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A group of dignitaries gathered at the East Kootenay Regional Hospital on January 25 to mark the opening of a space for Aboriginal Peoples.
The space, located just beside the elevators on the main floor, will provide a comforting space for Aboriginal patients and their families receiving healthcare. A large mural of the Creation Story that was painted by artist Marisa Phillips brightly decorates the room.
Kathryn Teneese, chair of the Ktunaxa Nation Council said the space is just another step in creating a lasting relationship with Interior Health.
"Today is yet another place mark with our ongoing relationship with the Ktunaxa Nation Council and Interior Health," she said.
The Ktunaxa Nation Council and Interior Health signed a letter of understanding in January 2009. The letter furthered the goal of meeting the needs of the Aboriginal community, while involving them in important health planning and providing culturally sensitive services and programs. As part of the signing of the document, the hospital hired aboriginal liaison worker Leah Phillips.
Teneese said the new space is important to ensure that Aboriginal people have a place to feel comfort in times of crisis.
"The opening of this space is something that I think we can all be proud of," she said.
Corrie Walkley, St. Mary's Band councillor, said the new space is a big leap forward.
"This space will provide the Ktunaxa and all Aboriginal people a sense of place here in the hospital," he said. "This just shows what positive change can happen when we all work together."
Christine Shumka, health services director of East Kootenay Regional Hospital Acute Care, agrees, but admits this is just the beginning.
"I'm very excited about the developments," she said. "We're getting there, we're moving in a positive direction."
The ribbon to open the space was cut by elders Herman Alpine and Margurite Cooper. Phillips spoke to the gathered crowd about her painting, saying that since the space was the beginning of a relationship between First Nations and Interior Health, the Creation Story was a fitting theme for her painting.
"This is sort of a starting off point," she said.
