Sonia Isaac-Mann, FNHA’s VP of Operations and Services, and Rick Milone, FNHA’s VP of Human Resources discuss FNHA’s Guide to Business Resumption, which provides guidance to communities on how to gradually re-open their offices and community centres.

Dr. Kelsey Louie, Medical Officer with the FNHA, talks about the new First Nations Virtual Doctor of the Day program.

The First Nations Virtual Doctor of the Day program enables members of BC First Nations with limited or no access to their own doctors or nurse practitioners to make virtual appointments. Learn more in this podcast interview with Dr. Kelsey Louie. Dr Louie is a member of the Tla’amin Nation, he is a Medical Officer with the FNHA, and he is one of the doctors serving in the new program.

Hear from two of the creators of the First Nations Virtual Doctor of the Day Program - Megan Hunt, Acting Executive Director of eHealth and Primary Care, and Eyrin Tedesco, Clinical Project Director, Primary Care and eHealth. In this short podcast, Megan and Eyrin describe this barrier-removing program and how it is providing access to primary care for First Nations people and their families living in BC.

In this edition of the FNHA COVID-19 podcast April MacNaughton talks about Communicable Disease Emergency Plans, how to build them, and what resources FNHA has to support communities in their design and implementation.

For more information please write to: [email protected]

The Interim CEO of the FNHA, Richard Jock, talks about:

· the decision to move the organization to a Level 3 state of readiness to direct more resources to the COVID-19 emergency

· how the work of the FNHA is guided by the vision that First Nations people and communities deserve the best we have to offer “because what happens to communities happens to us”

· the satisfaction of taking delivery of the first batch of protective equipment for frontline health workers in First Nations communities.

Senior Medical Officer Dr. Nel Wieman talks to Communications Manager Stephanie Slater about COVID-19:

· Why it’s important to act like you already have the virus

· Prevention tips and why they work

· The impact on cultural events

· The impact on mental health

This is a story of tension between First Nations and the Canadian health care system: one hospital, one woman and her fight to put First Nations at the centre of health care.

That woman is Theresa William, a member of the Splatsin Indian Band near Vernon, BC. Her mother was neglected in a state of medical emergency in the ER. After 11 hours of waiting and with a total lack of privacy in the waiting area, the attending doctor gave them her mother’s diagnosis: cancer. They were both shocked – by the diagnosis and by the treatment they received.

Once Theresa gets her mom safely home from the hospital, she is still upset and decides to file a formal complaint. “I wanted my mom’s story to be heard. I want First nations people to feel safe … I wanted to make a change.”

The complaint leads to a nation-based approach to health services at the Vernon Jubilee Hospital. Splatsin community members participate in round table discussions with hospital staff, which lead to positive relationships and the development and delivery of hospital tours called ‘cultural walk-throughs’ for the members of Splatsin Nation.

FNHA CEO Joe Gallagher is from Tla'amin First Nation. He talks about his own close call with cancer, which came on the heels of his father’s death due to cancer. Joe shares his story in the hopes of creating a space where we can all begin talking about cancer sooner – before it’s too late.

“Testing is extremely important. We need to go for regular screenings to detect problems early on,” says Joe. “I was fortunate to catch colon cancer at an early stage so a medical intervention actually addressed the situation ... Basically, that procedure saved my life.”

Randall Stevens is an Algonquin man living in the Vancouver area. He had a family member who smoked and paid the ultimate price for it. Randall’s father was an army veteran, a smoker and, eventually, a victim of lung cancer. Randall followed fairly closely in his father’s footsteps: he was a fighter pilot in the service and a smoker. But when he witnessed his father being taken by lung cancer he was deeply affected.

“As I watched him, I thought oh man, I don’t want to go like this. It took me several months to stop. It wasn’t until my father started to fade away … that it really did hit home. I needed to quit and I need to quit now,” says Randall.

Paula Potter is part Cree, part Scottish and is from Lakota Nation. She grew up in Edmonton but has lived in Vancouver for a long time. Paula is part of the ‘Culture Saves Lives’ movement. She leads sweats; she sun dances; she is a traditional pipe carrier. Paula does this to help Indigenous people reconnect with their cultures. Her sacred use of tobacco, handed down to her by her Indigenous grandmother during summer visits to Slave Lake in northern Alberta, helped her survive and overcome drug addiction.

“Every morning, I would hold the tobacco and pray to my grandmother … I believe traditional tobacco helped keep me alive,” says Paula.

BC First Nations are a young a growing population with almost half the population under 25 years of age. These young people give First Nations communities energy and signal a bright future. Young First Nations also have their struggles: the negative effects of colonization including intergenerational trauma, poverty and racism.

It may not be surprising to learn that First Nations teenagers are more likely to smoke than others their age. The good news is that roughly 65 percent of these young smokers are actively trying to quit. Tune in to hear the stories told by Allison Carifelle, Jesscia Hamilton and Darius Smallboy – how come they started smoking and why they want to quit.