The number of patients participating in First Nations traditional ceremonies have more than doubled in the four months since the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre hired Michael Robinson.
The new specialist spiritual care provider saw 90 patients in April and by August, he was seeing 192 patients a month.
The explosion in patients seeking traditional ceremonies has prompted the hospital to offer Robinson's services four days a week instead of one, plus the time he'll put in by patient request.
With 25 years of experience under his belt and years of volunteering at the hospital, Robinson suspected his clientele base would spike once the word spread.
"I think it's something that was really underutilized for a while but as soon as myself and my colleague were able to get out there more and to promote it more to the patients, it had a mind of its own and took off," he said.
"We're able to accommodate everybody so far but hopefully the need doesn't go too much longer, otherwise we might need to hire somebody else."
Robinson added many Far North patients are First Nations Christians and having an indigenous spiritual staff member can also allay the fears of hospital life and the city's unfamiliarity.
Webequie First Nation's Sheri Jacob is among those who take to the hospital's Spirit Garden courtyard, where the four sacred plants to Aboriginal people grow in the gardens.
Jacob was physically and sexually abused as a child. She has lived homeless, addicted to opiates and in trouble with the law. Still mourning the loss of her mother, Jacob's in hospital to diagnose the dizzy spells that have been making her faint lately.
The smudging ceremonies make her feel culturally home in an environment far from the land's inspiration.
"It's a good feeling after you do smudging. You pray when you do it and it takes the bad spirits away. It controls your emotions positively," she said.
"It keeps me going, traditioanl stuff. I dance jingle dress and traditional fancy shawl. I have a lot of sage and I have feathers. That keeps me going, carrying all these things. If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have been standing here until this day."
