Nunee Health Board Society

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March 16, 2020

At Nunee Health Board Society, the ongoing health and safety of our clients, and the dedicated team members that serve the community, is our top priority. We are committed to maintaining a clean and sanitary environment and adhere to a strict standard of protocols to achieve this. As we continue to navigate COVID-19, Nunee Health Services will continue to be transparent in our communication and keep the community updated on recent developments. The First Nations Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) Medical Officer of Health Confirmed that as of today, there are no on-reserve cases in Alberta at this time.

Nunee Health Services will continue providing primary care services out of the main Nunee Health Centre building. To ensure the health of Fort Chipewyan community members we will be postponing all non-essential staff travel and non-essential health services. This includes, massage therapy, physiotherapy, and dental services. Mental Wellness Therapists (Cheryl and Theo) and Dietitian (Kendra) appointments which will be changed to phone consultations. We encourage clients looking to book a phone appointment to reach out to the Mental Wellness services at (780)-697-3900.

In light of recent news, we are also taking additional measures to ensure that our health centre is cleaned and sanitized more frequently, particularly in the client-facing areas like reception and waiting areas. We are confident that continued vigilance will help keep our work environment safe, and all those who are in it healthy. Please help us by using hand sanitizer available in the reception area.

In addition, we ask that if you are feeling any symptoms such as a cough, fever, or difficulty breathing, please call Nunee Health Centre so that we can discuss alternate arrangements. The nurses and paramedics will be providing phone and/or home assessments for COVID-19 testing, as required.

Nunee Health Board Society’s response to COVID-19 continues to evolve as new information becomes available, and this new evidence informs adjustments to the Nunee Health Board Society’s actions. To keep up-to-date, we are following Alberta Health and the World Health Organizations guidelines for best practices from local, national and international health authorities. Based on our ever-evolving knowledge we, along with other provinces in Canada are asking ALL travellers who returned to Alberta on or after March 12th are required to self-isolate immediately, for 14 days, and monitor for symptoms. At this time recommendations in this letter are provided to reduce community and personal-risk, and contain only voluntary measures.

As an isolated community Fort Chipewyan can be at risk for infectious disease outbreaks due to multiple factors (e.g. overcrowded housing, food security, pre-existing health conditions). As such, even in the absence of confirmed cases, it is important to prepare for the potential rapid spread within the community and surrounding areas.

Community based public health measures such as voluntary self-isolation for ill persons, travel advisories, school closures, and cancellations/postponement of public gatherings are recommended. It is also recommended that all gatherings over 50 people be cancelled.

We encourage you to speak to one of our regulated health care professionals (Nurses/Paramedics) or call 811 if you have questions or need more clarification. Additionally, if you would like to know if you should be tested for COVID-19 please take the online assessment: https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Journey/COVID-19/Pages/COVID-Self-Assessment.aspx.

This is going to be a challenging time for everyone. To protect yourself while out in public, wash your hands frequently, and maintain a distance of about 2 metres from others. As an organization, we’re making COVID-19 the top priority, and will continue to pause non-essential services and programs to give us capacity to focus on the pandemic response. During this time, we encourage everyone to wash their hands regularly and take good care of themselves.

Sincerely,

Nunee Health Board Society