Fort Saskatchewan Community Hospital
9401 86 Avenue T8L 0C6 Fort Saskatchewan, AB, Canada

Today is #OrangeShirtDay. For Geraldine Potts, Orange Shirt Day is a reminder that Indigenous Canadians are decolonizing and recovering our lives from the dama...ge done in our past. Her own parents, now deceased, both attended residential schools. And in our family of 10 children, five of us attended the Indian Day Schools on the reserve, Potts says. Although we were allowed to go home after school, the damage done at those schools was horrendous. She is now a mental health and addictions cultural helper with AHS, providing support to Indigenous patients and families at the Indigenous Wellness Clinic and various hospitals in Edmonton and surrounding area. She encourages people to think about what Orange Shirt Day means and to recognize the experiences of residential school survivors, every day of the year. Don’t just wear your orange shirt for one day. Really do something to enact change in a positive way: smile, say hello, ask people how they are doing, or support people who are doing something to better themselves, she says. Support struggling parents who are trying to raise their children in an urban setting. Support and advocate for the rights of Indigenous people and stand up to racism and discrimination. It only takes one person to make change happen.

Tomorrow is Orange Shirt Day. Wearing an Orange Shirt is meant to recognize the harm done to residential school students, and show a commitment to the principl...e that every child matters. When Nadine McRee thinks of Orange Shirt Day, her kokum immediately comes to mind. She spent 13 years in residential school, but she could always find the good in life, McRee says about her grandmother, who passed away last year just two weeks short of her 100th birthday. I like to take the day to reflect on what she must have gone through, and what so many of our Indigenous peoples went through at residential schools. I give thanks for the resilience many of our Indigenous peoples still exhibit. McRee is the project director for the new AHS Provincial Indigenous Health Hub. A member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation in the North Zone, she worked for many years on the Tallcree First Nation in Northern Alberta, and she still maintains many of the friendships that she created there. Being in the community really opens your eyes to all the additional challenges and barriers many of our Indigenous peoples experience daily, she says. I may be living in Edmonton now, but I still think of the youth there and the extra challenges that they have in front of them. How can I make things better? How can I improve health outcomes for our people? We need to make some major changes. It’s something she likes to discuss with all Albertans. How many First Nations or Metis Settlements have you been to? Within an hour of pretty much everywhere in this province, there’s an Indigenous community, McRee says. Get to know our people. You could use Orange Shirt Day as an opportunity to further your learning and experience our beautiful cultures.

Did you know that permanent hearing loss is one of the most common conditions found in newborns? Finding it early helps families get the follow-up and support they need even sooner. Visit AHS.ca/ehdi to learn more.

Just like that baby Lily and her parents have spent a wonderful six months growing together and there have been so many milestones to celebrate! At the six-mo...nth visit, our Public Health team will check to ensure baby is growing and progressing as she should be. Lily’s tiny white teeth are beginning to push through and mom and dad are having a hard time keeping up with everything Lily puts in her mouth almost anything will do, including her own toes. That also means it’s almost time to tickle baby’s taste buds with some solid food. Starting solids is an exciting milestone in your baby’s life and your public health care team and nutrition services are here to help you understand what foods are safe and when and how to introduce these foods. Parents can call Health Link at 811 and ask for advice from a Registered Dietitian. Keeping an extra eye on Lily for safety reasons has become especially important, now that she’s able to roll over in both direction and sit up on her own. We are definitely seeing baby Lily’s unique personality showing through as she babbles, and holds her own bottle at feeding time. At six months, baby Lily is due for additional doses of several immunizations. It may also be time to think about giving baby Lily her first flu shot. For protection during baby’s first flu season, she’ll need a second flu shot four weeks after her first one. Anyone between 6 months and 5 years of age can book a flu shot online starting mid-October. Flu is also offered during well child clinic appointments in October with routine immunizations. To help make baby Lily and you more comfortable, don’t forget about the AHS Commitment to Comfort program. This is an initiative to help promote comfort and help lessen pain in patients needing lab tests that help parents, caregivers and baby feel more comfortable. Your baby’s next visit will be at 12 months you can book your appointment before you leave or call 811. The first year will have passed before you know it.

Suzanne Cunningham has dealt with depression and thoughts of suicide for much of her life. Depression, Cunningham says, is like you’re stumbling through the ...dark with a headlamp on, and you can only see one solution: ending the pain. But four years ago, she received the help she needed. Now she’s an AHS peer support worker, helping young adults in Edmonton who face similar struggles. Some think of suicide as a weakness, but I think of it as a symptom of a disease, something like brain cancer, she says. The depression is eating away at the brain until you can see no other option, other than suicide. That’s why she says it’s important to have open, honest discussions about depression and suicide, to normalize the conversation and reduce the stigma. By talking about suicide, she hopes others will discover hope and opportunities for help in their own lives. Recovery is possible. People can find meaning and purpose in their life. That’s important to know, not just for those who are suffering, but for those who are supporting those individuals, too, she says. They need to know that the world would be a lot less wonderful without them. If you or a loved one is struggling, please reach out. Support is available 24/7 through the AHS Mental Health Helpline at 1-877-303-2642 or call Health Link at 811. In an emergency, please dial 911 or go to your nearest Emergency Department. #WSAD #WorldSuicidePreventionDay