Calgary to get an Aboriginal health worker

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The Calgary Native Friendship centre could soon be nicknamed the Calgary Native Friendship Clinic.

Starting this fall, visitors to the downtown centre will be able to get medical advice from a community Health Representative (CHR). To date, CHR's work only on reserves.

The hiring of the city CHR is part of a two-year pilot project of the Calgary Urban Aboriginal Health Working Group (CUAHWG) in partnership with Calgary Health Services (CHS) and the Calgary Indian Friendship Centre.

The $47,000 project is funded by the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research.

The CHR research project was one of 11 projects selected from 270 research applications.

"It's a prestigious award," says Wayne Courchene, CUAHWG chairman. "The Calgary clinic is needed because Aboriginal people have a lower standard of health compared to the rest of society," said Courchene.

More Aboriginal people are also moving to urban areas. It's estimated between 40 to 50 per cent of all status Natives now live in cities, a 40 per cent increase since 1976.

"What I hope happens is that the project will show there is a need for a CHR to be working on a full-time basis," he added.

CHR's can help Native people because they are trained within the Aboriginal cultural context.

"They are able to do so some teaching and health control of their health," says Donna Lantges, a CHE policy and planning specialist and CUAHWG committee member.

Before a CHR begins working, the project will spend May through October surveying 500 local people to find out how well the city health system is presently being used by Natives. Another six-month survey will evaluate the impact of the CRH's one year of service.

Courchene gives credit to Calgary Health Services for their role in the project. "People all the way up to the executive director of Calgary Health Services have been really supportive of the Calgary Urban Aboriginal Health Working Group," says Courchene.

Says Dr. Paul Hasselback, CHS's deputy medical officer: "The CHR project is a beginning. It (offers) at least some expertise to the community and some response in providing services directly to Aboriginal people."

Courchene attended the April monthly meeting of the Calgary Aboriginal Urban Affairs Committee (CAUAC) at city hall to officially announce approval of the two-year pilot project.

"We've been trying for years to get this CHR position off the ground," Doug Vivier, CAUAC chairman, said in response to Courchene's brief presentation.