STC, Saskatoon Health Region sign agreement

Last month the Saskatoon Tribal Council and Saskatoon Health Region signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The MOU builds a framework aimed at integrating First Nations and Métis communities in the city’s health sector. STC Chief Felix Thomas said his organization will recruit employees for the health region in hopes they can be retained there. STC will also help Aboriginal businesses get involved with other services in the healthcare sector such as janitorial and laundry. Both STC and SHR have committed $10,000 each to offer 20 scholarships to First Nations and Métis individuals pursuing careers in the healthcare sector. The goal is to have the SHR Aboriginal workforce to 10 per cent by March 2014. Presently, four per cent of the health region’s 13,000 employees are Aboriginal. “We’ve been working very hard with the First Nations and Métis community to talk about what a Métis and First Nations health service will look like and how we might help people from the north and how we could link with those communities to have those people return home,” Thomas said.