Meet the Team: Îyarhe Nakoda Youth

Iyarhe Nakoda Youth Program Team, 2022

Îyarhe Nakoda Youth Program

Through a holistic and cultural approach, the Îyarhe Nakoda Youth Program (INYP) empowers Stoney Nakoda youth to support healing, growth, well-being and community connections. 

INYP works closely with community Elders and knowledge keepers, for program development and implementation. Elders are brought in to engage directly with the youth to ensure that the services delivered are culturally appropriate and to create generational connections.

Featured programming includes hosting youth-focused events such as round dances and pow wows, online after-school tutoring classes that provide culturally aware educational support and summer youth camps to positively impact identity, self-worth, skills and a sense of belonging.

Gabriel Young, Stoney Health Services

Gabriel Young, Honouring Life/Youth Programs Coordinator

Gabriel is the programs coordinator for the Youth Program, a Registered Social Worker and a proud member of the Stoney Nakoda Nation.

Gabriel has cultivated his knowledge and experience through youth work, substance-use prevention and well-being programming. He is an advocate for adequate service delivery for Indigenous Peoples.

Gabriel works with a holistic approach and holds traditional teachings and values at the forefront, merging those important practices with contemporary social work tools. His passion is to work with individuals, families, and communities progress towards overall wellness and healing.

Danielle Lefthand, youth outreach worker, Stoney Health Services

Danielle Lefthand, Youth Outreach Worker

Glowing Rainbow Woman, also known as Danielle Lefthand, lives and works in Mînî Thnî and fluently speaks both Stoney and English. She's worked and volunteered with several Stoney-based organizations, seeking out roles that allow her to give a voice to and impact education: as board members with the Stoney Education Board, Chief's Office of Education and currently, Making Treaty 7.

She draws on these invaluable experiences in her current role as youth outreach worker with Stoney Health Services. A role she loves, in part, because she is able to create programs for youth that boost their self-esteem, build confidence, capacity, and identity.

She is a passionate advocate for community youth and feels honoured when she is able to gain their trust. Danielle noted, "It warms my heart to see our youth interested in learning more about our culture and traditions and most importantly our language. Witnessing them learn and work hard makes me realize that is how we stop the intergenerational trauma ripple effect and start to heal from it."

She's heartened by the positive feedback that the team has received through their community-guided programs, noting that youth have expressed feeling safe in the space provided and enjoyed learning more about Stoney People's history and past.
On the personal side, Danielle is a former senior Chiniki Princess. Along with her fellow Mînî Thnî Two Spirits, she was one of the first Treaty 7 groups to participate in the Calgary Pride Parade.

Earl Makinaw-Labelle (fondly known as Joey), Youth Outreach Worker

As a youth outreach worker, Earl focuses as a school liaison. He is responsible for creating relationships and programs with several schools in Mînî Thnî, Exshaw and Canmore where the Îyarhe Nakoda Youth team regularly leads sharing circles and traditional knowledge teachings to community youth - in all grades, including those who are high risk - right in the classroom.

Working with youth is clearly a career-long passion for Earl. He claimed such pride in seeing many graduate high school and proudly embrace their Stoney Nakoda heritage. It's obvious that he approaches and views his role as an honour, as he shared that he will continue to share knowledge and help others on their learning journey when asked.

Outside of work, Earl enjoys dancing, singing and attending pow wows, playing instruments and spending spare time doing traditional crafts like beading, sewing and working with raw hide.

Carlene Stevens, Youth Outreach Worker

Carlene is the newest edition to the youth team brining years of prior experience as a child support worker with the daycare and Eagle's Nest to her role as youth outreach worker. She, like her team, is Mînî Thnî-born and raised, guided by strong Stoney Nakoda traditional and cultural values that she practices and teaches to her own family - her husband and her five children.

So far, her time over the summer involved joining youth in outdoor activities, recreation and cooking. In her words, she views her position as, "connecting with children and youth to set and model a respectful, positive and fun experience."

