AHS Indigenous liaison discusses acute care work in online session

As Alberta Health Services celebrates diversity within Indigenous peoples and communities, they are hosting a series of lunchtime online sessions throughout the month of June.

Monday’s session focused on a day in the life of Indigenous liaisons working in acute care where close to 60 people tuned in to listen to those who work at the frontline of healthcare share about their role and the unique work at AHS.

One of the speakers, and the one closest to the South Zone, was Calgary acute care sites traditional wellness coordinator, Jolene Whitney who shared her experience as the only one in the role for the whole area.

“I cover all the hospitals based on consults from the Indigenous hospital liaison and anyone in the health care team, including spiritual care, social work and the staff,” said Whitney

She said her role is to provide cultural support and guidance, as well as endof-life support to family and patients, prayers, blessings, Elder support, connection to Elders, and education to staff.

“As the traditional wellness coordinator, I work with a lot of mental health patients, I support them with budgeting, translation if that’s needed, but honestly out of the whole time I’ve been working I haven’t had that request at all. I do deal with all the Indigenous patients only, I provide emotional and spiritual support and advocacy so that’s creating the safe space and being a voice for the voiceless,” said Whitney.

She said as part of her role in educating staff, one thing they are being educated on is a new ceremony policy that is just coming out, protocols, roles and responsibilities.

“The ceremony policy is effective June 21 of this year, and a lot of facilities are already implementing it already, but more work has to be done in the policy.

“I’ve had the privilege to go to a whole bunch of facilities in the southern zone to educate them, educate the staff about it, because some places are already supporting it, but there are all these rules in some places that present challenges,” said Whitney.

She explained in some places people are instructed to go outside, especially during COVID the pandemic and a lot of facilities have what’s called a chapel and people were sent there to go smudge.

“The chapel can be triggering for our people plus other services are happening there at the same time and we have to wait. Another challenge was the mental health unit, where some people have to earn a privilege to go off the unit and if they didn’t have that privilege, then they weren’t allowed and there’s no smudging on the units,” said Whitney.

She explained that with the policy, the patient can have bedside smudge and people should be accommodated within an hour, either at bedside or in a room on the units if they have a shared space, with the exception of mental health units where staff would have to light it for them.

Other speakers were Gift Lake Metis settlement Community Health representative, Jennifer Anderson and Gift Lake Metis Settlement, Grand Prairie Regional Hospital Indigenous wellness coordinator, Raelynn Lamouche, as well as Canmore General Hospital Indigenous Hospital Liaison, Kenny Hunter.