In honour of two years as a member of the Kwakiutl Health Team. I want to share some things I've been involved with or led.
HEALTH PLAN
Introduction
On July 13, 2021, I joined the Kwakiutl Health Centre as their Lead Researcher for the Health and Wellness Plan. At the time, Marie was our Health Director. She helped me contact Julianne and Isha at Urban Matters, who were helping us with the Health Plan.
Engagements
In August 2021, we had our first engagements for the Health Plan. Julianne came from Fort St. John, and Isha came from Courtenay. We had a big turnout - our first since COVID hit - of 58 people in the Big House on August 18. Then, on August 19, we had a Brunch with our Elders, totalling about 26 Elders and Community/Staff Members.
Following that, we had more engagements for the Health Plan. Maureen, Nadine and I split up doing 1-on-1 interviews with community members and delivering table talk conversations.
New Members to HAWG
Health Director
When Caitlin joined the team in November 2021, she began to get involved with the Health Plan. At this point, most of our main research engagements were over.
Practicum Student to Health Plan Aide (and more)
In January 2022, Chelsea joined as a Practicum Student, and she was supporting the Health Plan. She became a tremendous help when we began the next step: inserting language into the Plan to make it feel more Kwakiutl.
Final Engagements
In Spring 2022, we started our Language Engagement with Sara and a small group of Elders/Knowledge Keepers in our community. We are grateful to have been able to learn a lot more.
Current Progress
Chelsea and I have been assisting with creating draft graphics we hope to use in our Health Plan. Our Language Engagements have finished, so we're finalizing where words should be included in various portions of the Plan. We are grateful for Urban Matters assistance through this whole process.
PLANNING/ORGANIZING/ASSISTING
Throughout the last two years, I have assisted my teammates and employees at the Kwakiutl Band Office with events and programs.
with Chelsea
Since Chelsea's joining in 2022, we have assisted on most, if not all, projects together over time. Working alongside Chelsea has been a pleasure, as we mesh well together when it comes to wanting everything planned a certain way!
with Jolene
Since Jolene joined us in September 2022, I have also assisted her in many programs and projects. We have submitted and been approved for an Elders Gathering of our Kwak Nations. More details will come later! I have assisted her in supporting the Elders Lunch team in her absence/busy schedule. We have also teamed up to plan and organize the upcoming trip to the 47th BC Elder's Gathering in Vancouver next month (August).
with Carole
And as a tale old as time, I have assisted and supported Carole with many of her programs and projects over the past two years. I have no issue with this, as we've worked together almost every year since I was 16. It's been a pleasure to be able to support our children.
with KB Employees
A small group of Kwakiutl Band (KBO and KHC) staff have gathered over my two years to help plan fun community events. We have planned the Halloween Fun Dance 2022 and the Community Christmas Dinner 2022 together. It's great to see us get together and help each other with tasks to create a fun and eventful evening for our community.
COMMUNICATIONS
In March of 2022, I took over most of the Kwakiutl Health Centres Communications. This meant creating more and posting more for the Kwakiutl Health team.
Utilizing Canva
I typically used Canva to create new flyers or fun social media posts. I also utilized all my years on social media to create a cool but fun way to share news with the community (young to old).
Creating the KHC Facebook Page
I began the Kwakiutl Health Centre Facebook page in April 2022. This was my way to generate an audience with community members beyond just our private Facebook group. We use it to also share our job postings once it's passed our internal posting.
Newsletters & Flyers
Since July 2021, I have been on and off work on our KHC Newsletter. Here we share upcoming clinics, doctor visits, specialist visits, etc. As well as job postings, upcoming events or programs. I have also utilized my knowledge of the community and how they like to receive news to try to curate a cohesive and fun newsletter for all ages.
PATIENT TRAVEL/FINANCES
As a part of my job, I've always helped Kim. I've shadowed her on how she wants the phone answered, appointments booked, etc.
In March 2023, this included slowly learning to process Patient Travel, Cheques, and Purchase Orders.
Using Xyntax
In Kim's absence, I can often take cheque requests and purchase orders - within my means and current knowledge of both.
Using Mustimuhw
Since then, I have done countless Patient Travels for community members, and often when Kim is swamped or busy, I will do them when she is in the office.
Thoughts
It has made a seamless move for the two of us to be able to process Patient Travel. However, it is tricky when we're both away from the office.
Dealing with the community is a struggle some days when it comes to Patient Travel, so I applaud Aunty's hard work and dedication to our community to assist those who need it. It's truly a daunting task some days.
CONCLUSION
It has been two long years - some days feel longer than others. But it has been a pleasure of mine to work in my community through many good and bad times. My team is terrific, and it's been so fun to learn and teach each other new tricks and things! And to reunite with old friends and make new friends.
I look forward to what the next year brings me and what new things I can learn or teach.
Gilakas'la,
Jean
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