Your insight will help create better education and resources about chronic pain for patients from First Nations communities and the healthcare providers who treat them. Just by speaking about your physical chronic pain, you could help improve the quality of life for many others.

Email monique.curci@treaty3.ca to register.

This initiative is focused on getting a better, and deeper understanding of Anishinaabe history and culture, learning about traditional perspectives and distinct challenges experienced by the First Nations in our area.

Funds will be specifically used to develop Anishinaabe Cultural Competency and Culturally Safe Care training programs, which would be delivered to all Lake of the Woods District Hospital (LWDH) and KCA employees. Cultural training and learning opportunities will happen as part of new hire orientation process and on an ongoing basis throughout an employee’s career to support the progressive development of cultural competency. Additionally, the hope is to eventually expand this work out to other organizations within the health care sector.

Indigenous communities and peoples have long advocated for better health care that encompasses traditional approaches and culturally centered care, and by taking the lead and creating better opportunities for cultural competency and safety training, it allows us to work towards the overall goal of health transformation and creating equity in these spaces. Indigenous communities have unique healthcare needs that need to be acknowledged, and we cannot move forward with the way the current system is and expect positive impactful change.

Work like this will be accomplished with the guidance and knowledge from both elders and knowledge keepers within the community. By starting these conversations and planning at a grassroots community level, it allows for true Anishinaabe led care that is developed for and by Anishinaabe peoples.

KCA and the LWDH have a deep on-going partnership on existing projects such as the client navigators, the All Nations Health Partners, the All Nations Hospital project and this new funding will allow us to continue the expansion and development of that partnership side by side.

This funding is especially timely as we work to co-develop a new hospital. These types of training programs must be embedded into the framework and system, if we want to achieve the goal of improving health outcomes for all people in the region it serves.

The new hospital will be the first large development in the Kenora and Treaty 3 area that sees true partnership and planning with our surrounding First Nations communities and the municipality.

Ray Racette, President & CEO of Lake of the Woods District Hospital shares “We are extremely excited to work together with Kenora Chiefs Advisory on this essential project. Attention to key elements of cultural safety and humility are fundamental to creating a healthy care relationship. Significant cultural training for all our hospital and professional staff will mean bridging gaps in cultural patient care and ultimately an enhanced patient experience.”

Chief Lorraine Cobiness, Board President for Ogimaawabiitong on behalf of the Board of Directors says

“This is the type of change and work that we need to see happening in systems everywhere. We are very excited that we are able to work in a true side by side partnership with the hospital, and really begin incorporating this type of training on a larger scale. In order to strengthen and repair current and future relationships, our partners need to do the ground level work of understanding Anishinaabe peoples and culture. Doing this with the guidance and knowledge from our elders, our healers and our teachers is going to be so crucial if we want to ensure real meaningful change is happening for Anishinaabe peoples everywhere, that is more importantly Anishinaabe led.”

Media Enquiries

• Sydney McInnis – (807) 407-4282 / abbie.siroishka@kenorachiefs.org
  KCA Communications Assistant
• Abbie Siroishka – (807) 407-4282 / abbie.siroishka@kenorachiefs.org
  KCA Senior Executive Assistant and Communications Lead
• Charlene Kissick – (807) 468-9861, ext 2599 / ckissick@lwdh.on.ca
  Brand Management Lead, Lake of the Woods District Hospital

Stop in before you head to town or go shopping – let’s do our part in protecting ourselves, our community, and more importantly our children.

Community and Band Members only!  Door prize draws to be held.  Grab n Go lunch snacks available!

Niisaachewan public health measures are in effect.  Masks are mandatory, along with respecting distancing and hand sanitizing.

NO VISITORS ARE ALLOWED INTO THE COMMUNITY!  COMMUNITY/BAND MEMBERS ONLY. 

The COVID-19 testing team will in on Niisaachewan on Tuesday January 11th 2022 and results will be available the same day or next.

Book COVID-19 Test for Jan 11, 2022

• Joannie Brittain – hbhc@niisaachewan.ca
• Mary Roulette – ecworker@niisaachewan.ca

Rapid tests have been ordered and should be arriving this week.  Information on distribution strategy will be shared when the tests are available.

The gate will remain operational and the Band Office will be closed for the week of January 10th – January 14th.  Staff will be working from home.

Please be mindful that this pandemic is not over. Please stay diligent, safe, and look out for one another. Wear your mask when out in public, wash your hands frequently, and follow public health measures. Together, we will get through this.