If she had to give a title to her life, "Always on the go. Winging just about anything into situations while adjusting my crown."
When asked to provide a fun fact, Carlene mentions an inclination to trip on her own feet. Editorial note: Hmmm..sounds familiar. Welcome Carlene! Your enthusiasm, wit and humour are a fantastic addition to the youth program and Stoney Health.

Meet the Team: Administrative Team

Administrative Team

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Ahmed Faied, Finance Officer

Ahmed returns to the Calgary area after living in central Canada - Toronto and Montreal - for the past few years. He's worked in accounting, finance and tax for more than two decades in several different industries including IT, real estate, oil and gas, auto and public accounting.

Originally from Egypt, where his mom and three sisters live, Ahmed moved to Canada in 2007 when he first developed an interest in working for the Stoney Nation. He has had a passion to help First Nation communities grow, develop and progress with time and appreciates First Nation's cultures and traditions that are similar to his pharaonic background.

His interests are many. You'll find him cooking, shopping, playing tennis, watching movies or heading out on a long drive when he has free time. Obviously, he enjoys the daily commute from south Calgary. Numbers are his passion and his life-long commitment. In fact, so much so that he's quick to note that he's married to the numbers. He loves being able to translate financials and numbers to non-financial people and help organizations to continue and last long-term.

Ahmed steps in to the role of finance officer while Tracy Chu takes an extended leave of absence. Welcome Ahmed!

Meet the Team: Community Health

Community Health

Chance McPherson, Community Health Nurse

Chance began practicing as a registered nurse in 2018 and his work has taken him all over Alberta. Prior to Stoney Health, he spent a year and a half working in Northern Alberta with a First Nations community during the pandemic, before moving southward.
He's also spent time in Jasper as a guide and interpreter and prides himself on his varied interests and experiences.
Now that he works with the community health team, he appreciates that the Stoney community has such a large healthcare team to provide services to the community. His memoir is in the works. Ask him about his experiences working as a nurse in a stereotypically career dominated by women. Welcome Chance to Stoney Health and the Community Health team!

Meet our Team: Harm Reduction and Sexual Health

Harm Reduction and Sexual Health Team

Harm Reduction and Sexual Health offers a safe space for people wanting confidential counseling, supplies, testing and treatment for safer substance use and sexual health. Our professional nursing staff and counselors are available to discuss your concerns and answer any questions.

Learn a little bit about the team – Heather, Heidi, Heila, Charlotte and Camille – below, why they do what they do and the program and services offered.

Lindsay Nycholat, Manager, Mental Health

Heather Benoit, nurse practitioner, Harm Reduction

Heather Benoit, Nurse Practitioner

Heather is started at Stoney Health early in 2022 and is the only nurse practitioner on staff. In addition, to her work here in Mînî Thnî, she also travels to Big Horn Reserve once a week to support that community.

Born and raised in Newfoundland and a member of the Qalipu First Nation, Heather has worked as a nurse practitioner for several Indigenous communities on the Prairies before coming to Stoney Health.

She's motivated to learn and evolve as a nurse and continually finds ways to step outside her comfort zone. Working in harm reduction is a new area for her so she's excited by the challenges and opportunities that it will provide

Interests? Like many on her team, she loves hiking, kayaking, snowboarding, paddleboarding, biking and camping along with her husband and favourite puppy. Fun fact: she has an identical twin sister who lives in Newfoundland and claims her career story could be titled, "Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable: A nursing saga."

Heila Lukas, Nurse, Harm Reduction

Heila Lukas, Harm Reduction Nurse

Heila has worked in many areas of nursing throughout her career, including palliative care, at a remand centre and even as an instructor at two Calgary-area universities. Fun fact, her first passion was farming and she worked in agriculture/research with farm animals, mice and sustainable farming methods.

Every area of nursing offers its benefits in Heila's opinion. As a community health nurse, she values working with clients in their own environment, getting to know and work with them to set goals and priorities for their everyday life. There is no one size fits all approach in her mind; you learn to adapt and be creative to suit the person.

