Interlake-Eastern RHA’s Indigenous Health Strategic Plan starts to lay out a path ahead as an organization.

It identifies four strategic directions that incorporate the spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s health related Calls to Action as they relate to culture, programs and services provided within the region.

The individuals on Interlake-Eastern’s Indigenous Health team and the new Indigenous Elder Knowledge Keeper who is part of Ashern’s medical withdrawal team are tangibly contributing to health service delivery that aligns with the four strategic directions. Their skills and cultural understanding are welcomed as part of care teams and by patients who take comfort and healing from the care they contribute.

Please welcome these individuals to care delivery in Interlake-Eastern RHA and connect with them if you are seeking understanding or support in care delivery:

Sept. 30 marks National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in honour of children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities.

Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.

To acknowledge this day, Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority is seeking poster submissions designed by a youth resident of the region.

• Designs must be original and sized for 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper
• Original art may be requested from winners.
• Winning entries may be redrawn digitally for print.
• This contest is open to employees of Interlake-Eastern RHA and their immediate family members and relatives as well as eligible residents of Interlake-Eastern RHA.

All submissions will become property of Interlake-Eastern RHA.

$100 will be awarded to selected entries.

The contest closes Monday, June 3. Click here to enter.

More than 2,000 work-related eye injuries occur every day in North America, according to Prevent Blindness, a volunteer eye health and safety organization. It is estimated that 90 per cent of occupational eye injuries are preventable through the proper use of protective safety eyewear. But when safety glasses, goggles and face shields aren’t worn or are worn improperly, splashes, dust, sparks, mists and other contaminants can get into your eyes.

When a person’s eyes are exposed to a hazardous, irritating or corrosive substance, a degree of panic may set in and the person will not always think or react in a clear fashion. Their vision is immediately impaired and that person may not be able to clearly see where they are going or what they are doing.

Assistance may not be immediately available, so making sure you know where the emergency eyewash stations are located and how to operate them is imperative. Regardless of the situation or circumstance, emergency treatment must be completed immediately. 

Being able to get to an eyewash station quickly and knowing how to operate it are two vital first aid essentials. Workers also need to know what to do when they get to the eyewash station. Delaying eyewash treatment even for a few seconds may cause serious permanent damage to your eye(s). 

In the event you get something in your eye:

1. First, call for help or assistance from a co-worker.
2. Then get help walking to the station.
3. Keep your eyes closed and head down.
4. Once at the wash station, start it. Sometimes this is a hand lever or a foot lever. Remove any contact lenses immediately.
5. Keep eyes wide open with the water pouring over them. Do not rub your eyes. Do not try to remove any foreign objects from your eyes. Move your eyes around and get all surfaces, under, over and beside. Even if you think you only had contact with one eye, it’s a good idea to clean both.

Do this for at least 15 minutes and then get someone to take you for medical assistance.

Thank you to Cam Benedictson, occupational safety and health officer, for this submission.

Safety and Health Week ran from May 6 to 11. This annual occupational health and safety celebration focuses on the importance of preventing injury and illness in the workplace while raising understanding and awareness of safety and health issues.​

Enter this safety quiz for a chance to win a prize!



1. Who is your site Safety & Health Officer?
2. Name a person on your Workplace Safety and Health Committee?
3. Can you name one safety activity that your site Workplace Safety and Health Committee does?
4. Name an item of PPE you use in the workplace?
5. What type of safety training would you like to see offered?

Send your answers to Samantha Roberts, manager of occupational safety and health, at SRoberts@ierha.ca. The deadline to enter is May 17.

This spring wall mural currently adorning the halls of the Ironwood Supportive Housing unit in Pinawa was created by supportive housing companion Kara Bissonnette and tenants that reside in the building!

What a beautiful way to celebrate the arrival of spring!

Thank you to Andrea Schlecht, regional supportive housing resource coordinator, for this creative submission!

Work is underway on the second level of Interlake-Eastern Health Services at 100 Easton Dr. to develop the region’s first transitional care unit.

