A celebration of Alberta health partnerships with the Maskwacis and Siksika Nations, Métis Settlements Health Board and the University Hospital Foundation in Edmonton.
Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) LTD., and PATHWAYS Advisory Circle Member, Amanda Meawasige celebrated provincial health partnerships with the Maskwacis and Siksika Nations, Métis Settlements Health Board and the University Hospital Foundation in Edmonton. Alberta government Ministers also spoke at the event, which provided an opportunity to illustrate how industry and government can collaborate effectively to advance health outcomes for Indigenous people.
“It’s our hope that PATHWAYS partnerships will create respectful, reciprocal relationships between Indigenous communities and external partners,” Amanda explained. “The ultimate goal for all of us is strengthening communities and advancing health outcomes”.
We've always told people we want to be in partnership. We have answers along with you. If you have something to implement in your communities, come and talk to us. We're very open to work with people to bring things home for our settlement members.
As you know, we began down this path when the Government of Alberta partnered with Boehringer Ingelheim and the University Hospital Foundation to look at ways we could better treat Indigenous Albertans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD.
As several of my fellow speakers know firsthand, Indigenous Albertans have higher rates of COPD and are generally younger when they develop this debilitating condition. Combined with the difficulty of accessing primary and emergency care, this means Indigenous individuals with COPD are at even higher risk for developing associated chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and heart failure. But through our partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim and the University Hospital Foundation, we are together, working on solutions.
We're finding solutions by seeking guidance and by focusing on community care. And I can't tell you how important this work is for both Indigenous health and for society in general. And I got to thank you all for your efforts and I'm looking forward to hearing more about the strong and meaningful partnerships and projects that we're here to celebrate today. So thank you for coming together and working with our Indigenous brothers and sisters and making some positive changes.
What we were fortunate to do is to bring a virtual platform to Maskwacis and to offer it to the patients that we serve, and for the people that live there. So we've got this virtual platform that we can help patients seek guidance from a physician from the comfort and the safety of their home.
After learning about the opportunity for funding, we partnered with Orpyx and GMAK to prepare a project, to introduce technology to hopefully try to decrease the incidence of diabetic foot ulcers. If we can prevent even one amputation, our program will be a success. I would like to thank Indigenous Pathways and BI for providing the opportunity to make a difference in preventing diabetic foot ulcers in our community.
This partnership shows case how collaboration and partnerships with provincial government, the health system industry, and nonprofits, can make a powerful impact in addressing the health disparities of our Indigenous communities.