As a harm reduction nurse and working with Stoney Nakoda people, she truly values when clients begin to trust the health system again and start to seek ways to improve their own health and wellness.

Heila rarely sits still as many co-workers notice her boundless energy. She's a mom to three teen girls, two cats and a dog. She counts hiking, biking, camping, paddling, skating or gardening among her many activities. If it's outdoors and adventure-filled, that's where you'll find Heila outside of work. If she's forced to stay indoors, however, you'll find her catching the latest true crime podcast or playing Sudoku.

Heidi Metz, Harm Reduction Nurse

Heidi Metz, Harm Reduction Nurse

Heidi has worked as a licensed practical nurse for 20+ years. She worked in rural health care in Saskatchewan before trying her hand at - and finding her true passion - in mental health and addictions care in small communities where she's able to engage and follow-up with her clients.

Cue, her chapter with Stoney Health Services. She appreciates the community feel on the reserve and the ability to practice her passion as one of the driving forces to come and work here. Feeling now like this could be a forever job. In particular, she appreciates the Stoney Nation's willingness and ability to allow her to be a part of their daily routine, stopping into say hi or asking questions always makes it a better day for her.

With a love of travel, road tripping, camping, hiking and snowboarding, she keeps active and on the go with her two kids. She's revered for her cookies and her ability to ask, 'Where is the Bathroom?' in four languages, no less. Her career story can be summed up by the title, "Nursing: A comedy in the making. The collections of a rural nurse."

Charlotte Sison, Social Worker, Harm Reduction

Charlotte Sison, Crisis Intervention Social Worker

Charlotte and her family immigrated to Calgary from the Philippines when she was a kid. Now she resides in a small town outside of Calgary with her husband, cat and dog and commutes daily to Mînî Thnî.

After spending a few years in Fort McMurray, Charlotte was looking to transition to a new role that would elevate her career and bring her closer to her home and family in Calgary. She found that she had enjoyed both working in a rural area and her experiences working with Indigenous Peoples but wanted to build her skills working in the health/medical field. Timing was everything, when she noticed an opening for a social worker with Stoney Health. She jumped at the chance as she felt it was a perfect fit for her next work adventure.

Working in harm reduction enables her to work alongside community members, while focusing and learning more about addictions, a new area for her to explore in her career. The fast-paced environment and one-on-one work also appeal to her.

She appreciates how welcoming the Stoney People are, and their willingness to share their culture and teach the ways of their people, which she feels help her in establishing trust and respect with her clients. She feels that she's already learned a lot, especially when it comes to participating in pipe ceremonies and sitting downs with Elders who share their stories.

In her personal time, Charlotte considers working out and cleaning as her main forms of self-care. Family is everything to her and she spends as much of her free time with them as she can. She's also a road tripper and enjoys hitting the foodie hotspots when she's in the city.

Camille Wendall-Barnes, Harm Reduction Nurse

Camille Wendell, Sexual Health Nurse

Camille (or Cami) is a single mom to three kids - two boys and a girl - and her youngest son was born with Down Syndrome.

Approaching her 30th year as a nurse, Cami's career began at a pediatric hospital in Texas and then she moved back home to Calgary to complete her nursing degree. She then worked in rural nursing in Three Hills and Banff before joining Stoney Health Centre to take on a position that provided more stable working hours that could accommodate her family life.

While at Stoney Health, she's worked in a few different departments as a community health nurse - the Well-Baby Clinic, clinic nurse and then had the opportunity to go full time with the Sexual Health program. She loves her role; the autonomy it provides and the opportunity to work closely with Dr. Simms and their shared commitment to screen, find and treat Hepatitis C.
Outside of work, her family keeps her hopping. Commenting on her lengthy career, she notes, "If I could write about my career the title would be...”I blinked and it was 30 years later”. She continues to love being a nurse, noting, "...to this day I still get excited when I say I am a Registered Nurse. It has been an amazing career."