This staffed unit will offer more appropriate care options to patients currently in hospital.

An opening day has not yet been determined but more information will be shared as available.   

We want to hear why you love where you live and work. What activities do you enjoy in the region?

Send us a photo and a few words about what floats your boat, grows your garden or keeps your kids coming back for more. Entries can be sent to ierhawave@ierha.ca.

We’ll share your stories in the Wave and, with your permission, on our social media feeds to help prospective job seekers appreciate all that our region has to offer.

All entries will be entered into a draw for an item of your choice from IERHA’s online store.

Did you get your tickets yet for the 2024 KinKar Raffle?

Interlake Eastern Health Foundation has teamed up with the Winnipeg Kinsmen as a proceeds partner. 

Fifty per cent of the proceeds from the tickets we sell through our links will support health-care priorities in our region. You have until June 23 to get your tickets.

Don’t miss out!

Camp Stepping Stones, the grief camp offered yearly providing a camp experience for youth ages 7 to 17 years, is looking for two male volunteers who would be willing to volunteer for the weekend May 31 to June 2.

Campers who have experienced the recent death of someone significant in their lives are provided a safe environment to explore their feelings of grief with peers who are also grieving.

More male volunteers ensures that all of our young campers have the best experience that Camp Stepping Stones has to offer.

If you can volunteer that weekend, please contact palliative care coordinator, Barb Ramsay at bramsay@ierha.ca or phone 204-785-7542.

Recently, IERHA staff celebrated sports teams during one of the days of Spring Spirit week.

Thanks to Wave readers for all the fun photo submissions!

Check out these how staff celebrated Flashback Friday across the region.

Flashback Friday was festive at Arborg Home Care and Community Health Office.

Janice Smith, Arborg home care resource coordinator, and Angela Thorgilsson, Arborg home care case coordinator.

Lead cook Nadine Thorvardson and health-care aide Connie Eyolfson got in the spirit of Flashback Friday at Goodwin Lodge in Teulon.

Thank you to recreation coordinator Crystal Bergeron for this submission.

As a trustee under The Personal Health Information Act (PHIA), Interlake-Eastern RHA is entrusted to protect the personal health information of all of its patients and clients.

The privacy, confidentiality and security of information is of utmost importance to us, and as an organization, we are committed to maintaining the integrity of all information we are entrusted with.

One way we can show this commitment is through our email communications related to or containing confidential and personal health information.

Please check out IERHA’s new guideline related to emailing confidential information. If you have any questions or comments, please email privacy@ierha.ca.

The document can be found HERE on Document Central.

Thank you to Lisa McLeod, regional manager of health information services, for this submission.

Let’s march together in Shared Pride, recognition and celebration of the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community in Pride parades across the province.  

Pride month is an opportunity to raise voices, awareness and visibility for the community, share resources and tools while fostering a diverse and safe environment where individuals are free to express their true selves without fear or hate.

Check here regularly as Shared Health continues to update its list of Pride activities or share information about events in your area!

Learn more about becoming an ally.

Twelve Manitobans whose contributions encompass a broad range of endeavours and accomplishments will soon receive the Order of Manitoba, the province’s highest honour. The formal investiture ceremony is scheduled to be held on Thursday, July 11, at the Legislative Building.

The Order of Manitoba was established in 1999 to honour Manitobans who have demonstrated excellence and achievement, thereby enriching the social, cultural or economic well-being of the province and its residents.

This year's recipients include the following who have a link to IERHA and/or health care:

The Honourable Murray Sinclair (Mizana Gheezik), CC, was raised on the former St. Peter's Indian Reserve, now Peguis First Nation. He graduated from Selkirk Collegiate Institute (now called Lord Selkirk Regional Comprehensive Secondary School) as class valedictorian and Athlete of the Year in 1968. He is a former member of the Canadian Senate and a First Nations lawyer who chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada from 2009 to 2015. He was the first Indigenous judge appointed in Manitoba, serving from 1988 to 2016 and served in the Senate of Canada from 2016 to 2021.

