Nova Scotia Health and IWK hiring 8 Mi'kmaw patient navigators

Nova Scotia Health and IWK Health Centre are introducing a new program that seeks to improve health care for Indigenous patients across the province. 

The Mi'kmaw Indigenous Patient Navigator program is hiring eight navigators in regions throughout Nova Scotia.

The navigators will act as liaisons and support staff, helping to co-ordinate patient care for Indigenous peoples in the province, according to Aaron Prosper, Nova Scotia Health's first-ever Indigenous health consultant. 

He said these positions were created in collaboration with Mi'kmaw health leaders, the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre, Mi'kmaw communities and Tajikeimɨk, a Mi'kmaw health and wellness organization.

When Prosper stepped into his role in 2021, he said launching the program was one of his top priorities. 

"I really think it shows that, you know, with collaboration, you can make improvements, tangible improvements in Indigenous health," he said. 

Two of the navigators will work at the IWK and the other six at Nova Scotia Health across the Northern, Eastern, Western and Central zones. The program was approved in the province's 2023-2024 budget, which included $1.9 million to improve equity in the health-care system. 

Because Indigenous health falls under federal jurisdiction in the Indian Act, Prosper said Mi'kmaw and Indigenous peoples in Nova Scotia often fall through the cracks when it comes to provincial health care.

The positions are needed to help ensure "that all Indigenous folks have full access to all public services when they need them, no matter what," he said. "Now, that unfortunately, admittedly, is not the reality. And so there's a lot of work to sort of try to improve that."

Brett MacDougall, vice-president of operations for Nova Scotia Health's Eastern zone, said a lot of time, thought and Mi'kmaw community consultation went into crafting the job descriptions and job postings for the navigator roles. 

He said the positions will be given to people with Indigenous backgrounds "so that there's a strong understanding of Mi'kmaw language, culture, customs [and] traditions." 

"I'm sure we're going to learn a lot on the way," said MacDougall.

"But I think it's really going to be important that we continue to collaborate and work collectively together with our Mi'kmaw health directors and leaders to ensure that we're maximizing the potential of these positions and helping people."

The program is the first of its kind in Nova Scotia, but Prosper and MacDougall said it's inspired by other provinces like Ontario and British Columbia, where similar navigation programs exist and are having success.