Image by Darko Stojanovic from Pixabay

More funding is being put towards health care for Ontario’s Indigenous communities.

The province is earmarking up to $1-million over the next two years to expand the Indigenous Primary Health Council’s cultural safety training program.

The Council is an Indigenous-governed, culture-based, and Indigenous-informed organization with the key mandate to support the advancement and evolution of Indigenous primary health care services provision and planning across Ontario.

Officials say the training program expansion will give health care providers the tools to better meet the needs of patients and their families, including training and resources in both English and French, which will improve access to culturally-safe care for Indigenous residents.

It is expected that nearly 2,000 health care providers including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, counsellors, community health/patient navigators and personal support workers will take part in the expanded training program over the next year.