Photo courtesy of Manfred Joehnck
A unique healing healthcare facility was officially opened today as part of the All Nations Healing Hospital in Fort Qu’Appelle.
The new $3 million addition is focused on dialysis patients. They will no longer have to spend hours on the road to get treatment in Regina. In addition, the Pasikow Muskow Healing Centre combines traditional medicine with Indigenous culture.
The chief of File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council, Edmund Bellegarde, says it is also another step in the long road of reconciliation.
“It is a pathway for reconciliation in this country that all levels of government, including our First Nations leaders need to recognize and support and do more,” he said.
Bellegarde also says the new facility would have been built even if the 15 First Nations involved did not receive a dime of public funding. Most of the money for the project came from File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council, Touchwood Tribal Council and the All Nations Healing Hospital.
There were also several corporate and private donations, as well as lots of community support and fundraising drives.
The director of client services for the All Nations Healing Hospital, Lorna Breitkreuz, says the centre looks at healing a patient on several different levels.
“They will also have access to traditional medicine, cultural services to spiritual support, no matter what your background is,” she said. “So that’s important in terms of health that your spiritual and emotional health is just as important as the care we provide.”
The incidents of diabetes and subsequent kidney failure is significantly higher in the Aboriginal community, making the need for the new centre even more critical.