Supporting Indigenous Communities: LifeLabs’ Efforts to Provide Health Equity on National Day of Truth and Reconciliation

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Toronto, Ontario, Sept. 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Within the coronary heart of Canada, the place the land stretches far and extensive, LifeLabs is fostering a legacy of compassion and help for Indigenous communities. As we mirror and commemorate the Nationwide Day for Reality and Reconciliation, it’s a second to have a good time LifeLabs’ influence over the previous three a long time, serving roughly 200 Indigenous communities throughout Canada with high-quality and handy diagnostic testing companies.

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The LifeLabs cell and logistics groups have been connecting lots of of distant communities to important healthcare companies. Week after week, our workforce members journey to the hearts of Ontario and British Columbia to ship care nearer to dwelling. One instance is our partnership with the Squamish First Nations in B.C., the place a weekly cell clinic operates on the Kal’numet Main Care Clinic in West Vancouver. This clinic not solely serves residents dwelling on Indigenous communities but in addition extends to these related to First Nations, creating an area the place tradition and care intermingle.

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What units LifeLabs aside is the standard of our companies and our dedication to studying how greatest to foster protected and culturally supportive environments. When group members attend our cell clinics, our prospects can have routine testing surrounded by different group members and know that adjustments and lodging may be made on a smaller scale to tailor to particular wants. We perceive that many group members could must turn out to be extra acquainted with the procedures, requiring reassurance and the presence of Elders throughout their visits. Our groups proceed to work diligently to create a group really feel and a trusted surroundings, and we goal to rework healthcare into an expertise that members can confidently embrace. We’re proud to notice that our service has been essential for these with mobility points who’ve usually felt the burden of travelling outdoors their group to obtain the care they want. 

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In Northern Ontario, the place the communities are unfold additional aside, LifeLabs goals to be a lifeline for distant communities. One of the crucial outlying distant nursing stations LifeLabs helps is Fort Severn First Nations, the northernmost group in Ontario, a staggering 853 km north of Thunder Bay. LifeLabs receives samples from Fort Severn through a each day flight to Thunder Bay, the place our devoted workforce receives and prepares them for testing. Some specimens are examined at our lab in Thunder Bay, whereas roughly 1,000 specimens each day are packaged for his or her second flight to Toronto.

The suggestions we’ve obtained from our companions in Indigenous communities speaks volumes. “We’re grateful for LifeLabs, and their cell service is a large profit on our reserve, ” says Susan, a nurse from Qualicum First Nations. “Everyone seems to be thrilled that we’ve a lab coming on to our group!” Numerous different feedback echo the sentiment of gratitude and appreciation for our companies.

Reflecting on the Nationwide Day for Reality and Reconciliation, LifeLabs acknowledges that well being fairness is a unified effort. Our actions are impressed by a deep dedication to constructing a more healthy, extra inclusive future for everybody, the place each group can entry the care they deserve.

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About LifeLabs

LifeLabs is Canada’s main supplier of laboratory diagnostic data and digital well being connectivity methods, enabling sufferers and healthcare practitioners to diagnose, deal with, monitor, and forestall illness. We help 20 million affected person visits yearly and conduct over 100 million laboratory assessments by way of forefront applied sciences and our 6,500 gifted and devoted staff. We’re a dedicated innovator in supporting Canadians to stay more healthy lives, working Canada’s first industrial genetics lab, and the nation’s largest on-line affected person portal, with greater than 5 million Canadians receiving their outcomes on-line. LifeLabs has been named considered one of Canada’s Greatest Employers (2021, 2022 and 2023) and Greatest Employers for Range (2022 and 2023) by Forbes and acknowledged for having an award-winning Psychological Well being Program from Advantages Canada. LifeLabs is 100% Canadian owned by OMERS Infrastructure, the infrastructure funding supervisor of considered one of Canada’s largest outlined profit pension plans. Be taught extra at lifelabs.com. 

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