MINDEMOYA—Construction is right on time for the new home of the Manitoulin Central Family Health Team (FHT), this after years of holdups and delay for funding and approval for the project, and the team is looking forward to its new space come spring.
“Things are very good, and we’re very excited about the process,” FHT Executive Director Lori Oswald told The Expositor in an interview last week. “We have walls, a roof and a cement floor. The trades, like plumbing and electrical, will be coming in soon—everything is on schedule.”
Ms. Oswald said the goal is to be in the new 3,700 square foot building/addition some time in March.
All the services of the FHT will be in the new area and it will still be connected with the Mindemoya hospital building, she said.
Patients will access the FHT services, physicians and nurse practitioners through the new building once it is open, she added.
The new facility will also offer a healing centre within its walls, which is equipped to handle traditional smudges and pipe ceremonies thanks to a specific ventilation system. This will be similar to the healing centre included in the Health Sciences North hospital complex in Sudbury. First Nations culture is also part of the design of the room as it is circular in shape, finished largely with cedar and incorporates the four colours. The entrance to the room faces east as well. Jake Ago Neh of the Sheguiandah First Nation has been hired on as the FHT’s traditional healer.
The Expositor was party to a conversation between Ms. Oswald and the Tribury Construction site supervisor when the construction company agreed to conduct some of its noisier activities during the next phase of construction at a time when the FHT is less busy.
“We look forward to functioning together all as one team,” Ms. Oswald said. “We’re pretty fragmented right now, which makes communication difficult at times, so we’re looking forward to that cohesion.”
