Caring for Those Who Care
Every day at Timmins and District Hospital, we see care in many forms. We see clinicians delivering complex treatment. We see teams working together to navigate complex patient needs. And
This National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, I find myself returning to a simple but powerful truth: reconciliation is a verb. It is a reflection shared by many leaders, Elders, and communities over the years, and it resonates deeply with me. Reconciliation is not an idea we admire from a distance, nor a shirt we put on once a year. It is action, lived out daily in the choices we make as individuals, as institutions, and as communities.
For us at Timmins and District Hospital, reconciliation means ensuring that the care we provide is safe, culturally respectful and responsive to the needs of Indigenous peoples. It means recognizing that our hospital sits within the traditional and treaty lands of many Nations — including Weenusk, Attawapiskat, Kashechewan, Fort Albany, Moose Cree, Constance Lake, Taykwa Tagamou, Marten Falls, Ogoki Post, Flying Post, Apitipi Anicinapek, Matachewan, Chapleau Ojibway, Chapleau Cree, Brunswick House, and Mattagami First Nation — and asking ourselves what responsibilities flow from this recognition.
The answers are not abstract. They are deeply practical. Reconciliation is found in the way we build partnerships and shape services together.
I am deeply grateful to our Indigenous Advisory Committee, which provides wisdom, guidance, and accountability in this work. Its co-leadership, with Eileen Boissoneau, Health Director of Mattagami First Nation, Board member Mélanie Verreault, and myself as CEO, demonstrates what reconciliation looks like in practice: shared voices at the table, working together to make our hospital more welcoming and responsive to the communities we serve.
Our longstanding partnership with Weeneebayko Area Health Authority (WAHA) illustrates this commitment. For many years, our two organizations have worked side by side to support access to high-quality care and specialized services for the Cree people of the James and Hudson Bay communities of Moose Factory, Moosonee, Attawapiskat, Fort Albany, Kashechewan, and Peawanuck.
Building on this foundation, we recently expanded our partnership with the appointment of a cross-organizational role, Director of Clinical Support Services for both TADH and WAHA. This new position brings together expertise from both partners to oversee the full spectrum of clinical support services, from diagnostic imaging and imaging informatics to cardio-respiratory services and non-invasive cardiac investigations.
We are grateful to strengthen our partnership with WAHA at a time when they are advancing their redevelopment project and preparing to move into a new facility in 2030. Together, we share a commitment to improving access and delivering exemplary care for Northerners, ensuring lasting benefits for patients, families, and health providers across the region.
Other partnerships are also expanding in meaningful ways. Through collaboration with the Wabun Tribal Council, our Liver Health Team is working with First Nations communities to bring Hepatitis C testing directly into communities. These partnerships, which already include Mattagami First Nation, Apitipi Anicinapek First Nation, and Brunswick House First Nation, are an example of reconciliation as prevention and early intervention, supporting long-term health and wellness.
Similarly, our collaboration with Mushkegowuk Council has brought forward the Mushkegowuk Patient Advisory Services, ensuring Indigenous patients and families from the Mushkegowuk region have access to a trained advocate who can help them navigate the health care system, understand their rights, and receive the care they need. This advocacy work is reconciliation in action: making sure Indigenous patients feel supported and respected at every step of their care journey.
There is more to do. Reconciliation asks us to listen carefully, to share decision-making, and to address inequities in access and outcomes. It also asks us to create spaces in our hospital where Indigenous patients and families feel seen, heard, and respected, not only in the care they receive, but in how their traditions, languages, and cultures are welcomed.
On this day, as we honour the Survivors of residential schools and remember the children who never came home, we recommit to moving beyond words.
Reconciliation is action, responsibility, and relationship.
Reconciliation is the daily work of making our hospital a place where all receive care that heals body, mind, and spirit.
To our Indigenous partners and communities: we are deeply grateful for your trust, your leadership, and your willingness to walk this path of reconciliation together.
Miigwetch!
Every day at Timmins and District Hospital, we see care in many forms. We see clinicians delivering complex treatment. We see teams working together to navigate complex patient needs. And
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