Hopes high for new health centre under construction at Abegweit First Nation
P.E.I. community has outgrown current health centre; new one to open next year
Abegweit First Nation is hoping that a new health centre being built in the central P.E.I. community of Scotchfort, expected to be open by next year, will answer the needs of the surrounding area as well as the Indigenous community.
With a rising population thanks to a number of First Nation initiatives, Chief Junior Gould said services need to grow too.
"We have to grow in an ever-expanding community, at every capacity, whether it be the health centre, or the daycare or the housing."
The current wellness centre can't expand any more, let alone make space for a dental office or pharmacy, both eventual goals of community planners. Hence the project to replace it.
"The new health centre is being located in the front of the community to provide services to the Abegweit First Nation — all of its community, from its youngest to its oldest — but also provide services to Islanders that are in need of such services," Gould said.
"We feel that we are able to accommodate the needs of our community by this expansion as well as fill some of the gaps in the province."
One of the top priorities is making it easier for older residents to have access to medical care without having to travel long distances, Gould said.
He said some Scotchfort residents feel uncomfortable seeking help in communities like Charlottetown.
"The older community members aren't comfortable leaving the community and going out and looking for services, where they are judged on how they look or a perception of who they are or where they're from," he said.
"To have these services offered in-house in the community, especially for our older generations, to be able to receive the same services as other people in a comfortable, traditional environment — it means the world to them."
With files from Sheehan Desjardains