'Culture is treatment': northeast health officials celebrated for Aboriginal health plan

The heads of three Indigenous health centres in northeastern Ontario have been honoured by health care planners in the region for some recent work.

The North East Local Health Integration Network recently celebrated the leaders behind a plan it launched last fall that aims to improve the health of Indigenous people across the region.

"For us, culture is the core of everything," said Angela Recollet, the executive director of the Shkagamik-Kwe Health Centre in Sudbury and one of the recipients.

"Culture is treatment and everything impacts health," she continued. "So it's not just taking care of an individual's physical, it's igniting their spirit, it's giving opportunities for mental wellness and physical activities."

Gloria Daybutch, the executive director of Maamwesying North Shore Community Health Services in Cutler, Ont., and Pam Williamson, the executive director of Noojmowin Teg Health Centre in Little Current, Ont. were also feted as "healthy change champions."

Partnerships with other agencies, institutions and health care professionals has had a big impact on improving health among the north's Indigenous population, Recollet said.

"All of us work in sync with one another," she said. 

"Everybody works alongside each other to provide an optimum circle of care for community members that are taking that step to say 'I want things better for my life.'"

According to the northeast LHIN, the Reconciliation Action Plan has resulted in a number of improvements, including cultural safety training for more than 400 practitioners who work with Aboriginal people.