Hundreds of attendees and volunteers gathered for the Nәćamat: 2016 Downtown Eastside Aboriginal Women’s Village of Wellness event throughout the day on October 6. Dozens of healers and health service partners were on hand offering services such as smudging, counselling, massage, education and career advice, manicures, health screening and haircuts

Vancouver Coastal Health Aboriginal Health Services, First Nations Health Authority, Provincial Health Services Authority Aboriginal Health, and City of Vancouver would like to thank all of the organizations who partnered with us to make the inaugural Nәćamat DTES Aboriginal Women’s Village of Wellness possible. 

Read the program guide and find all the organizations who made the event possible here! 

Earlier this week, the FNHA and BC Patient Safety & Quality Council kicked off our 12-month webinar series on cultural humility and cultural safety, hearing from FNHA CEO Joe Gallagher on the importance of Makara's story in the development of Canada's first province-wide commitment to culturally safe health services.

Over the next year, 12 skill-building webinar events will be offered to support BC's healthcare professionals to adopt a shared-responsibility approach to enhancing cultural safety. The events are free and no pre-registration is required. 

Watch the first installment here! 

Find out more about the webinar series here.

Save the date for the next two events in 2016! NOVEMBER 2, 2016 AND DECEMBER 7, 2016.

It's 2016 Breastfeeding Week! 

Read a feature blog from FNHA Senior Medical Officer Dr. Nataliya Skuridina on the week and her thoughts on the importance of breastfeeding for both baby and mother.

Click here to read the blog, find links and resources for parents and download the above breastfeeding wellness poster! 

Please share widely with your colleagues and contacts in the Interior region! All Interior First Nations community members are welcome to join.

A postpartum doula is trained to provide support and education to the mother and her family during the first three months of their baby’s life, and acts as both mentor and guide as she/he helps a family care for their new baby.

It is important to note that this training is not birth doula training and does not focus on providing support during pregnancy and labour/delivery. Applicants must be available to attend all four days of the postpartum doula training.

Who can participate?
First Nations and Aboriginal women and men who live in the Interior region and who intend on practicing as a postpartum doula after completing this training (supporting parents and infants during the first three months after an infant’s birth in particular).

Click here to register.

Travel support is available. For more information contact:

Cheryl.Stump@fnha.ca or 778-214-3204

What happens to community happens to us, what happens to us happens to ​co​mmu​nity​.​​

COAST SALISH TERRITORY (Vancouver, BC) – In honour of Orange Shirt Day, the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) today announces that trauma-informed training is now mandatory for all frontline staff. Intergenerational trauma is a shared experience of many of our clients and employees; as such, the FNHA is actively implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) recommendations related to health workforce development.

Read the full release here. 

A number of new Cultural Humility and Cultural Safety commitment and vision pledges have been streaming in from Island Health staff in the past few days, including the above 68 pledges from employees at Saanich Peninsula Hospital - kudos! 

Are you a health service partner or ally in BC? Have you pledged your commitment or vision for Cultural Humility and Cultural Safety in the provincial health system? 

Visit our website here for all the info on the #itstartswithme campaign and how you can pledge! 

Nurses Sharing Experiences and Wisdom

The 2016 Nursing Education Forum is hosted by the First Nations Health Authority. This event brings nurses, who work in First Nations Communities located throughout BC, together in an environment of learning, networking, sharing and recharging!

This forum will provide a multitude of sessions in selected learning environments for CHN, HCC and CRP in addition to the following general Keynote addresses: FNHA’s David Reid, Manager of Emergency Management, and FNHA’s Patricia Vickers, Director, Mental Wellness.

Save the date!

• Week 1:  November 15 – 17, 2016 
• Week 2:  November 22 – 24, 2016

ShakeOut BC earthquake drill to take place on Oct. 20!

We live in one of the most seismically active areas in the world and in the future we will experience a major earthquake. Coastal First Nations oral histories recount the devastating impact of the Cascadia mega-quake that took place in 1700. These stories describe entire coastal villages being destroyed by Tsunami waves and canoes ending up in trees. These stories have been passed down through seven generations and have provided warning that we live in an area that is dangerous.

Read the full blog post here.

The Aboriginal Sport, Recreation and Physical Activity Partners Council (Partners Council) 2016/17 Equipment Grant Program offers First Nations, Métis Chartered Communities and Aboriginal Friendships Centres across British Columbia the opportunity to apply for funds to purchase sport, recreation and/or physical activity equipment.

The deadline for Equipment Grant Applications is October 14th, 2016 at 4 pm.

More info here.

The International Journal of Indigenous Health (IJIH) has just released a general call for papers for Volume 11, Issue 2. The IJIH accepts manuscripts from academic and community-based researchers and practitioners in Indigenous health; submissions are invited from authors across disciplines, Indigenous communities and countries who are conducting research or evaluating policy and/or promising practices that contribute to understanding of Indigenous health.

Find more info here.

Vice President, Human Resources
Location(s): West Vancouver
Deadline: Oct 14, 2016 at 4:00 PM
Job description

Qualitative Analyst
Location(s): West Vancouver
Deadline: Oct 14, 2016 at 4:00 PM
Job description

Senior eHealth Clinical Lead
Location(s): Vancouver
Deadline: October 13, 2016 at 4:00pm
Job description

Nurse Manager, Nursing Resource Team
Location(s): Vancouver
Deadline: October 21, 2016 at 4:00pm
Job description

Regional Planner, Fraser Salish Region
Locations(s): Matsqui/Chilliwack
Deadline: October 21, 2016 at 4:00 PM
Job description

Executive Office Manager
Locations(s): West Vancouver
Deadline: October 14, 2016 at 4:00 PM
Job description

More job opportunities here.

Cook
Organization: H'ulh-etun Health Society
Location(s): Chemainus BC
Deadline: Oct 14, 2016 by 4:00 PM
Job description

Special Projects - Health and Wellness
Organization: Carrier Sekani Family Services
Location(s): Burns Lake, Fraser Lake, Vanderhoof, Fort St. James
Deadline: Oct 11, 2016 by 5:00 PM
Job description

Outreach Physiotherapist
Organization: Northern St'at'imc Outreach Health Service, Lillooet Tribal Council
Location(s): Lillooet BC
Deadline: Open until filled
Job description

Early Childhood Educator Team Leader
Organization: Sto:lo Service Agency
Location(s): Chilliwack BC
Deadline: Open until filled
Job description

Manager, Home & Community Care
Organization: Squamish Nation
Location(s): Squamish Naiton BC
Deadline: Open until filled
Job description