Balance in well being, community involvement, social connections and choice were the key points that came out of a series of consultations with seniors held in the north last year.
Northern Health asked seniors in 13 communities at meetings held in September, October and November about what was important for optimum healthy aging and seniors' care.
"We certainly didn't hear seniors say they wanted more institutions," said Dr. Charles Jago, Northern Health board chair. "It's a recent phenomenon that seniors want to continue to lead active lives. We know that people will need to access various levels of care as they age, but it wasn't the main focus of the discussion process."
The follow up of the consultation process is to make sure the document is distributed widely to physicians and northern health staff as well as external partners so they can use the findings and recommendations for program planning. Not all the issues mentioned in the report can be addressed by Northern Nealth alone. Housing and transportation, for example, require partnerships with municipalities, seniors organizations and others in the community. As far as the issue of the northern climate, that might just have to be left to Mother Nature.
"It's a very interesting report and I think our staff and managers will really benefit from this information," said Cathy Ulrich, Northern Health president and chief executive officer.
First Nations groups were part of the focus and the issues of cultural competency were addressed.
"How do we make sure that First Nations people feel respected in their communities and by the service providers," said Ulrich. "That their traditions and ways of being are understood and that there is room and space made for that in the way those services are provided."
Northern Health already has a program underway for indigenous competency where 1,500 staff, board members and members of the executive team have been educated towards First Nations people's needs. There is also seven First Nations health improvement committees established across the region where staff and first nations leaders look at what's working and what needs to happen to meet the needs of the First Nations people in the Northern Health region, Ulrich added.
The information was gathered and is now collated into a report that will be used to help the board and leadership of Northern Health make decisions about how best to serve northerners, said Ulrich.
The complete consultation report is at www.northernhealth.ca, click on "about us", "Northern Health reports", and "community accountability".