For any other inquiries, Chief and Council can be reached at:

• Lorraine Cobiness (807) 548-8924 or (807) 466-8208 text
• Reno Cameron (807) 407-5332
• Fabian Blackhawk (807) 464-4137
• Bernice Major (807) 407-5686
• Martina Strong (807) 548-1134

Additional staff on Pandemic Planning Team

• Michael Henry – coordinator@niisaachewan.ca / (807) 407-6174
• Lorraine Kabestra – healthdirector@niisaachewan.ca
• Mary Henry – bandmanager@niisaachewan.ca

We are imploring everyone to PLEASE follow the steps in the link below if you’ve been exposed to COVID-19.

• https://covid-19.ontario.ca/exposed

It starts at 11:30am CST on January 21st 2001 and you can access it through the link below.

• https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJItd-CuqzMqHdwczUWmXdHC-_8_Vx5_BQ7_

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the Kenora Chiefs Advisory, which provides culturally appropriate health and social services to the nine First Nations it serves, told the leaders of its communities, “We’re going to send our helps in and we’re not going to stop”. And they haven’t.

Chief Lorraine Cobiness of Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation and Chief Chris Skead of Wauzhusk Onigum Nation will be speaking to the challenges of battling COVID-19 and overcoming the pandemic.

The Ontario government is providing $2.4 million to support an additional 13 Ontario Health Teams across the province to provide better, connected care to patients. These teams are a new way of delivering care that brings together health care providers and organizations to work as one coordinated team to improve patient outcomes. This new collaborative model is helping the province respond more quickly and effectively to COVID-19 and end hallway health care.

Details were provided today by Premier Doug Ford, Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Merrilee Fullerton, Minister of Long-Term Care.

“Today’s investment will not only help our province respond more effectively to the current global pandemic, but it will also help us end hallway healthcare and build a better, patient-focused health care system for the future,” said Premier Ford. “While these new teams will provide better support for more Ontarians, we won’t stop until every person and every community in Ontario has access to this new improved model of care.”

Through an Ontario Health Team, patients will experience easier transitions from one provider to another, including, for example, between hospitals, home care providers or long-term care homes, with one patient story, one patient record and one care plan. As Ontario Health Teams are established, patients and families will also have access to 24/7 navigation and care coordination services. This includes enabling the further expansion of virtual care for patients through dedicated funding to maintain access to care during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the addition of 13 new Ontario Health Teams, the province now has a total of 42 teams which will cover over 86 per cent of the province’s population at maturity.

“While still in its early stages, Ontario Health Teams are already breaking down long-standing barriers to better connect care for both patients and our frontline heroes,” said Minister Elliott. “These teams have demonstrated remarkable responsiveness to the COVID-19 outbreak by helping to address challenges in a variety of areas, and they are essential to building a connected health care system centred around the needs of patients.”

The strong partnerships and integrated care established by Ontario Health Teams and Ontario Health have helped better position the province to respond quickly and effectively to COVID-19. This includes supporting long-term care homes, simplifying the purchase of personal protective equipment, helping establish assessment centres, launching virtual urgent care initiatives, and expanding remote patient monitoring programs to support COVID-19 patients and other vulnerable populations.

The Ontario Health Team model has already proven how a collaborative team can support each other in times of need such as when there is a significant outbreak at a long-term care home. These teams were able to come together and respond quickly to address staffing shortages; infection, protection and control measures; and support keeping residents and staff safe during COVID-19.  These stronger partnerships between hospitals, primary care, home and community care and long-term care homes will create a connected health care system that focuses on the needs of patients and is a key recommendation by the Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission.

“COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of continuous learning: the more we learn, the better we can protect ourselves, including our residents in long-term care,” said Minister Fullerton. “The coordination of care through Ontario Health Teams is a significant collaborative initiative that supports our commitment to modernizing long-term care in Ontario.”

Ontario Health Teams will help maintain hospital capacity by coordinating programs that link hospitals, primary care, home and community care services, long-term care homes, congregate settings, and other services, as well as supporting virtual care, online appointment booking and patients’ digital access to their health information. It will also support the participation of patients, families and caregivers in Ontario Health Team’s planning, decision-making and expanding the involvement of primary care and family medicine.

Betty-Lou Kristy, the Chair of the Minister’s Patient and Family Advisory Council, assisted in the review process for selecting the new Ontario Health Teams and will provide ongoing advice to all teams. Meaningful engagement and partnership with patients, families and caregivers is a key requirement for Ontario Health Teams to ensure they achieve the goal of improving the way that Ontarians experience the health care system.

