Health Watch - April 2015

Street drug forces state of emergency on Blood reserve

The Blood Tribe in southern Alberta has called a state of emergency in response to at least 10 deaths on the First Nation over the last six months linked to the street drug Oxy 80, or fake Oxycodone. The pill contains fentanyl — a potent†opioid -based pain killer that has a high risk of overdose. It’s believed organized crime groups are pushing Oxy 80 in the area. As a result, the Blood Tribe Police Service added a new Crime Reduction Unit with two dedicated officers. The BTPS also started an Oxy 80 tip line for citizens wanting to provide information. As a result, a number of charges have been laid since December. Chief Charles Weasel Head and council passed a resolution on March 6 declaring a local state of emergency to draw attention to the situation and bring more services and support to the community. Band†council discussed next steps†with the Alberta Emergency Management Agency and the First Nations Inuit and Health Branch.

Cease-and-desist orders dropped against spa

The Florida department of health has dropped cease-and-desist orders against Brian Clement, the director of the Florida health spa that treated Makayla Sault and another First Nations girl suffering from leukemia. Florida Health had ordered Clement to stop practising medicine without a licence and fined him for representing himself as a medical doctor. The department now says it does not have enough evidence to pursue legal action. In July 2014, Sault, 11, attended the Hippocrates Health Institute after leaving chemotherapy at McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton. In January, she suffered a stroke and died. Her mother Sonya Sault says Makayla begged her to stop chemotherapy, saying she did not want to die in a hospital. Another 11-year-old girl with leukemia left chemotherapy to attend the Hippocrates institute last August. Her identity is protected by a publication ban. McMaster hospital took the local Children’s Aid Society – and eventually the family – to court in an attempt to bring the girl back for chemotherapy treatment. The court sided with the family, saying as a First Nation person, the girl has the right to choose her healthcare procedures. Ontario’s attorney general has been given until April 2 to file an appeal.

Drinking water advisories could get higher

A new report from the Council of Canadians indicates that as of January there were 169 drinking advisories in First Nations communities. With threats including tar sands expansion, pipelines, mining, fracking, bottled water plants, climate change and agricultural run-off, the report concludes that without government action, more and more drinking water advisories will follow. “The current government is giving the green light to more resource extraction projects that endanger our water. At the same time, it has removed environmental safeguards. This creates a situation where companies can make unconstrained profits, but at the expense of the water we drink,” said Maude Barlow, former special advisor to the UN on water issues and chair of the Council of Canadians. In total, there were 1,838 drinking water advisories in effect across Canada, warning people not to drink their water straight from the tap.

High number of Aboriginal youth receive ICY services

According to the business plan drafted by Providence Health Care, 21 per cent of Inner City Youth clients assessed between March 2007 and December 2013 were identified as Aboriginal. That compares to just 2.3 per cent of Vancouver’s total population, according to Statistics Canada†data for 2011. Of ICY’s total client base, 84 per cent were diagnosed with a mental illness. Of that group, 20 per cent had a psychotic disorder, 48 per cent had a mood disorder, and 34 per cent had an anxiety disorder. Twenty-five per cent of those with a mental illness were also found to struggle with a concurrent addiction issue. ICY provides mental health, addiction, and housing services to teens and young adults aged 16 to 24. The business plan is dated July 2014 and was drafted for the B.C. Ministry of Health as a requirement for $5 million in provincial funding.

Poor housing quality leads to poor health

Dr. James Makokis, an Aboriginal family physician at Saddle Lake Health Care Centre on the Saddle Lake Cree Nation in Alberta, says poor housing “perpetuates health issues.” Makokis spoke at a gathering hosted by Homeward Trust Edmonton, examining the key issues surrounding homelessness in the city. The October 2014 Homeless Count conducted by Homeward Trust Edmonton showed that 47 per cent of the city’s homeless population is Aboriginal. Said Makokis in an interview with the Edmonton Journal, “Unfortunately, the housing that is often provided is not quality housing. It just perpetuates health issues. People end up coming to see me with upper respiratory tract infections, skin infections and other issues that are inherently connected to poor housing.”

UAS funding for downtown Toronto organizations

Two downtown Toronto organizations serving urban Aboriginal youth received funding infusion from the federal government to assist in addressing barriers to employment. Miziwe Biik Aboriginal Employment and Training and the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto were awarded a total of $144,590 through Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada’s Urban Aboriginal Strategy, which was recently changed to allow for more funding available to support community organizations and projects. At Miziwe Biik Aboriginal Employment and Training, the funding will help pay for a new Aboriginal Urban Youth Skills Program. At the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto, the new funding will be used to help grow an Aboriginal Youth Mental Health and Addictions Program.

Sharing circle for two-spirited people

Shkagamik-kwe health centre in Sudbury is encouraging Indigenous people, who are lesbian, gay, bi-sexual or transgender, to join a sharing circle. Perry McLeod-Shabogesic, the director of traditional programming, said the Two Spirit Circle is open to all, including Cree, Anishnabek, and Metis. So far four or five people regularly participate in the sharing circle. The group offers both traditional and western views to support lesbian, gay, bi-sexual or transgender Indigenous people.

Contest to produce innovative healthcare solutions

As one of the largest professional accounting and consulting services providers to Aboriginal communities and organizations in North America, MNP LLP is calling on innovators throughout the country and around the world to participate in Operation Blue Sky: Aboriginal Health Initiative. The MNP-funded competition, launched in March, will award $35,000 in prize money to proposals for developing breakthrough, attainable healthcare strategies for Aboriginal communities. MNP, who has seen firsthand the health and socio-economic inequities between the Aboriginal population and the general Canadian population, is inviting innovators to identify solutions to reduce these imbalances. “The long-term goal of this challenge is to improve health and wellness outcomes for First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities through new ideas that create dialogue and inspire action to implement change,” said Laurel Wood, MNP’s executive vice president of clients and services. Operation Blue Sky: Aboriginal Health Initiative runs until Aug. 12. The first place winner, as judged by a panel of healthcare experts and an MNP representative, will receive $25,000, with second-place and People’s Choice winners awarded $5,000 each.

Toronto to develop Aboriginal health strategy

Toronto has begun work on its first Aboriginal health strategy, which aims to improve overall health outcomes for the local Aboriginal population. The Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network, Toronto Public Health and Anishnawbe Health Toronto have collaborated to create the eight-member Toronto Aboriginal Health Advisory Circle.

The circle will guide the development of the strategy; implement a harmonized governance structure of Aboriginal cultural values and principles with mainstream organizational structures and mechanisms; and decrease the widening health disparity gap between Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal populations.

“In Canada, evidence shows that Aboriginal people fare worse than non-Aboriginal people on a myriad of health and social indicators,” said Dr. David McKeown, Medical Officer of Health, City of Toronto.† “When it comes to the health of Aboriginal people, we are not where we need to be and have much work to do together to improve Aboriginal health.”†

Nova Scotia begins work on palliative care strategy

Nova Scotia’s new palliative care advisory committee has Aboriginal representation. Beverley Madill, First Nations and Inuit home and community care program co-ordinator for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, is among the 25-member committee, which will provide strategic advice and expertise.

Creating an advisory committee was one of the recommendations of the provincial strategy, Integrated Palliative Care: Planning for Action in Nova Scotia, which was released in April 2014. The strategy will increase collaboration among health professionals and community support organizations and advance palliative care in the province.