We attended a neighborhood session session this week so we may hear straight from members of our native indigenous communities about their experiences with Niagara Well being. These tales have been laborious to listen to, however vital to us.
We’re listening and studying extra in regards to the experiences of indigenous peoples at Niagara Well being in order that we are able to take significant steps towards reconciliation within the well being system. That is a part of our dedication to creating the hospital a protected and culturally welcoming area for indigenous peoples that meets their well being care wants and respects their traditions.
A few of what we heard this week bolstered the actions we’re taking because of an inside high quality evaluation we performed earlier this 12 months following the tragic dying of an Indigenous affected person in our care in December 2021. We’re in contact I proceed with the affected person’s household and sincerely respect their steering.
Actions we have now taken thus far to enhance care and assist with our reconciliation work embody:
- supporting the San’yas Indigenous Cultural Sensitivity Coaching, with many employees and leaders finishing the eight-week program in recent times;
- set up a committee comprised of employees and physicians to assist a extra numerous, equitable, and inclusive setting for our workforce;
- offering cultural humility and unconscious bias coaching to our Human Sources Workforce, DEI Committee, Government Workforce and Medical Advisory Committee. It is usually delivered on the request of the groups;
- plan a third-party evaluation of our Emergency Division to deepen our understanding of the experiences of Indigenous sufferers and different teams who deserve fairness;
- create a brand new position for devoted Indigenous Affected person Navigators at Niagara Well being to assist Indigenous sufferers and households;
- create a brand new position for a devoted social employee within the emergency division to assist the non-medical wants of sufferers within the indigenous neighborhood and different fairness deserving teams.
We’ll proceed to interact with sufferers, households, and indigenous organizations to know their experiences, construct belief, and search suggestions on the best way to enhance their care and experiences.