SOAHAC looks to assemble Indigenous-focused care team in Waterloo Region

Earlier this year, the Southwest Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre (SOAHAC) opened a new location in Cambridge.

Since then, they applied for provincial funding in order to hire the proper staff.

At this time, the clinic is operating but only at capacity providing mental health support, traditional healing and patient navigation. 

Charisse Sayer, the integrated care manager at SOAHAC said “our main goal is provide Indigenous led, culturally safe health care for the Indigenous population in Waterloo Region.”

“This includes helping our clients achieve balance through the medicine framework that we utilize which works with spirit, mental, emotional and physical,” Sayer said.

According to Sayer, the Indigenous community experiences high comorbidity, so the model of care that SOAHAC provides not only treats the medical condition, but also supports Indigenous traditional knowledge. 

The clinic has applied for provincial funding to hire adequate employees, which includes — but is not limited to — over a dozen additional staff, two doctors and a nurse practitioner.

In the funding application, SOAHAC said it estimates that the clinic would serve about 6,267 patients in Waterloo Region. 

“We want to ensure our community has access to indigenous specific health care with a level of support and advocacy of services for the aboriginal community,” said Sayer.

“We also want to assist them to understand what their health care rights are and find appropriate health care professionals when they're in need of support and services.”