Dr. Brent Roussin: Manitoba’s chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin is a physician, law school graduate and familiar face to Manitobans as the province’s top public health authority. A specialist in public health and preventive medicine, Dr. Roussin also brings an understanding of administrative law that was particularly helpful during the province’s COVID-19 response.

Dr. Marcia Anderson (self identifies as Cree-Anishinaabe and her father is registered with Peguis First Nation). In her work, she identifies the importance of understanding what creates health and health-care gaps. This understanding helps ensure that biomedical knowledge can lead to equitable outcomes for diverse people and communities.

Read more

The first edition of The Provincial Pulse, Manitoba's quarterly heath career newsletter, is now available from Shared Health. Stay connected on provincial opportunities, events, milestones and stories of interest across all regions of the province.

Subscribe here to be added to the mailing list to learn more about training and educational opportunities, priority professions and job prospects, profession-specific celebrations and long-service recognitions across the health system.

Peguis employment and training staff

Lori Buors and Karl Bird

Peguis 16^th Annual Career Fair took place on May 2 at the Multi Complex. Peguis Employment and Training staff organized and hosted the career fair.

Approximately 300 people attended, including Grade 8 to 12 students and community members. In total, there were 25 booths.

Thank you to Lori Buors, Indigenous human resources officer, for this submission. Lori has attended the Peguis Career Fair for the past 15 years.

There were 28 booths at the career fair.

Starlene Mosienko, career coordinator at the school, along with Royals CHIMO mascot and Lori Buors.

About 1,600 students attended a career fair on May 1 at Selkirk Regional Comprehensive.

Lori Buors, Indigenous human resources officer, said she spoke with students interested in different health-care careers. Some students also expressed interest in the internship program.

Thank you to Lori Buors for this submission.

It's Allied Health Professionals Week

Allied Health Professionals Week runs from May 13 to 20.

With more than 70 disciplines and nearly 8,000 individual employees, allied health teams support care in every corner of Manitoba and touch the lives of nearly every Manitoba family.

The unique skills and diverse roles of allied health professionals cover the full range of preventive, diagnostic, treatment and technical services.

Check out Shared Health's virtual gratitude wall, which includes tributes to allied health professionals.

Celebrate Paramedic Services Week

Paramedic Services Week runs from May 19 to 25.

In many cases, paramedics are the first link in someone’s health-care journey, whether it be the moment a call for help is answered at the scene of an emergency, and/or during transportation to a medical facility.

During Paramedic Services Week we recognize the important contributions paramedics make each day.

If you have a story to share, or a paramedic to thank, visit our virtual gratitude wall or email communications@sharedhealthmb.ca.

May is Asian Heritage Month

During Asian Heritage Month in May and throughout the year, there are opportunities for each of us to celebrate the contributions of colleagues, friends and neighbours of diverse Asian backgrounds to our nation’s culture, social fabric and spirit of innovation.

In health care, many members of our teams can trace their family and personal roots to a region or country in Asia. Their experiences, heritage and stories enrich our organization and we are pleased to celebrate them and their accomplishments throughout the month.

Is your profession or department celebrating an upcoming recognition day? We'd love to share in the excitement! Please send us a brief write-up (250 words maximum) plus a few staff photos for consideration for possible publication in the Wave. Send submissions to ierhawave@ierha.ca.

Indigenous cultural awareness sessions

This one-day workshop introduces basic knowledge of world views, spiritual and cultural values of Indigenous peoples.

Seats are still available on June 17 in Ashern.

Register on LMS. Contact Lori Buors at 204-280-1279 or lbuors@ierha.ca if you need to cancel.

IERHA has partnered with Rainbow Stage to bring family entertainment to you this summer.

Click here to learn about this summer's shows. And click here to learn how to access your discount.

The following phrases were taken from the “LexiGo Santé” booklet. 

To receive a free copy of this pocket-sized French-English booklet, email frenchlanguage@ierha.ca with your name and worksite address.  

We're taking a break from publishing editions in weeks following statutory holidays.

There will be no issue of the Wednesday Wave published on May 22.