Set to open this month, the Sexqeltqin Health Clinic in Chase will provide a holistic approach to health, wellness and healing.
The grand opening of the Adams Lake Band facility at 6424 Village Rd. is set to take place on Wednesday, Dec. 13, with drop-in tours beginning at 10 a.m. and refreshments and cake to be served at noon.
The Sexqeltqin Health Clinic will incorporate traditional and cultural healing from the Secwépemc Nation with Western medicine.
It will offer all primary care services, from a check-up with a family physician or nurse practitioner, to a visit to a physiotherapist or public heath nurse.
Over time, the new clinic will bring on board a host of nurses, doctors, social workers, psychiatrists and mental health experts, as well as a respiratory therapist, an occupational therapist, a physiotherapist, and an aboriginal care coordinator and traditional healer.
“The community of Adams Lake Band and surrounding communities will have full access to a comprehensive care team that will support people with their holistic health needs across the lifespan in a team-based care approach,” the Adams Lake Band said in a news release.
“Holistic health and wellness is vital for my community to continue to heal and grow. Sexqeltqin Health Clinic is a welcomed support which will allow such healing,” Kukpi7 (Chief) Lynn Duckchief said. “I’m grateful for ALIB’s previous leadership and staff for their part in making the current leadership’s vision come to fruition.”
The ALIB says the project was initiated in 2016 as a vision of the chief and council, then and now. It recognized the work of its previous health and wellness director, Shirley Anderson, who spearheaded the new building, as well as Rhonda Camille who has been in the role for the last 2.5 years. The project is now also being supported by Shawna Biron.
“It is the years of hard work from all involved that is bringing this vision to life,” the ALIB stated in it a news release.
It said the new clinic is made possible through a partnership with the Primary Care Network, Interior Health, the Division of Family Practice, First Nations Health Authority and the Secwépemc Nation.