“As the health system changes and evolves, it is critical that new approaches to health care focus on what patients really need,” said Ms. Kristy. “Ontario Health Teams can be part of the solution and improve how patients are treated throughout their health care journey. I look forward to supporting these teams to build a connected system centred on patients, their families and caregivers.” 

The Ontario government will continue working with its healthcare partners to establish Ontario Health Teams across the province and ensure everyone is supported by a team.

To further protect long-term care home residents, staff and visitors, the Ontario government is also updating testing guidance in communities with greater transmission of COVID-19. Starting next week, in long-term care homes in public health unit regions in the Orange-Restrict, Red-Control and Lockdown levels under the COVID-19 Response Framework, the following changes will be made:

• Staff, essential caregivers and support workers who provide direct care to residents need to be tested for COVID-19 weekly and show proof of a negative test result.
• Support workers who do not provide direct care to residents must verbally attest to having received a negative COVID-19 test result in the past two weeks and not subsequently tested positive.

For long-term care homes in regions at the Green-Prevent and Yellow-Protect levels, testing will continue every two weeks for staff, volunteers, caregivers and visitors.

Quick Facts

• An Ontario Health Team is responsible for delivering care for their patients, understanding their health care history, easing their transition from one provider to another, directly connecting them to the different types of care they need and providing 24/7 help in navigating the health care system.
• Ontario is investing approximately $28 million to directly support the 42 teams in fiscal year 2020-2021.
• Under an Ontario Health Team, Ontarians can be confident that they can continue to contact their health care providers as they always have, to access the health care they need. The Ontario government will continue working with its health care partners until Ontario Health Teams are fully established across the province and everyone is supported by a team.

The Cancer Word Book aims to improve cross-cultural communication between health care providers, patients and family members. Regional Cancer Care’s Aboriginal Cancer Committee developed this tool for translators and those who assist health care providers to communicate with aboriginal people. It is designed to assist patient navigators, cultural interpreters and translators who support Aboriginal people and their families who are diagnosed with cancer. It can also assist health care
providers to communicate with Aboriginal patients and their family members when translation is not available.

A small working group worked with Bruce Beardy to develop the content and layout. The Interpreter’s Manual (Sioux Lookout Zone Hospital, 2000) and the Cancer Word Book (Canadian Cancer Society, 1990) provided useful information for the development of this resource. The Cancer Word Book is designed in two parts: Severn Ojibwe and Ojibwe equivalents. Each section lists the English word with definition and the translated words.

Regional Cancer Care’s Aboriginal Cancer Committee is committed to reducing the burden of cancer for Aboriginal people in Northwestern Ontario. Through the development of culturally relevant resources, the committee aims to increase cancer awareness and education about cancer prevention and care for Aboriginal people. The funding for this project was provided by the Northern Cancer Research Foundation (NCRF).

Download the PDF Documents

• Cancer Word Book Ojibwe/OjiCree (1703 downloads)
• Medical Dictionary - Cree (1614 downloads)
• Medical Dictionary - Ojibwe (1674 downloads)
• Medical Dictionary - Ojicree (1606 downloads)

As we enter this new phase of the pandemic, many parts of the province and country are experiencing very high rates of COVID-19 positive cases. Every community member is encouraged to travel only if essential. Those who must travel are urged to self-isolate for 7 days upon return for the protection of all. Patients who have a non-urgent appointment at our Hospital and who have travelled outside of Northwestern Ontario may need to have their appointment rescheduled if they have not self-isolated on return.

Our Pandemic Management Team is able to implement guidelines and processes at our Hospital, and we often engage with other organizations to encourage similar measures. Infection prevention measures are our best defense against COVID-19, and help to keep our Hospital Safe. Although entrance screening, mandatory masking, care partner restrictions, and travel limitations are sometimes difficult, these practices are in place for the protection of all. We will be updating our Designated Visitor Policy to reflect the change in travel restrictions for entry to the hospital.

With positive COVID-19 cases on the rise in Ontario, Manitoba and Canada, the Pandemic Management Team may have to implement further restrictions. Constant monitoring of the situation and medical evidence guide discussions and decisions. The current situation in the Kenora region and Northwestern Ontario does not impact our hospital activity and we are increasing our surgical activity to meet the needs of the community and to address back-logs in Northwestern Ontario.

We are extremely proud of our Hospital’s, Health Partner’s and Community’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ongoing diligence of our collective efforts will ensure our region maintains its COVID-19 Green Status (prevent). Thank you for your dedication and understanding. We are in this together.

