for the Awasisak Indigenous Health Program. (CBC)
Purcell also makes discharge plans for patients when they’re ready to return to home — a recommendation that came from nurses in remote communities.
Di Lallo noted several program elements came directly from Indigenous communities, which had an opportunity to share their needs during talking circles over the past two years.
“They have the answers to what needs to be put in place,” she said. “All we have to do is listen and include them as an equal partner in the services that we provide to help them be successful.”