NationTalk: ANISHINAABE AND DAKOTA TERRITORY, MB — Today, the Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) congratulates Lake Manitoba First Nation on the expansion of health care services available in their Nation. Newly trained staff who recently completed the in-community phlebotomy (blood-drawing) training program are now employed at the health centre lab which will be open permanently to provide essential health services within Lake Manitoba First Nation.

“We are taking action to support more health care services within our Nations and to find innovative ways to provide opportunities closer to home for health care and employment,” stated SCO Grand Chief Jerry Daniels. “We are proud of the students who took part in this educational opportunity in their Nation and are now part of the Lake Manitoba Health Care team. We are excited by the success of this project and are pleased to share it will be expanded into Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation this fall.”

The in-community phlebotomy training was customized for students in Lake Manitoba First Nation and included online delivery and in-person skills labs and clinical placement. It was delivered in partnership with SCO, Lake Manitoba First Nation, Red River College Polytechnic (RRC Polytech), Manitoba Shared Health, Manitoba Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care, and the Interlake Eastern Regional Health Authority.

“It is important that we are able to provide local access to health care, support our youth, and create opportunities for meaningful employment in our Nation,” shared Chief Cornell McLean of the Lake Manitoba First Nation. “This unique program showed how we can creatively deliver training at home that benefits the students and the community overall. Employing our people in health careers at the Lake Manitoba Health Centre benefits us all.”

Call to Action #23 from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada calls on all levels of government to increase the number of First Nations professionals working in health care and ensure the retention of First Nation health care providers in First Nations. SCO is committed to working with our partners in government, education, and health systems to enact change and create opportunities for our citizens.

“When someone needs a lab test, it’s important that they be able to get it quickly and close to home. In partnership with SCO and RRC Polytech, our government took action to provide phlebotomy training in the community, and it has paid off, with newly trained staff now working in the health centre. Because of this partnership, families in Lake Manitoba First Nation now have access to full time lab services, provided by members of their community,” shared Uzoma Asagwara, Minister of Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care.

Building on the success of the in-community training approach, SCO is pleased to continue its partnership with RRC Polytech and the Province of Manitoba to expand this customized program to other SCO member Nations to support more students and strengthen the health and well-being of their Nations.

“The hard work and dedication of these students not only results in enhanced healthcare services for Lake Manitoba First Nation, but their success also demonstrates to other communities across the province that RRC Polytech is eager to listen, collaborate and co-design customized training solutions that remove barriers for Indigenous learners,” said Jamie Wilson, RRC Polytech’s Vice President, Indigenous Strategy, Research and Business Development. “We look forward to building our relationship with Southern Chiefs’ Organization and exploring other opportunities that will help to empower all communities through education.”

SCO provided financial support towards the cost of tuition for the students and the required lab equipment in the health centre. The students are also able to ladder their phlebotomy training with other micro-credentialling courses and earn a certificate as a diagnostic support worker.

“One of the priorities the Health Transformation team heard from SCO member Nations is the importance of having more health human resources. Congratulations to the students, Lake Manitoba First Nation, and their health centre on the opening of their lab services,” stated Karlene Debance, Chief Executive Officer of SCO Health Transformation. “We look forward to replicating the success of this project in other Nations.”

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The Southern Chiefs’ Organization represents 34 First Nations and more than 87,000 citizens in what is now called southern Manitoba. SCO is an independent political organization that protects, preserves, promotes, and enhances First Nations peoples’ inherent rights, languages, customs, and traditions through the application and implementation of the spirit and intent of the Treaty-making process.

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Email: Media@scoinc.mb.ca