THUNDER BAY – An organization that supports residents of Sioux Lookout-region First Nations in accessing health care has expanded to Thunder Bay, in a move intended to address barriers to care in the city and broaden the agency’s hiring pool.
In an opening ceremony livestreamed to Facebook, the organization was welcomed Thursday by Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Fort William First Nation Chief Peter Collins.
SLFNHA serves a population of roughly 40,000 people across 33 First Nations, with about 25,000 living on reserve.
A total of 48 staff will be based out of its new office on Balmoral Avenue, with many of those new hires. Around 32 had been hired as of Thursday, with about 16 positions to be hired in the coming months.
That will include three escort navigators in Thunder Bay who will support clients in getting to and from appointments, finding accommodation, interpreting for those with limited English, and more.
“This expansion is very important for the people we serve,” said CAO Monica Hemeon. “There are many clients who express concerns about the system within the greater urban area. They’re just not acclimatized to it… there’s language barriers, there’s cultural barriers. We really want to support them through that system.”
Establishing a presence in Thunder Bay is something chiefs of the 33 communities served by SLFNHA had suggested, said president James Morris, given the challenges often faced by members accessing health services here.
It’s no small task, with members of SLFNHA communities making over 5,000 trips to Thunder Bay for health care last year.
Many of those making the trips are elderly and don’t speak English, Morris said, and even those who do can still struggle with medical terminology.
“The people that live in the communities are Anishinaabe, and a lot of them don’t speak English,” he said. “They don’t have transit systems, they don’t have banks, they don’t have hotels. So when they come here, it’s very difficult to navigate the city, to live in Thunder Bay. They need help to navigate that.”
During the opening Thursday, Morris related a story of one dialysis patient from a SLFNHA community abandoning what was likely life-saving treatment in Thunder Bay to return to his home community, after being overwhelmed by the adjustment and after federal supports expired.
The Thunder Bay move was also intended in part to expand recruitment opportunities for the health authority, which has grown from under 100 employees in 2001 to around 500 today.
With that growth, it’s been more difficult to recruit enough staff, some of whom require specialized health training in Sioux Lookout, a situation exacerbated by a local housing crisis.
“Sometimes we can recruit professionals like nurses, doctors, physical therapists, but there’s no place for them to stay once they get to Sioux Lookout,” said Hemeon. “Thunder Bay will open that up for us. It will give us the opportunity to hire from here and for them to have adequate housing and supports.”
Hemeon said SLFNHA is also considering a similar but smaller expansion into Winnipeg, where members travelled around 3,000 times last year for health services.
