A new Indigenous health-care clinic was officially opened with a blessing at the Queen Elizabeth Health Complex in Notre-Dame-de-Grace on Tuesday.
The new service is described as an urgent care clinic that's been 15 years in the making, but not one that's meant to only offer care that will restore a person's physical health, said Michael Standup, a traditional healer.
"We work with people to change the way they think. That's the first step in healing, it's the crucial step," he said.
Patients who seek support and care at the clinic can be seen by a doctor or they can connect with a healer or an elder. There are similar clinics operating in Vancouver and Toronto.
Given the state of access to health care in Quebec generally, staff say the services are much needed.
"It's a patchwork of services throughout the community. Here, we will hopefully be able to offer all those services in one location," said the clinic's manager, Duane Etienne.
The clinic, which will be open on Wednesday mornings in the future, also offers resources for mental health problems and addictions.
The hope is that by focusing on Indigenous health the community will be cared for but also feel as though their well-being is being taken seriously — a challenge that is viewed today as a major contributing factor to what happened to Joyce Echequan, an Indigenous woman who died in a Joliette Hospital in 2020.
"Yes, this is an urgent care clinic so people are coming in with immediate needs, but people are coming into a space where they can connect with an elder, where they can connect with a navigator that can take them to other care centres," said Reis-Amores, the clinic's director
The centre is funded by the provincial government and patients can be referred by other Indigenous community services.
Reis-Amores and others at the clinic know it won't address all the community's concerns, but say at least it's a start.
