Members of Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council hupiimin wiikšaḥiiy’ap Nursing Services gathered to celebrate the completion of a job-shadowing program that saw nurses from West Coast General Hospital visit Nuu-chah-nulth communities while NTC nurses put in a day at the local hospital.
The celebration took place on Nov. 3, and was highlighted by the premiere of a video promoting the integration of Nuu-chah-nulth traditional medicine into the health care and family care system.
(See our story on the DVD here: http://www.hashilthsa.com/news/2015-11-05/new-dvd-explains-return-nuu-ch...)
“We are acknowledging our partnership with Island Health. We have done a lot of work with them over the past 18 months, including our nursing exchange program,” said NTC nursing administrative assistant Holly Harrison.
Emcee Jackelyn Seitcher delivered the opening prayer in the Nuu-chah-nulth language. She then introduced Shaunee Casavant, NTC Nursing Manager.
“We’ve been looking forward to this moment for so long,” Casavant observed.
Community Health Nurse Francine Gascoyne performed the Welcoming Song, Agnes Edgar’s Headdress, from Nuxalk First Nation.
WCGH site manager Ellen Brown took to the podium with NTC Home & Community Care Supervisor Jeanette Tremblay and Community Health Nurse Supervisor Michelle Eng, to speak about the nursing exchange program.
“This program started with a conversation,” Brown said. “Jeanette and I were talking about how to improve care at the hospital and to help improve the transition back to the community. My goal is to have staff at the hospital – particularly in the ER (Emergency Room) – understand what an arduous journey it is, culturally and emotionally, coming to the hospital.”
Brown said the overall goal of the program was to build cultural competency at WCGH.
“We would like to make that part of our training at the hospital,” she concluded.
Tremblay said she promoted the exchange program to nurses in the Nuu-chah-nulth communities, who enjoyed their contact with their WCGH colleagues.
“It’s important to continue the relationship,” she said.
Eng said the program provided her nurses with new experiences and gave them the opportunity to see what sorts of resources are available at the hospital, especially in the maternity department.
“Not all of our nurses were able to witness a birth. You just can’t schedule that sort of thing,” she quipped.
Brown introduced WCGH nurse Isabelle Contant, whose field visit took her to Opitsat. Brown said the visit gave Contant a better understanding of the difficulties of providing care in the communities. Because of the range of high and low tides, just getting in and out of a remote village can be a challenge, especially for a patient with mobility issues, she noted.
“It has really changed the way she operates,” Brown said.
Ahousaht nurse Diane Bradford said, initially, she could see the benefit of a WCGH nurse travelling to her community, but didn’t think spending time at the Port Alberni hospital would be of much use. But that opinion changed.
“I just wanted to thank you because I needed it,” she said.
Harrison presented a gift of thanks to Brown, who is retiring at the end of this month.
“What we do is bigger than one person, but it does take someone with the knowledge and the vision to take us to a new level. That was Ellen Brown,” she said.
