Cultural Safety Grant Projects
We are privileged to support family physicians in this exemplary and thoughtful work, representing new and continued building of relationships between family physicians and Indigenous communities in BC. We hope inspiration can be drawn from these examples and that they ignite meaningful action towards reconciliation efforts in BC and beyond.
Grant projects funded in 2023-2024:
The third call for project proposals closed in early November 2023 and grants were awarded in early 2024. The BCCFP’s Cultural Safety & Humility Working Group evaluated all applications and selected 7 projects to receive $5000 each, listed below. We thank all those who applied.
1. ʔukiniⱡwiytiyaⱡa (to do something with one heart): Creating a Culturally Safe Emergency Waiting Room at Invermere & District Hospital – Invermere
A project building on previous engagement with the local Ktunaxa Nation, to commission a young artist from the Yaq̓ itʔa·knuqⱡiʔit community to design and install a mural that will feature prominently in the emergency room entrance and waiting area in the Invermere & District Hospital. The theme of the image will be ʔukiniⱡwiytiyaⱡa, which means “to do something with one heart”. It will have a greeting in Ktuanaxa language Hu sukiⱡq̓ ukni kin wam,tkxamin, which translates to “I’m glad you are here, come in.”
2. Cultivating Cultural Competence: A Journey to Culturally Safe Healthcare – Victoria
A collaborative project with South Island Division of Family Practice to build on existing relationships with local First Nations and Metis to create an Elders circle and organize a series of gatherings and engagement events to increase local family physicians’ cultural competence and develop actionable steps to provide culturally safe care. Events will include a medicinal plant walk, a Longhouse experience and the Blanket exercise.
3. Long Term Care Resident and Family Council – Bella Bella
A project to support establishment of a council and meetings between residents, family and some health care staff to support long term care (LTC) at Bella Bella Hospital, located on reserve in Bella Bella (Heiltsuk territory). Funding will be directed at opportunities to improve the LTC environment at the hospital, such as the introduction of more local diet in patient meals, creating a more culturally sensitive/celebratory environment through ceremony or meals, or bringing in speakers (e.g. geriatric specialist) to present to the residents and families.
4. Enhancing Cultural Safety in Reproductive Health Services – Vancouver
A jointly funded project with Willow Reproductive Health Society and Everywoman’s Health Centre Society to enhance cultural safety in the clinic environment through the creation of a traditional tea stand, guided by a local Indigenous ethnobotanist, installation of other local Indigenous cultural symbols and the creation of related education resources for staff.
5. Indigenous-Inclusive Healthcare Transformation: Fostering a Welcoming Maternity Clinic – Dawson Creek
A project to strengthen existing partnerships with local Indigenous communities and knowledge keepers through active engagement in a process of co-creating a welcoming maternity clinic space, by incorporating elements of local Indigenous art, signage and a visible acknowledgment of the clinic’s location on Treaty 8 territory.
6. Embracing Indigenous Birth Wisdom – Victoria
A project to produce a community podcast series featuring Indigenous expert guests, promoting Indigenous birth wisdom on Vancouver Island. The series is intended to complement resources already in use and leverage an existing platform for interdisciplinary information sharing about maternity practices.
7. W’SANEC art for Saanich Peninsula Outreach Team – North Saanich
A project to supplement a new collaborative clinic initiative supporting mental health and substance use in the Saanich Peninsula. Funds will be used to apply the art protocol developed by the W̱’SÁNEĆ Leadership Council, and install Indigenous art and signage in the Sencoten language in the clinic space.
Grant projects funded in 2022-2023:
Continuation of the Prince George Cultural Humility and Competency Working Group (Prince George)
A project to continue the work and goals of the PG Cultural Safety Working Group during their application process for further Health Authority funding. Elders involved in the Working Group were compensated for their time during a final round of meetings before the group disbanded in May 2023, due to changing circumstances and departing leaders. The project therefore closed early and only the first gate of grant funding was released.
With funding support from the previous BCCFP grant cycle, the group had been very successful with its efforts to get patient-facing videos displayed in the Urgent Care triage room to increase cultural safety and inclusivity for patients, and install Indigenous art works into the triage room.
A place of welcome: expressing care, safety and humility through patient intake forms (Surrey-Langley)
A collaborative project to incorporate cultural safety and humility principles into redrafted patient intake forms and processes in Fraser Health. A group practice that includes at least a dozen familly physicians worked with consultants in health equity to: gather and apply guidance from local Indigenous-created resources; assess and revise their clinic’s patient intake forms from a cultural safety lens, and put them into practice; develop materials and plan for a knowledge-sharing event (to be held in October 2024) to share their experience with other local family physicians and advise them about the process for updating their own forms with cultural safety in mind.
Cowichan Maternity Clinic Indigenous Reconnection & Primary Care Network Priority Attachment (Duncan)
A jointly funded project to better integrate local maternity care services with Indigenous patient needs and improve attachments to primary care for pregnant/newborn Indigenous families, through a collaborative consultation and reporting process. The team’s activities culminated in a community meeting on February 29, 2024 that was beautifully reflected in a graphical recording by Indigenous artist Lise Gillies.
Integrated locally planned cultural safety KAIROS blanket exercise (Lillooet)
A jointly funded project with Interior Health to deliver the KAIROS blanket exercise course in collaboration with local Tit’qet leaders and Elders of the St’at’imc Nation, to introduce concepts around cultural safety and humility to local physicians in Lillooet. Collaboration was with members of Interior Health regional operations, Divisions of Family Practice, and Community Health Directors from each of the five St’at’imc communities and many participating physicians felt it would immediately help their care of St’at’imc people in the emergency department.
