Ground breaks at future continuing care centre on Siksika Nation

The first steps in the construction of an on-reserve continuing care centre on Siksika Nation began Friday in a groundbreaking ceremony where the building will eventually stand.

The continuing care centre will be built just west of the Siksika Health and Wellness Centre — about 90 kilometres east of Calgary and marks an important change in the way care is delivered.

"We want to see our own members have that opportunity to … decide on where they can age in place," said Kory Duck Chief, team leader at the Siksika Elders Lodge.

Right now, when their care needs become too acute or if there is not enough space at the aging seniors' lodge, which can accept a maximum of 22 people, the next option for people is to go off-reserve.

When that happens, Duck Chief says important traditions can get lost.

"They carry the knowledge that they usually utilize to pass on down to our youth, to our young adults, and we miss those pieces once they leave the reserve and it's not shared," she said. 

"And so some of those parts eventually go missing out of our own history."

The approval for grant funding from the Alberta Ministry of Health will allow the nation to replace the seniors' lodge and expand the level of services that can be offered on reserve land. Siksika Health Services will receive about $11.3 million from Alberta Health for the 34 care spaces.

Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping said that feedback from Albertans has made it clear that if they have to move into a continuing care setting, they want to do so close to home.

"This will enable us to be able to support Indigenous peoples on the Siksika nation to be close to home," Copping said.

"We'll be working with First Nations to get input on how do we improve health outcomes for First Nation peoples — because sadly, it is far less than the average outcomes for the average Albertan. We need to fix that."

Copping says one part of that is to have a stream of funding designated specifically for Indigenous continuing care that will to support initiatives like this one.

The facility on Siksika Nation is expected to open in two to three years.