Health Program Update

Rachel Garrick was recently hired for the newly established Health Services Manager position on January 21, 2019. She was formerly the IFNA Community Wellbeing Facilitator and has been working with IFNA since January 2017. Rachel has worked with IFNA on and off throughout the years. IFNA Health Services worked on and submitted an operational plan after the strategic planning session. This plan did not incorporate the work of the then Health Services Coordinator and First Nations Family Physicians and Family Services (FNFPFS).

This operational plan will be updated and resubmitted. The IFNA Health Services team includes Marion Morris, Mental Wellness Team Coordinator; Lynda Beardy, Diabetes Strategy Coordinator; and Alana Anderson, First Nations Physicians and Family Services.

• Lynda Beardy, former IFNA Receptionist and FNFPHS Interim Data Clerk, joined the IFNA Health Services Team temporarily through NAN Diabetes funding to coordinate the IFNA Health Summit – Diabetes Gathering and assist with wrapping up the work of the Community Wellbeing Facilitator program.

• Alana Anderson, who has been assisting the IFNA CEO as a consultant for the FNFPHS, has been working collaboratively with the IFNA Health Services Team. We are working on improving the working relationship between FNFPHS and IFNA Health Services.

  
  

The IFNA Health Services Team successfully planned and implemented an IFNA Health Summit – Diabetes Gathering on March 5 – 7, 2019. The first IFNA Health Summit that we know of, hopefully, with many more to come. An IFNA Regional Diabetes Strategy will be the outcome of this summit and will be shared with our communities.