Community members wishing to be tested should call 469-9861 (ext. 2483) in order to be scheduled for the next available appointment (please have your health card number and reliable phone number available). If you are unable to get through to an Assessment Centre clerk, please leave a message on the confidential voicemail. Messages will be returned within one business day. Appointments can be made for either a drive through assessment at the central site or for a mobile assessment team to come directly to a person’s home or First Nations community. Efforts are made to schedule appointments within two days and urgent requests are accommodated the same day whenever possible. Please note in times of increased demand for testing, wait times will increase. The Assessment Centre team appreciates your patience.

The nasal (or nasopharyngeal) swab test is conducted by inserting a long Q-tip-like swab into one or both nostrils to collect a sample. The process is described as being slightly uncomfortable but not painful. Swabs are sent to the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg for processing. If you have a positive test result, the Northwestern Health Unit will call you at the phone number you provided as soon as the result is available, which is usually within 3-5 days. You can view your COVID test results by searching “Ontario COVID-19 test results” online. You will require your valid OHIP card that you used at the time of your test, and you will be asked to provide the 7 digit number on the back of the card to verify that it is you. Once your result is displayed, you cannot print the result but you can take a screen shot of the result and then print that if you require hard copy evidence. If you are unable to view your results, you can call the hospital at 468 -9861 Ext. 2555 and ask for your results either verbally by phone or for a hard copy if required.

COVID-19 symptoms include but may not be limited to fever, new or worsening cough or shortness of breath at rest, sore throat, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, runny nose, and joint aches.

The All Nations Health Partners is a diverse coalition of municipal, Indigenous and health system leaders who have combined forces to support and prepare our communities for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Media Contact

Brock Chisholm
Assessment Centre Coordinator
Lake of the Wood District Hospital

Phone: 807.468.9861, ext: 2290
Email: bchisholm@lwdh.on.ca

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For over a decade, much work by our Chiefs, our Elders, and our youth have guided and directed a clear message for our partnerships to focus on a holistic approach to healthcare. Kenora Chiefs Advisory is proud to be moving forward with the All Nations Health Partners in transforming the health care system in our homeland. Working together, we aim to deliver culturally appropriate health care services from hospital to home no matter who you are or where you live in the region. What we see now is the beginning of our vision coming true.

Chief Lorraine Cobiness, Kenora Chiefs Advisory Board President

History and Mandate

• The All Nations Health Partners (ANHP) grew out of the Kenora Area Health Care Working Group which was started in 2015 to address a chronic, critical doctor shortage, and cross-border healthcare issues, as well as in response to Truth & Reconciliation calls to action.
• Through a 2017 Resolution by leaders of Indigenous communities, municipalities and health care organizations, the ANHP was created, and continued to strengthen its relationships. An All Nations Hospital was also planned, with a partnership between Lake of the Woods District Hospital and Kenora Chiefs Advisory.

Although OPP are waiting on a post-mortem to be held later this week to determine the cause of death, they’re warning that yellow/purple down is a drug that may contain fentanyl, and officers are encouraging people to be aware of signs of an overdose.

Signs and symptoms can include difficulty walking, talking or staying awake; blue lips or nails; very small pupils; cold, clammy skin; dizziness; confusion; extreme drowsiness; choking or gurgling sounds; slow or weak breathing; and an inability to wake up even when shaken or shouted at.

The Amount of Fentanyl Needed To Kill

You could save a life with a Naxolone kit

Naloxone kits can reverse an opioid overdose. Contact your Community Health Nurse for more information on how to access a Naloxone kit and for education on safe Naloxone administration. Please get one and keep it in your vehicle or on your person.

CALL THE NORTHWESTERN HEALTH UNIT
Kenora: (807) 468-3147
Dryden: (807) 274-9827
Fort Frances: (807) 223-3301

Join Certified Diabetes Educator Mona Joudry on July 21, 2020 at 10 am for the second installment of the IDHC Virtual Diabetes Information Circle!

Register here: https://soadi.wufoo.com/forms/z1dp3fs17vm4ko/

Mona has worked in the field of diabetes for over 25 years. First as a lay educator and program administrator, and most recently as a Registered Nurse. She is a certified diabetes educator through the Canadian Diabetes Educator Certification Board. Over the years she has worked with both mainstream and Indigenous groups, and both Western and Indigenous medicines and teachings, as appropriate. Born Caucasian, Mona married into an indigenous family; she was adopted into the Anishinaabe Marten Clan 35 years ago.