St. Joseph's Healthcare Foundation is announcing a $550,000 donation over three years from BMO to fund the creation of two new positions designed to improve access to culturally safe care for Indigenous individuals at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton. This gift will further enhance the Hospital's commitment to creating a five-person Indigenous care team in 2025.

Over 5,000 St. Joe's leaders, staff and volunteers will benefit from the creation and roll-out of organizational Indigenous cultural safety training designed to strengthen knowledge and awareness among healthcare workers, learners and volunteers to support them in providing culturally safe care. Through its Prioritizing Indigenous Wellness Pathway, it's estimated that St. Joe's will be able to help 100 Indigenous clients per year to receive expedited access to mental health and substance use care. This partnership will ultimately advance the depth and breadth of culturally appropriate services accessible to Indigenous communities in the region.

"We're grateful for this new $550,000 donation from BMO that will enable our hospital to invest in key roles focused on improving access to care for Indigenous patients and reinforcing our commitment to taking action on Truth and Reconciliation," says Sera Filice, President and CEO, St. Joseph's Healthcare Foundation. "The operational funding hospitals receive is essential to ongoing care provision, but it isn't always enough to fund programs that are critical to reducing the disparities in health outcomes Indigenous people face. This is where philanthropy can play a key role."

"We know that experiences of anti-Indigenous racism can lead to increased risk of physical and mental health difficulties. Anti-Indigenous racism is also a barrier to accessing care," explains Lisa Jeffs, Senior EDI Consultant at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton. "To compound that, Western models of healthcare provision have not historically made space for cultural healing practices that are important to many of our Indigenous patients. But with this new gift from BMO, the roles it's enabling us to hire, and with the direction of Indigenous community members in Hamilton, we're working to change that."

"BMO is committed to building an inclusive society by supporting greater accessibility to quality healthcare for Indigenous people," said Clio Straram, Head, Indigenous Banking Unit, BMO. "BMO's Zero Barriers to Inclusion strategy focuses on providing access to opportunities and enabling growth for the communities we serve and is part of our Purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life. This donation will help enable Indigenous Peoples to receive effective, culturally sensitive treatment through understanding and connection during their time at St. Joe's."

This gift is the latest in a series of investments by BMO to reduce disparity in health outcomes among Indigenous populations. Since 2017, BMO has made commitments exceeding $10 million towards Indigenous Health with a priority to continuously expand support, which has grown steadily year after year.