Enoch Cree Nation health projects near completion

A medical facility that consists of a pharmacy and chartered surgical clinic, plus an addictions recovery centre, are nearing completion on Enoch Cree Nation.

Two major health projects are nearing completion on Enoch Cree Nation west of Edmonton.

Construction on the River Cree Medical Centre is full steam ahead with about 80 workers on site daily.

The building will have a number of tenants including a pharmacy, diagnostic imaging, and a 40,000 square foot ambulatory surgical facility.

“The point of this facility is not to pull the staff out of the public system, it’s to complement the public system,” River Cree Weiss Surgical Care+ Executive Director, Lorraine Oleski, told CTV News Edmonton.

The chartered facility will have six operating rooms, three for publicly-funded surgeries and three for private surgeries.

Legally, Enoch residents cannot jump the queue for public surgery, but the nation says it can reinvest its revenues to provide private surgical care for its members.

“Downstairs, there’s a cultural room, which will be available to Nation members if they want to use it, either during their surgical state, or if their family members want to use it,” said Oleski.

“All staff will be trained on cultural sensitivity, and it will be highlighted in their care delivery.”

Medical staff currently working at the Weiss Clinic in Windermere will eventually move to the River Cree facility.

The project, which is financed by Enoch Cree Nation, is expected to be open for patients in October.

“We should be completed construction in early summer and then we need to get the building ready for accreditation,” Oleski explained.

“Which means that the building has to be completely outfitted with everything it needs so a patient could have surgery on that date.”

Deeper in Enoch, a new addictions recovery centre, is also nearing completion.

The Maskêkosihk Recovery Community will have 75 beds – 35 for men, 35 for women, and five detox.

“When we look at other recovery communities and their programming, they have their programming built around the Alberta Recovery Model but ours is built around culture,” Tyler Morin, senior manager of the Apiwikamik Wellness Branch told CTV News Edmonton.

“The very first people we hired were elders.”

Morin says that’s important because some programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, don’t necessarily resonate with Indigenous peoples.

“It’s about giving up your power to a higher power, where we already feel powerless because of colonization,” said Morin.

“We need to come back to our own roots.”

The facility will be operated by third party Edgewood Health Network, with the goal of Enoch eventually taking it over.

“I think it’s going to be huge. It’s going to be a major game changer,” said Morin.

“It’s going to be amazing that we can help, hopefully, 300 people a year.”

The recovery community is expected to open in July.