NEWS RELEASE
CHIGAMIK COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRE
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Centre de santé communautaire CHIGAMIK Community Health Centre (CSC CHIGAMIK CHC) is pleased to announce the launch of a new diabetes prevention and management program serving Indigenous communities in North Simcoe Muskoka.
The program, called Kin-Nod-Mo-Win, meaning “I will help you” in Ojibwe, will provide Indigenous people with access to culturally appropriate tools, education and traditional wisdom and care for individuals who are at risk of developing diabetes or living with the disease.
Diabetes Canada recently released a report — Diabetes 360˚: A Framework for a Diabetes Strategy for Canada — that states one in three people in Canada live with prediabetes or diabetes. That's 11 million Canadians. Since 2000, the number of Canadians with diabetes has doubled. A 20-year-old in Canada now has a 50 per cent chance of developing the disease and this grows to 80 per cent within some Indigenous populations.
“We know Indigenous communities in Canada have a much higher prevalence of diabetes and greater challenges accessing supports. The goal of this program is to provide culturally appropriate care and services that empower Indigenous communities to minimize the risk of developing diabetes and improve the health outcomes for those living with the disease,” said David Jeffery, executive director, CSC Chigamik CHC.
Through the Kin-Nod-Mo-Win Diabetes program, individuals will have access to services from traditional healers and other support staff including:
- Traditional healing
- Sweat lodges
- Name and releasing ceremonies
- Identity crisis support
- Diabetes and healthy eating workshops
- Cedar foot soaks
- Feasting
- First aid using salves
- Medicine walks
- Fasting
- Massage therapy
- Foot care
“The spirit and intent of the Kin-Nod-Mo-Win diabetes program is to use a traditional and holistic approach which embodies the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual side of one’s being. It’s a pathway to individual and community health and wellness,” said Brian George, health promoter and Aboriginal traditional healing co-ordinator, CSC Chigamik CHC.
The Kin-Nod-Mo-Win Diabetes Program is available at no cost to anyone who self-identifies as First Nation, Métis or Inuit across north Simcoe-Muskoka, on or off reserve.
For more information and to book an appointment, please contact Brian George at Chigamik at 705-527-4154, ext. 204. Referrals are not needed.
Centre de santé communautaire CHIGAMIK Community Health Centre is a not-for-profit health-care service funded by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, through the North Simcoe Muskoka Local Health Integration Network. It offers bilingual and culturally sensitive care. It encourages persons who identify as First Nations, Francophone, Inuit, Métis or Aboriginal and live in North Simcoe Muskoka to register. For more information, click here.
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