Healthcare Navigator Training Program for IEHPs
The Niagara Folk Arts Multicultural Centre is launching a pilot Healthcare Navigator Training Program for IEHPs that will create a pool of trained professionals who can assist and advocate for newcomers to Canada when they access healthcare in Ontario. The project will assist healthcare employers in the delivery of newcomer healthcare, it will help newcomers learn to navigate Ontario’s complex healthcare services and it will assist IEHPs to overcome the significant barriers to workforce entry they experience.
Interested participants for us to share the goals of our project, introduce our curriculum builders and instructors and an opportunity to shape the program through our focus group event. Our goal for this session is to ensure that all eligible IEHPs in the Niagara Region learn about our program goals and have an opportunity to provide feedback on the program.
Please contact us at iehpsupport@folk-arts.ca
Please contact us with any questions! We will be happy to assist you.
In-Class Training Section:
This 13-week section of the program is planned to be delivered to Brock University Campus. The in-class program will be divided into 4 modules and will focus on giving participants a clear understanding of the Ontario Healthcare Ecosystem and the required ethics, communication skills, and system understanding to serve the newcomer community as health navigators better. It will also work to ensure that each participating IEHP will be able to participate in the co-op by supporting their completion of the required documentation and medical tests and other barriers that have prevented IEHPs from entering similar programs and employment in the past.
The Co-op placement will see IEHPS placed in community healthcare service delivery centres around Niagara for a period of two months. It will provide the appropriate experience that will give the participants relevant experience and time for reflection on the role they will play in mediating the needs of newcomers and the organisations and healthcare that are aiming to serve them. Some potential co-op placements opportunities are projected to be with: Niagara Health Services, Long Term Care and Niagara Public Health, Niagara Family Health Teams and First Responders.
The participants will reflect on the challenges on delivering cultural safety in the provision of healthcare services to newcomers and their families.
The final one month of the program will be spent in a collaborative effort with the IEHPs workgroups where up to 8 Social Enterprise Business Plans will be formed and presented to the Co-op Partners and Our Board of Directors and Advisory Committee.
The business plan will investigate a social enterprise that will utilise IEHPs on a fee-for-service model that would support healthcare providers in their efforts to serve the newcomer community.
July 27th, 2022: IEHP Forum and Registration Event
September 6th, 2022: Start of In-Class Sessions
November 30th, 2022: End of In-Class Sessions
December 12th, 2022: Start of Co-op Placement Interviews
January 3rd, 2023: Start of Co-op Placement
February 28th, 2023: End of Co-op Placement
March 6th, 2023: Start Of Workgroup on SEBP
March 31st, 2023: SEBP Presentation Event
Resources
Our Mission
We celebrate and promote cultural, social and economic inclusion and well-being of all immigrants and newcomers.
Our Vision
We are a gateway to equitable, respectful and welcoming communities for immigrants and newcomers in Niagara.
