Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Can the Minister describe the measures being taken to ensure the new health care facility in Fort Providence is a culturally appropriate space and that the cultural needs of residents will be given due care and attention? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Minister of Health, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know the public administrator and the CEO of the Dehcho Health and Social Services Authority have been working with the community, trying to make sure that those types of things are incorporated. Now that the legislation has been approved to move to one authority, I also am moving to re-establish wellness camps in the Deh Cho so we can continue to get input from the residents of the communities in a more effective manner. Thank you.
Will a registered nurse be based in the new health care centre to lead the expansion of home care services, and will an adequate needs assessment be completed for all our elders who currently or will soon need home care and assisted living services? Mahsi.
We do have Our Elders, Our Communities, which is our strategy for our seniors here in the Northwest Territories with a focus on helping residents age in place, where appropriate, and then moved to other facilities as needed. We are providing training to different people throughout the Northwest Territories in the areas of palliative care and others and then home care support, to ensure that we have people available. I can’t actually recall, off the top of my head, the specifics that are being done in the Deh Cho, but I will commit to getting that information to the Member. Thank you.
Thank you. Can the Minister assure me and my constituents that the new space in Fort Providence will be ultimately used to address key health issues? As an example, strategies to promote aging in place and to tackle chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer. Mahsi.
That is the intent of the health care system, and in that clinic you’ll see well man, well woman, well baby clinics, as well as other information being shared with our residents. The facility has a huge opportunity to continue to provide the quality services that are being delivered in the community now, but over time, there’s also some space for growth and some change of programs. So, as I said to Mr. Menicoche earlier, we’re committed to the health and well-being of all of our residents and we will work with the communities. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister has stated that a wellness council will be established to ensure that the community has input into the department in terms of those regional operations.
What kinds of improvements can the community expect in terms of the community to regional reporting relationship in light of the move to centralized regional boards? Mahsi.
Currently, within our structure, there’s actually no board in the Deh Cho. We have a public administrator. The board was dismantled some time ago. With the move to single authority here in the Northwest Territories, we wanted to ensure that it was essential, or actually, we feel it was essential that we continue to get a regional voice and community voice to help us customize and enhance programs at the community level so that the regions and communities also have a voice at a territorial level.
As I’ve committed to this House before, now that the legislation has passed, I want to move forward and put in some interim wellness councils to start providing some guidance and advice as we move forward with the implementation of this one authority. When the authority goes live on April 1, 2016, that interim advisory council would become the official wellness council, and we will be working with the region and the communities to help us identify who should be on those councils, who can help us make the system the best it can be. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
