MANITOULIN—The North East Local Health Integration Network (NE LHIN) has named the executive directors of the region’s three Aboriginal Health Access Centres (AHACs), Pam Williamson, Gloria Daybutch and Angela Recollet, as Healthy Change Champions for their work in advancing the system of care for aboriginal Northerners.
Pam Williamson is executive director of Noojmowin Teg Health Centre in Aundeck Omni Kaning, a member of the LHIN’s Local Aboriginal Health Committee (LAHC) and co-chair of the NE LHIN’s Mental Health and Addictions Advisory Council. Gloria Daybutch is chair of the LHIN’s LAHC and executive director of the Maamwesying North Shore Community Health Services Inc. located in Cutler. Angela Recollect is executive director of Shkagamik-Kwe Health Centre in Sudbury and a member of LAHC.
“Gloria, Angela and Pam are exceptional leaders. Each of these women is committed to greater health equity for Aboriginal Northerners,” said NE LHIN CEO Louise Paquette. “I am proud of the pivotal role they play in our LHIN work through both leading and actively participating in key initiatives. Each one of them was a strong voice in shaping our North East LHIN Health Care Strategy and Reconciliation Action Plan which we launched last fall.”
“As colleagues and partners, the three Aboriginal Health Access Centres located within NE LHIN share common cultural practices in delivering a number of multi-disciplinary services to the Indigenous populations served,” said Ms. Williamson. “We are committed to supporting a model of holistic health and well-being by ensuring culturally safe and culturally appropriate care, incorporating traditional healing practices, supporting client’s self-management and autonomy, and providing care that encompasses both individuals and their families.”
The Reconciliation Plan outlines goals in four strategic directions that are aligned with the Medicine Wheel’s quadrants: opportunities, relationships, knowledge and understanding, and sustainability and evaluation. The plan also includes 25 specific actions, timelines and measurable targets to improve health care for Aboriginal Northerners over the next three years.
Within the first nine months since its launch, the NE LHIN has provided cultural safety training for more than 400 Northerners through an eight-week online training course. This course is designed to broaden understanding of the history of Aboriginal Canadians and strengthen the skills of practitioners working with Aboriginal people. The NE LHIN has also appointed a public health member to its LAHC. It has also re-aligned its internal resources so that a designated group of LHIN staff work in partnership with federal and provincial partners, as well as health service providers, to improve health care services for Aboriginal Northerners.
