By Angela Hill

Sturgeon Lake opens new health facility

Jul 7, 2011 | 7:04 AM

STURGEON LAKE — Sturgeon Lake First Nation celebrated the official opening of their new health centre, Wednesday morning.

“It’s a great day for members of Sturgeon Lake and the leadership,” said Lyle Whitefish, vice-chief in charge of health and social development for the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations.

The $3 million facility was a long time coming. The health transfer agreement that would allow Sturgeon Lake First Nation to take over looking after their community’s health took decades. But, when they got it, they worked to expand the old health centre, built in 1977 – doubling it in size over two extensions, in 2000 and 2002.

But the community keeps getting larger and the number of health services offered keeps increasing, so they had to looking at building a new health centre.

“I’m just amazed that we have come so far. It's a culmination of years of work by a lot of people, it really is,” said Shirley Bighead, director of health for the Sturgeon Lake First Nation.

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Either as a band councilor or in her current role, Bighead has been involved with health in her community for more than two decades.

It’s the community’s ability to come together and support innovative projects that has allowed this new facility to be built, she said.

“They’re on board and they are so supportive, we are so lucky here.”

Without leadership support, boards, elders and community, it would not have happened, Bighead said.

“If you have all of those people … fighting against you, fighting against change, fighting improvement, you are never going to get anywhere, ever, and you see that in a number of First Nations communities, you don’t see that here.”

The federal government agreed to fund three facilities across the province, part of 40 across Canada — Sturgeon received one of the three.

The new health centre has state-of-the-art treatment rooms, addictions services and a laboratory.

By having a laboratory it means the First Nation will be able to start testing for HIV, which is a growing concern on the reserve. But even more than the testing, the particular importance to Bighead is the provision of counselling, mental-health support and treatment that will be able to be provided.

“Too many people believe it’s a death sentence, but it’s not,” she said.

Though the expanded health services, they can offer the Depo shot, which is a type of birth control, and increased sexual-health education to work at curbing teen pregnancies and the increase in sexually transmitted infections.

“Oh there is a lot of work, but we are up to the challenge. We truly are,” Bighead said.

It took about two years from the sod turning to the completion of the facility, something that Sturgeon Lake Chief Wesley Daniels said is a model for other communities to follow.

“We wanted to make sure we planned things now and for the future,” he said.

There are many health concerns in First Nations communities, said Whitefish, but seeing Sturgeon Lake’s new facility open gives him hope.

“It’s not often (new facilities open) and I hope to see more facilities go up in First Nations’ country,” he said.

ahill@panow.com