Homalco Health

The Homalco First Nation (HFN) Health and Wellness Department supports HFN members to be physically, mentally and spiritually healthy. We know that colonization and trauma contributes to poor health. We need to heal from our trauma to live in a good way. HFN health programs can support you to make healthy choices and find help when you request it. Find out about our programs below.

Click here for information on health benefits and here for information on patient travel.

This position is responsible for the innovative design and service delivery of the health programs at HFN Health. The Health Director manages and oversees the Health Transfer Budget, staff management, and staff recruitment. They aim to hire staff that will provide optimal program and health service delivery for HFN members.

Children’s Oral Health Initiative (COHI)

• The COHI program is for children aged 0 to 7. A dental hygienist comes to our HFN community to screen children’s teeth. There is also a community COHI Aide involved in this program who is supported by the dental hygienist to provide oral health care. The HFN community COHI Aide is the community connection and is the key person for this program. This program is an FNHA and Island Health collaboration which is free for community members.

Community Health Representative/Health Promotions

• This program is available to HFN members to support the community with many services. For example, working with the youth workers to provide health activities, provide transportation when necessary (class 4), land-based healing activities, and managing transportation vehicles to ready them for season and for regular servicing.

Home and Community Care

• This program serves HFN members who have chronic or acute health issues. The service is provided by a Registered Nurse, Certified Health Care Aide to deliver personal care service, and a Certified Foot Care Nurse. They provide many services like home care nursing, case management, home support (medication administration, bathing, dressing, etc), foot care, and other health related services. Partnering with Island Health to ensure client’s needs are met, support smooth discharge from hospital to community, and this program also partners with the HFN Band Social Development Program to provide home management and cleaning for HFN community members on a needs basis. HFN Health strives to build membership capacity to provide these services in a culturally sensitive way.

Community Health Nursing

• This is a mandatory nursing program that is available to HFN members for child and adult immunizations. Annual flu vaccinations are provided to staff and HFN members through a scheduling process. This is a program that supports the immune system of participants to protect against known adult and childhood diseases. As well as health promotion and disease prevention through education.

Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative

• The Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative is available to support First Nations individuals to better understand the impact of diabetes. This program is part of the HFN nursing program and is available to provide education and resources to prevent and manage diabetes. HFN Health receives a small amount of funding to support actions that help people eat better and live an active life. There are also three mobile units that can come to First Nation communities to help educate community members about diabetes.

Youth Services

• HFN Health has Youth Support staff available to help support children develop healthy lifestyles and habits. This program supports children, parents and caregivers in this important job. The staff have designated ages they support: 0-7-year-olds and 8-25-year-olds.

Maternal and Child Health

• The Maternal and Child Health program is available for pregnant moms both pre- and postnatally. This program supports HFN children’s development into adulthood as well. The community health nurse is available to provide education and support to pregnant women and new parents in their homes or at the HFN Health Center. Program staff can support parenting skills, positive lifestyle changes, access to social supports and more.

Mental Health & Addictions Services

• This program is available to support HFN members with mental health, addiction issues and concerns. HFN Health strives to support healing and overall wellness in the HFN community. HFN Health strives to ensure services we provide are culturally sensitive and relevant. The services HFN Health provides include health promotion, prevention, assessment, treatment center application and counselling. HFN health is here to support you and inform you that you are not alone, our services are here to support and help you.

Drinking Water Safety

• Good drinking water is important for good health. The CHR/Health Promotions worker monitors HFN community drinking water on a weekly basis. This program is a collaborative community-based program with the First Nations Health Authority to promote healthy drinking water.

Language and Culture

• This program has a language coordinator who oversees and completes proposals for this program. Staff record and document the HFN dialect in collaboration with the HFN members, linguists, and sister communities. Culture and language are important to promote overall health and wellness of HFN members. Read more about Homalco culture and language here.