Fin Gareau, Nurse Practitioner at the Surrey Indigenous Primary Health and Wellness Home and Human of Fraser Health
Submitted by Megan White, Communications and Public Affairs

"I provide primary health care for Indigenous people in a culturally safe way. Some haven’t accessed care for ten years because of lack of trust, and past negative experiences.”

“As an Indigenous Two-Spirit person, I’ve always focused on helping underprivileged communities. I did outreach nursing in the Downtown Eastside. I saw the disparities; people suffering needlessly. As my final nursing school project, I helped develop a free wellness center for transgender and non-binary people. My own challenging experiences accessing appropriate and safe health care, along with those of my loved ones and community, fuel me to do better for others.

Today I work to provide primary health care for Indigenous people in a culturally safe way. Some haven’t accessed care for 10+ years because of lack of trust, and past negative experiences. The clinic I work at focuses on hiring Indigenous people, like me. We have lived experience and can connect with our Indigenous patients in a good way. Being open minded and meeting people where they’re at is so very important. We’re all humans; we all have our own stories.

I just moved back to Vancouver from the Island. I would love to create a Two-Spirit youth group in Surrey one day. For self-care I like being in a forest, on a beach, or home doing a paint-by-number. I used to be a motor bike mechanic – I just sold mine when I moved. I grew up in Saskatchewan where my family used to ride Harleys, so it’s in my blood.”

- Fin Gareau, Nurse Practitioner, Kla-How-Eya Healing Place, Surrey

Read more Humans of Fraser Health stories: https://fraserhealth.ca/HumansofFraserHealth


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