B.C. to open 13 new First Nation primary care clinics, 10 to open this fall

WEST VANCOUVER, B.C. — British Columbia is moving ahead with 13 new First Nations primary care centres in the province, with 10 scheduled to start operating this fall.

The province’s First Nations Health Authority and the Health Ministry say in a joint statement that there will be a total of 15 such clinics in B.C. once the 13 new locations are all opened.

Health minister Adrian Dix says in a statement that the expanded slate of First Nations primary care clinics is another step in “dismantling and eradicating Indigenous-specific racism from B.C.’s health-care system.”

The clinics combine primary care and social services with Indigenous health supports, and officials say they will be operated in partnership with the local First Nations.

The 10 facilities scheduled to begin taking patients this fall include the Coast Salish First Nations Primary Care Centre, Gitxsan-Wet’suwet’en Primary Health Care Centre on Gitxsan Territory and the Nuxalk Primary Care Centre.

In addition to the clinics scheduled to open this fall, three centres are in development, including the Fraser West and Fraser South mobile medical units.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 3, 2024.

The Canadian Press