Saskatoon Health Region Promotes Programs in the North
- EFN Staff | December 03, 2013
The Saskatoon Health Region (SHR) is working at expanding and promoting its services into Northern Saskatchewan.
Earlier this fall, SHR representatives, including Gabe Lafond, Director of First Nations and Métis Health Services, travelled to La Ronge and Stony Rapids to let northerners know of the services available to them should they have to access one of the hospitals in Saskatoon.
Two of the main services they wanted to promote were translation and navigation, says Lafond.
"First Nations and Métis patients can access navigators, and if families or patients require translation, we have a Déné speaker and a Cree translator," explains Lafond.
He says navigators can help explain benefits to patients and families as well as how to access food services and accommodations.
"When you look at the SHR, we haven't had this service before," notes Lafond. "Regina had it for the past 30 years. [It creates] a place where people can feel comfortable and feel a part of the system."
Another program SHR is working on growing in the North is its LiveWell with Chronic Disease Management program. Robin Miller is the program's coordinator and says the goal is to make it more accessible to First Nations and Metis people.
To help spread the program, two peer leaders visit communities where they lead six-week workshops with around a dozen participants. They discuss ways to manage their chronic diseases, such as diabetes, through things such as eating well, being physically active, and generally living a healthy lifestyle.
"Research has indicated [the program] has reduced hospital readmissions and increased self-confidence," says Miller.
Anne Frost and June Wapple, master trainers who recently visited La Ronge, see first-hand how the program makes a big difference in people's lives.
"There's been a real change in people," says Frost. "We see people come in feeling hopeless, and by the third week, they have a more positive attitude and are smiling more."
Peer leaders help participants develop their own action plans and self-management tools, which could include items such as walking more that week, drinking more water, eating more vegetables, or working on communicating with their families better.
"They come back each week, share their plan and if they were successful or not," explains Wapple. "If not, the group helps them.
"You see how good they feel. They are in control. The disease isn't in control."
As master trainers, Frost and Wapple are training future peer leaders, who will then in turn administer the program in their home communities.