FNHA eBlast - May 14, 2019

FNHA Nurses Awarded for Centenary Medal of Distinction

On May 2, 2019 the University of British Columbia (UBC) awarded three FNHA nurses a Centenary Medal of Distinction. The medal serves to recognize individuals who have brought high honour to the school and/or to the profession of nursing, and/or who have made long-standing/significant contributions to advance its vision, mission, and mandate.

"This award celebrates the great work our FNHA nurses have been doing for First Nations in BC," shares FNHA CEO Joe Gallagher. "I'm proud of the all contributions they are making to strengthen the relationships in First Nations communities. Congratulations to Becky, Debbie and Lucy."

Read more here.

Healing the Healers: FNHA's Healing Complex Trauma training supports frontline workers

Training program helps frontline workers so they can more effectively support the clients they serve

Frontline workers supporting First Nations clients on their healing journeys often have a lot in common with the clients they serve. A shared history of Indian Residential School and the Sixties Scoop result in an invisible inheritance for both client and caregiver. Recognizing this fact, the FNHA is delivering two new trauma training programs for frontline mental health workers: the three-week intensive Healing Complex Trauma 1 (HCT1) and the three to five-day Brief Trauma Training (BTT).

Read more here.

First Nations youth lead innovative and collaborative suicide prevention and life promotion activities in community

Haisla Nation Culture Camp, where Megan Metz spoke with youth about mental health and wellness last summer.

Young First Nations community members are guiding the important work of preventing suicide and promoting life in communities all across BC. Specifically, 15 First Nations youth who have lived experience with suicide are working together to be champions of life promotion. They are collaborating and supporting each other in sharing life-promoting activities with their younger peers in their home communities.

Read more here.

Mental Health Week 2019: Q & A with Courtney Defriend

Regional Manager, Mental Health and Wellness for Vancouver Island Region

Mental Health Week was May 6-12!

Q: How would you describe mental health and wellness for First Nations people?

A: Mental wellness for First Nations people is a wholistic and relational topic. Wellness of a person reflects wellness of our family, community, and nation. Everything is connected. This is true for our internal systems (cognitive, spiritual, respiratory, muscular, etc.) as well as our life span and the experiences we have. Wellness is the relationship we have with everything around us.

Read more here.

Self-Care is about Dignity: Caring for All Our Relations

Mental Health Week Blog by Ryan Moyer, FNHA Program Consultant for Mental Health and Wellness

Self-care isn't about being self-absorbed—it's about caring for our families, communities, environments, and workplaces. For those of us who don't create routines for self-balancing behaviours (*Ryan puts his hand up), this is an important reality to remember and live.

But what is this 'self' thing we speak of when we say 'self-care'?

Read the full blog post here.

Young Wellness Warriors and Families in South Surrey Commit to Health and Wellness

FNHA Winter Wellness Grant Supports Gathering at South Surrey Learning Centre

The South Surrey / White Rock Learning Centre recognized an opportunity for more wellness events for Surrey School's Indigenous youth and families, and decided to launch the "Young Wellness Warrior Winter Gathering." This one-night event included activities related to all four of FNHA's wellness streams, and had a strong focus on commitment to health and wellness.

Toni Burbridge-Courchene, Aboriginal Child and Youth Care Worker with Surrey Schools, helped to coordinate this event. She reflected on the planning goals.

"We wanted to engage children, youth and families to commit to themselves and each other how they will tend to their health and wellness," said Toni. "We see the benefits of advocating for youths to become 'Wellness Champions.'"

Read more here.

Second Northern Indigenous Guys Gathering Welcomes Reps from 27 Communities

Warriors Meet Again

Four years ago there were less than a handful of Indigenous men's wellness groups in northern BC. How far we’ve come! Today 33 communities boast men's clubs with many group facilitators attending one of two Train the Trainer workshops that have been hosted by the FNHA and the DUDES Club in the past year. Some groups use the DUDES Club toolkit, but many adapt the format to what the guys want. Either way works and is encouraged.

Hopping on the bus and carpooling out to Camp Friendship, 60 km from Prince George, in mid-April, guys joked and laughed together. Once inside Tsitniz Lodge, Lheidli T'enneh representative Frank Russell Jr. welcomed all to the territory as brothers, while Henry Morgan, Men's Wellness Coordinator for the FNHA, led introductions.

Read more here.

Walk With Your Doc 2019

Last week the FNHA held their annual Walk With Your Doc on Coast Salish Territory (West Vancouver) on Friday, May 10. The annual event is organized by Doctors of BC, celebrating the World Health Organization's Move for Health Day. Participating Doctors included:

Dr. Evan Adams
Dr. Nel Wieman
Dr. Richard Vedan
Dr. Michael Dumont
Dr. Sean Wachtel
Dr. Unjali Malhotra

The event included over 75 registered participants from FNHA and community members! Find out more about Walk With Your Doc and find an upcoming walk in your area here. Walk With Your Doc happpens across BC for the month of May.

National Nursing Week Profile: Gayle McCue

Gayle McCue, Remote Community Health Nurse, Kwadacha Nursing Station grew up watching North of 60 and her interest in nursing was inspired by the show's character, Sarah Birkett – a nurse who works at the Lynx River Health Centre. However, Gayle didn't always think she would become a nurse.

Read the profile here!

National Nursing Week Profile: Deb Melvin

We should all be so lucky to receive care from a nurse who views their job as a ‘privilege,’ and this is exactly how Deb Melvin, Home Care LPN, Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council (NTC) Nursing Department views her work. Deb’s passion for caring for people started at a young age when she worked as Nurse’s Aide at the Jubilee Hospital in Victoria in 1980, for a few years. This formative experience inspired her to get back into the field she loves.

Read the profile here!

Preserve Indigenous culture and language recordings - Funding Opportunity

Listen, Hear Our Voices is an initiative that resulted from engagement and collaboration. This initiative aims to help digitize and preserve First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation culture and language recordings.

This initiative provides funding of up to $100,000 per project to eligible Indigenous organizations to digitize existing culture and language recordings, and to help them build the skills, knowledge and resources they need to carry out this work in their communities.

For more information, please see the news release here.

Health Scholarships & Bursaries Available to BC First Nations Students

The New Relationship Trust Foundation and the First Nations Health Authority are pleased to announce the 2019-20 Scholarship & Bursary program for BC First Nations Students in health and related programs.

Application Deadlines

Scholarships - June 13, 2019 at noon

Bursaries First Call - June 6, 2019 at noon

Bursaries Second Call - September 26, 2019 at noon