The Indigenous Patient Experience (IPE) team walks alongside Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) patients and families with the goal of enabling culturally safe experiences by restoring respectful and equitable relationships within the health care system. The IPE team works in collaboration with key internal and external partners in health care and in the broader community to develop, implement, and evaluate processes that address Indigenous peoples’ experiences while accessing Northern Health’s services. In this article, we highlight and hear from IPE Advisor Rachel Weller.
Rachel’s role as an Advisor is to cultivate culturally safe care and experiences. She listens and supports Indigenous patients when they experience unsafe practices at Northern Health sites across Northern BC. She also provides support in developing and building relationships with Indigenous communities so that they have a clear understanding of the complaint process and feel supported and comfortable to submit complaints.
“I love seeing the consistent small movements that are moving the needle towards culturally safe care and quality improvement in Northern Health. It creates confidence when listening to patients’ concerns that there's action being taken to improve their experiences,” says Rachel.
Rachel, who comes from a multidisciplinary background including administration in banking, corrections, and Social Development and Family Justice Services, has been in her role for just over a year. While she's a relatively new resident of Prince George, she calls the intersection in front of Mr. PG the “compass intersection” because “no matter which way you choose you'll end up somewhere very different, but it will always be an adventure. You can head for the mountains or the ocean; nothing is very far away.”
Rachel welcomes patients to reach out to the Indigenous Patient Experience team at IndigenousPatientExperience@northernhealth.ca
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