Meet the Team: Turning Point social workers

Turning Point social workers

The faces behind the home and community care team bring years of collective nursing experience, a love of community and a pride in what they do to their roles with Stoney Health. The home care team seeks to help clients live as independently and safely within the community as possible. The team provides supplementary care and support offered by family and the community.

HeejungLee

Heejung Lee, Social Worker

Heejung recently joined the Turning Point team as a registered social worker. She may be a familiar face to many already as she completed her practicum with Stoney Health Services earlier this year.

Heejung immigrated to Canada from South Korea in 2011. Being away from home has made her appreciate her culture and language. She makes it a priority to connect with her South Korean culture whenever possible.

Since coming to Canada, she adopted 'the smartest and funniest' border collie named Mocha (in the picture).

Her positive experience working with the community and colleagues during her practicum inspired her to apply for a full time position with Stoney Health. In her words, "Listening to clients’ stories and building relationships with them is the best part of my job. I feel empowered by and have deep respect for the resiliency that the clients I work with and the community have shown. I look forward to continuing to learn and grow and to supporting the Stoney Nakoda community members".

JessicaKing

Jessica King, Social Worker


Jessica is another familiar face to the Stoney Nakoda community and to Stoney Health, in particular.

Prior to her new role, she worked for three years in Mînî Thnî as the family support worker/social worker with Stoney Health's allied health partner Renfrew Educational Services.

Building upon her previous work has helped her create some incredibly meaningful and genuine relationships with colleagues and Stoney Nakoda community members. Admittedly, most of her previous roles was supporting children and families with developmental needs, so she is eager to branch out and learning more about being a health care social worker.

She lives in Calgary with her partner and dog, Sonny, and enjoys the outdoors - hiking, camping and lake swimming. She finds that spending time outside is her surefire way to rechage.

When not outdoors, she also enjoys reading and is always looking for the next good read. She's also a big foodie and loves trying out new recipes. Send her your suggestions for books AND recipes.

Meet the Team: Home and Community Care

Home and community care

The faces behind the home and community care team bring years of collective nursing experience, a love of community and a pride in what they do to their roles with Stoney Health. The home care team seeks to help clients live as independently and safely within the community as possible. The team provides supplementary care and support offered by family and the community.

In this first part of a two-part series (it’s a large team), we feature four staff who exude pride in what they do and who they care and support. Read on to learn more about some of Stoney Health’s valued frontline staff.

AnneMalimban

Anne Malimban, Home and Community Care Manager

If asked to describe her role as a title of a book, Anne offers The many hats I wear as a home care nurse manager, explaining that as a home care nurse, sometimes you need to respond in ways that are unpredictable and unexpected. "Working in home care typically means you are providing services in the individual’s home where you become resourceful when faced with challenges. You have a lot of autonomy that enables you to develop stronger clinical skills...You make a greater difference in the lives of your client because you get to spend so much one-on-one time with the client and their family in the comfort of their own home where you can develop trust and rapport. You get to see the client in their environment and each visit can be as varied as the clients themselves which keeps me stimulated and make the job more exciting."

After immigrating to Canada from the Philippines when she was 10, Anne started her nursing career with a medical/surgical unit in Alberta Health Services. Drawn to the people and culture, eventually she made her way to Stoney Health where she's been for the past 10 years.

In her free time, Anne is kept busy with two school-aged children. Her family spends their time being active - hiking, camping, snowboarding, skating and a full range of outdoor activities. She firmly believes in self care and you can probably find her in the kitchen baking and decorating cakes when she's not enjoying the great outdoors.

