New training program for Manitoba health workers focuses on culturally safe care for Indigenous patients

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A new training initiative aimed at ensuring culturally safe care for Indigenous patients in Manitoba’s health system was announced Tuesday at the University of Manitoba (UM).

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The program is called “We Will Take Good Care of the People.”

Developed by Ongomiizwin, the Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing at UM’s Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, the program is a partnership with Manitoba’s health organizations. The program, also known as “Giga Mino Ganawenimaag Anishinaabeg” in Anishinaabemowin, draws on the knowledge of Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and health leaders. It will include a variety of activities and reflections to help health workers foster culturally safe environments for Indigenous patients.

“The purpose of the training is to address racism, foster culturally safe environments for Indigenous patients, and improve Indigenous health,” said Dr. Marcia Anderson, Vice-Dean of Indigenous Health, Social Justice, and Anti-Racism at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

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Dr. Anderson said that Indigenous people in Manitoba, who make up 18% of the population, face the poorest health outcomes and the lowest life expectancy.

“As an important step toward closing the health gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, we’re providing staff at every level with the foundational knowledge to provide more racially just and culturally safe care.”

The training will be available to health-care workers across the province, as well as to faculty and students at the Rady Faculty. It has the capacity to train up to 3,000 people annually, with health employers identifying teams to participate each year.

Supported by a nearly $1 million grant from Health Canada’s Addressing Racism and Discrimination in Canada’s Health Systems program, the training will be implemented as a partnership between UM and Manitoba’s health regions.

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“All health-care workers have a responsibility to understand First Nation, Métis, and Inuit peoples’ rights to culturally safe, equitable, dignified health care,” said Charlene Lafreniere, Provincial lead for Indigenous health at Shared Health.

The program’s launch follows other recent pledges to address Indigenous-specific racism in the health system, including apologies from the Canadian Medical Association and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba for past and ongoing harms to Indigenous peoples.

Culturally safe care training has been offered to Manitoba health workers since 2015, but this is the first comprehensive program developed specifically for the province.

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