The First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) has released the 2023/24 Summary Service Plan: Paddling Together: First Nations Health Authority Health and Wellness Plan, which will map the next phase of its shared journey towards our vision of “Healthy, Self-Determining and Vibrant BC First Nations Children, Families and Communities."
How we refreshed our Plan
Paddling Together builds on what the FNHA learned and heard through engagements with First Nations across British Columbia (BC) and through ongoing review of priorities, including community and regional health and wellness plans and evaluation findings. The Plan refresh also took into account new and emerging trends impacting health and wellness services, First Nations health outcomes and the FNHA's operating environment.
This year, the FNHA continues to respond to significant public health emergencies that have far-reaching effects on the health and wellness of First Nations in BC. We are currently in a Level 2 response to the ongoing toxic drug emergency. First Nations people remain overrepresented in toxic drug poisoning events and deaths. The COVID-19 pandemic and challenges related to changing climate conditions continue to affect communities. Systemic Indigenous-specific racism in health care is ongoing, amplifying the importance of addressing the root causes of trauma through healing.
Grounded in its 7 Directives and Shared Values and guided by its Shared Vision, the Plan contains five goals:
- Drive transformation through the BC First Nations Health Governance Structure and partnerships
- Enhance access to quality health and wellness services
- Enhance culturally safe mental health and wellness approaches
- Advance First Nations approaches to addressing anti-Indigenous racism in health
- Drive health and wellness innovation together with First Nations and other partners
These goals are tied to each FNHA Region's health and wellness plans. Paddling Together also contains strategies which outline the work to be carried out in each of our goal areas, performance measures to monitor our Plan's performance.
To direct our future work, the FNHA is also informed by five guideposts that keep us grounded as we work to implement our Plan:
- First Nations Perspective on Health and Wellness
- Quality
- Culture and Decolonization
- Urban and Away from Home
- Innovation
Learn more
To learn more about Paddling Together, please visit the FNHA Multi-Year Health Plan Webpage. If you have any questions about Paddling Together, email mPPQPlanning@FNHA.ca.
