A place to connect, share and listen, the Indigenous Employee Network at The Ottawa Hospital supports Indigenous staff. Mackenzie Daybutch, Program Coordinator, Indigenous woman, and trailblazer of the network explains why all hospitals should have one.

Although Inuit patients from Nunavut typically come to The Ottawa Hospital for cancer care, they can now receive more care close to home. It’s part of an ongoing partnership between The Ottawa Hospital and Qikiqtani General Hospital.

For many patients and families, spiritual practices can help manage the stress of time spent in hospital. For First Nations and Métis patients and families, these practices might include smudging ceremonies. The Ottawa Hospital now has a procedure in place to be able to respond to requests from patients and families for smudging ceremonies.

Nina Kautuq’s body is still healing from the 2015 tent fire that claimed the lives of her husband and three of her four children. But her emotional healing finally began in February, when she met the nurses and doctor who cared for her dying children.

Patients travelling far from home for cancer treatment can feel isolated, but The Ottawa Hospital and Ottawa Senators are working together to help lift patients’ spirits and give them an experience they will never forget.

It moves some to tears. Others are shocked, yet hopeful. Anger, guilt and shame can also come with the heightened awareness hospital staff members have after taking part in the KAIROS Blanket Exercise, which retells 500 years of Canada’s history through the perspective of First Nations, Inuit and Métis.