荔枝视频

An Indigenous-led immunization clinic for Indigenous seniors opened March 15 at the in the Sunalta neighbourhood of 荔枝视频 with immunizations provided by some U荔枝视频 Nursing students. Its objective is getting as many as possible of 荔枝视频鈥檚 Indigenous seniors aged 65-plus vaccinated against COVID-19 in a culturally safe environment. A cleansing ceremony with Elders from the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of 荔枝视频 (AFCC) and the Circle of Wisdom for volunteers and staff took place on Friday, March 12.

The AFCC, Siksika Health Services, Circle of Wisdom Elders and Seniors Centre, OKAKI and Seven Brothers Circle have all partnered as national leaders in vaccine rollout for urban Indigenous people and worked closely with Alberta Health Services and the Government of Alberta to ensure health and safety measures are in place and enforced.

鈥淭he partners have a common denominator,鈥� says Tyler White, CEO of Siksika Health Services. 鈥淥ur people trust us. Our Elders are the heart of our community, which is why we鈥檙e calling them directly to book appointments, walking them through what to expect at the clinic, ensuring they have transportation to the clinic, providing them with a care package when they leave, and following up with reminders about second dose appointments.鈥�

"We are so excited to be brought into this opportunity by Alberta-based public health services and informatics company OKAKI," says Dr. Zahra Shajani, EdD, associate dean, undergraduate clinical practice education.

We recruited students and some volunteer former nursing instructors who will be administering the vaccine for the next three weeks. The hope is to immunize as many as 400 Indigenous seniors.

鈥淗istorically, urban Indigenous people would undergo immunization via the same process as the general population,鈥� says Shane Gauthier, AFCC's CEO. 鈥淏ut this approach fails to consider the systemic racism and trauma our people continue to experience in the health-care system and why many of our people do not access health services.鈥