Cowichan District Hospital Emergency Department Cultural Humility Learning and Development Plan Community Engagement Project (Duncan)
A jointly funded project to co-create a Cultural Humility Learning and Development Plan for the Emergency Room of Cowichan District Hospital in collaboration with local Quw’utsun leaders and Elders. Representatives from Cowichan Tribes, Malahat Nation, Halalt First Nation, Lyackson First Nation, Stz’uminus First Nation, Penelakut Tribe, Ditidaht First Nation, Pacheedaht First Nation, Ts’uubaa-asatx Nation and Cowichan Valley Métis First Nation were all contacted to participate in interviews that would inform the new Cultural Humility Learning and Development Plan.
St. Paul’s Hospital Perinatal Substance Use Program (Vancouver)
The BCCFP portion of this jointly funded project enabled a family physician specializing in maternity care to work together with Indigenous community partners at Kilala Lelum Urban Indigenous Health Centre and members of the Indigenous Wellness team at St. Paul’s Hospital to incorporate learnings from Indigenous patients into the work of the Perinatal Substance Use program.
Journey Home Project: Knowledge translation for the next generation of Palliative Care Providers (Saanich)
A project to work together with members of the W̱SÁNEĆ Nation community, to share lessons and learnings from the palliative care Journey Home Project (JHP film project) with non-Indigenous providers at Saanich Peninsula Hospital and surrounding community practices. The basis for this sharing is the co-creation and dissemination of a toolkit for Palliative Care/Journey Home Care Providers, including Indigenous-specific resources for providing care. The project also illuminates palliative care as a specialty practice amongst family physicians.
Grant projects funded in 2021-2022:
Maternal care for the vulnerable (Chetwynd/South Peace region)
The team at Salteau Health Centre conducted a study to address a knowledge gap in provider education around culturally safe and traditional prenatal care practices and highlight community supports and resources for complex prenatal conditions in pregnancy. The community of Saulteau First Nations and surrounding communities who utilize the same services will benefit from this study, which is a first step toward educating local health professionals, and informing a framework to improve on gaps in perinatal services and access to traditional perinatal cultural supports.
Traditional medicine workshops (Victoria)
The project aimed to deliver a series of traditional medicine workshops to family physicians, in partnership with the Victoria Native Friendship Centre. Teachings were provided by two Elders from Coast Salish and Kwakwakaʼwakw families and local knowledge keepers who also discussed their communities’ experience in the Western health care system, including attending “Indian Hospitals”. They discussed how Indigenous patients often experience discrimination and are subsequently reluctant to discuss their use of and belief in traditional medicines. Physicians were encouraged to talk with their patients about plant-based medicines and to respect their patients’ beliefs around health and wellness.
Cultural safety and medication (Courtenay/Comox Valley)
Over 30 allied health care team providers – including representation from First Nations Health Authority (FNHA), Island Health, Comox Division of Family Practice/Primary Care Network, and private services – participated in the development and delivery of key resources on Plan W and Non-Insured Benefits of First Nations and Inuit Health Branch. The multiple project collaborators co-created:
- a broad portfolio of PDF resources for health care providers, many of which could be shared physicians across BC
- a series of awareness events targeting physicians/health providers, continuing into spring 2023
- an awareness “Health Fair” event in January 2023 for Indigenous patients that included confidential medication consultations.
Bringing cultural recognition through art (Penticton)
Syilx artist Wynona Paul produced a large canvas painting (48″x70”) that is now installed in the Fairview Medical Clinic entrance. An unveiling ceremony was held December 1, 2022 with Chief Greg Gabriel (Penticton Indian Band) and Jacki McPherson (Health Director, Osoyoos Indian Band and cultural safety instructor for UBC) attending and sharing what this painting means to them and their community. Elder Grace Greyeyes (Penticton Indian Band) also provided a blessing and smudging. The painting has created a welcoming and open environment for Indigenous patients attending the clinic. Dr. Clarke also hopes that patients will feel open to share and incorporate any cultural healing practises, as they wish, into their care plans.
ER triage videos (Prince George)
This project aimed to produce a video and pamphlet, informed by regular consultation with community Elders, to help educate local family physicians and Emergency care providers on culturally safe care practices in the Emergency Room setting. At the outset of the project, the project lead and their colleagues had already taken significant steps to connect with Elders in the community and formed a local ER Cultural Safety Working Group. With BCCFP’s grant, as well as additional partner funding to complete video editing, the project group was able to produce three patient-facing videos for the ER triage area (patient waiting area):
Public-facing W̱SÁNEĆ art at a local community health centre (Victoria/Saanich)
The project was aimed at funding a local W̱SÁNEĆ artist to create a prominent, public-facing mural and a sign at the new Island Sexual Health Community Health Clinic, in the SENĆOŦEN language, with direction from the “W̱SÁNEĆ Art Protocol” (2021) of the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council, to welcome people of diverse Indigenous Nations into the clinic space. WSÁNEĆ artist, Sarah Jim, designed and painted a mural on a prominent interior wall of the patient waiting area of the Island Sexual Health Community Health Clinic in Saanich. The clinic team hopes that the forthcoming newspaper feature about Sarah’s art and the WLC Arts-Based Protocol will have a wider impact and raise awareness in the Victoria community, and perhaps inspire other local organizations to engage with the WLC and initiatives like the Arts-Based Protocol which is a movement of decolonization.
