Harrison Mills residents and those living north of the Fraser River between Agassiz and Mission will have access to First Nation-led primary care through the establishment of the Sts’ailes Community Care Campus (SCCC) on Lougheed Road.

Groundbreaking for the future community care structure, which will be owned and operated by the Sts’ailes First Nation, was held at Harrison Mills on Friday.

Clinic director Angela George says the facility is an opportunity to restore indigenous health and wellness practices and combine them with the best treatments available today.

British Columbia Health Minister Adrian Dix said the center will have doctors and nurses, as well as traditional healers and allied health professionals.

” It is about providing indigenous and non-indigenous peoples with a mix of contemporary and cultural medical care, but also culturally appropriate health and wellness services. »

Reconciliation and the rights of indigenous peoples

According to Minister Dix, this project reaffirms the government’s commitment to reconciliation and longstanding collaboration with indigenous partners.

” This is another step on our common path to reconciliation. »

Ralph Leon, leader of the Sts’ailes, believes so These actions are needed to make a real difference to the people of the North Fraser area.

The Sts’ailes plan to begin construction of the permanent facility later this year. In the meantime they will offer some services from a temporary location in Agassiz in their administration building.

THE SCCC gradually opens.

Accordingly CEO from the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA), Richard Jock, these models of transformation fully express First Nations self-determination in British Columbia.

A comprehensive provincial primary care plan

The campus will partner with the Chilliwack Primary Health Care Network. Several more First Nations-led primary care centers are planned as part of the province’s primary care strategy.

This community care campus falls under the provincial-state primary health care plan FNHA.

It aims to improve and increase access to culturally appropriate health services across the province, British Columbia’s Department of Health said in a press release.

Additionally, this announcement is based on the 2019 opening of the Lu’ma Medical Center in Vancouver and on the of First Nations Wellness Center at Williams Lake in 2022.