A new program will connect Indigenous people in Bancroft to culturally-sensitive healthcare.
The Tsi Kanonhkwatsheriyo Indigenous Interprofessional Primary Care Team (IIPCT) is coming to a new location in Bancroft.
Tsi Kanonhkwatsheriyo Executive Director Tera Osborne and MPP Ric Bresee were at Kijicho Manito Madaouskarini (KMM) Thursday morning to announce the new location.
The new location for the IIPCT is being funded by a $1.2 million investment from the province, as part of the $2.1 billion Primary Care Action Plan.
Osborne says the team provides culturally safe primary care, traditional healing and counselling services to Indigenous people.
“We’re a status-blind organization, so you don’t have to have a status card to access our services. And they’re really wraparound services…but it’s all blended together to make sure people are getting the care that they need,” Osborne said.
MPP Bresee said it was wonderful to see this development come to the area.
“It’s the work of people like Tera, her team, the community in this area, that has really made this happen. There is no doubt in my mind, that the best way forward for any healthcare, is done by the local community. They’re the ones who know what the needs are, they’re the ones who know how to deliver these services,” Bresee said.
KMM resource strategist Trevor Minnie helped find a location for the IIPCT in Bancroft.
“To me, this is a win-win situation for all people. This is an Indigenous clinic. But we’re going to go to our community members and ask them all to transfer to this new clinic, so it frees up space with the local doctors in town,” he said.
KMM Algonquin Negotiations Representative Robert Hunter said the new clinic will help Indigenous people take hold of their health destiny.
“It’s important that Indigenous people in the region are on the road…to being more self-sufficient with regards to their healthcare,” he said.
The primary care team’s members from their Kingston and Tyendinaga locations will help support the new location in its beginning stages.
