Covenant hears from Indigenous communities to develop new health plan

Covenant Health is working towards the creation of an Indigenous health plan. A team is currently touring the province to get feedback on current concerns.

In an effort to better understand the needs of its Indigenous patients, Covenant Health has been touring around Alberta and hosting engagement sessions with community members.

“It’s an opportunity to hear from our Indigenous people on what some of their concerns are, what are some of the barriers that they face in accessing health care,” said Adam North Peigan, lead for Indigenous health development and community engagement with Covenant Health. “Covenant strives to be able to do things better when it comes to serving the Indigenous people in the province of Alberta.”

He said some of the common themes are racism and access to care in remote communities.

The information collected in the sessions will be compiled and put into a report for an Indigenous health plan for Covenant Health.

“It’s an ambitious goal, but hopefully by the end of the year, we’ll be able to have a roadmap of how we can do things better,” said North Peigan.

Bonnie Tejad, vice-president of mission, ethics and spirituality at Covenant, said a welcoming environment starts when people first step foot in one of their facilities.

“It starts from the very beginning of even feeling comfortable and confident to go seek health care because of a history of racism or maybe prejudice in the system,” said Tejad at Monday’s engagement session in St. Albert.

Following the conclusion of the engagement phase, Covenant will issue a report to Indigenous communities outlining what was heard at the sessions, which will determine how it proceeds in developing an Indigenous health plan.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Brandon Lynch