Melinda Hubbard, First Nation Client Liaison

Melinda lives at home with her husband, three kids (one out of the house), a cat and the promise of a new furry-four legged friend this fall joining their family. Born and raised in Fort McMurray, Melinda is proud of her Metis heritage.
She worked at SHS back in 2012 in various roles……clinic nurse, homecare nurse, diabetes nurse, then had a “midlife crisis” as some would say ( or what she fondly refers to as 'following her heart') and left for two years to study to become a butcher - a lifelong passion. It easily follows then that she loves cooking, baking, smoking meat, making bacon, hams - the list goes on. She is a foodie at heart and the staff based at Wesley Lodge benefit from her many culinary talents.
She loves her new position as First Nations Client Liaison, helping the community with varying requests and needs and collaborating with numerous organizations to get the best possible care for community members.

Loralee House, Home Care Aide, Stoney Health Services

Loralee House, Health Care Aide

Loralee is the newest Home Care team member having recently completed her health care aide certification at Bow Valley College and plans to extend her education as a registered nurse in the future.

In her role as health care aide, she enjoys providing compassionate care to clients within the community by being able to support their activities of daily living.

As a fluent Stoney speaker, she feels that it's important to be able to help clients understand their health care needs by translating into Stoney. In her own words, "I believe this translation builds a stronger communication in the community, as it fills in the gap of discrimination within the healthcare system."

Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her children, going on family hikes and photography.

Naomi Kaquitts, Home Care Aide, Stoney Health Services

Naomi Kaquitts, Health Care Aide

Naomi began her role with Stoney Health in 2019 as a First Nations' cultural liaison and transitioned to a health care aide (HCA) in 2021. She loves her role as an HCA and really enjoys helping people in her own community, stating, "Working for home care is the best job I've had."

Naomi is the proud mom to two children and also a pet mom of one cat. Being with her family, binge watching TV shows, reading, doing bead work, sewing and traveling top her list of interests and things to do when she has free time.

Now that she works with Stoney Health, she loves having a chance to offer support and help to the elders and people of the community. As a Stoney Nation member, she speaks both Stoney and English fluently. Speaking Stoney plays a big part of her job and she thanks for family for speaking it at home every day when she was younger.

Georgina Lefthand, Home Care Aide

Georgina Lefthand, Health Care Aide

Georgina's path to Stoney Health began with the gentle encouragement from her late Ena. When her mom was ailing, Georgina was there to help with her care. She watched her mom's home care workers enviously and recalls telling her mom how much she wished she could do that. Her mom responded, "You will one day when I leave (pass on). I will make sure of that."

Six months after her mom passed away, Georgina accepted a short-term contract with Stoney Health. She strongly believes that her late Ena made her wish come true. Now 17 years later she still serves her community and Elders with the same dedication and love for what she does.

Georgina is the second youngest of six and the daughter of residential school survivors. She is honoured to have grown up within a strict home environment and values her family's teachings. She is proud to be a single mother to three - one of whom also works for Stoney Health - and also a grandmother. She shares that her joy today comes from her family and watching them on their chosen paths.

KristaNelson

Krista Nelson, Home Care Nurse

One of two Newfoundlanders in home care, Krista graduated from nursing in the mid-90s and headed west to Alberta. She spent several years at Foothills Hospital before moving to Vancouver Island where she worked in home and long-term care.

Along with her husband and kids (now teens), she returned to Alberta in 2016 and started working in Morley. They've since added a few cats and a puppy to their family. Needless to say, there's not a lot of "Krista time" at the end of the day.

She credits Stephanie, also a home care nurse and long-time friend who she met during nursing school, for encouraging her to apply for a position with Stoney Health.

To her, "Morley is an amazing place to work and I love the diversity that home care provides. Each day brings something new and challenging."

Whole-heartedly believing she won the nursing lottery with the 'best job ever,' she loves working with the Stoney Nakoda people. She's always felt welcomed into their homes where she's met so many wonderful people over the past five years.

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Stephanie Shelstad, Home Care Nurse

The other Newfoundlander on the home care team, Stephanie reigns from Bell Island, a small island off the Newfoundland coast where boat is the only mode of transport to get in or out. She graduated from nursing in St. John's and moved to Alberta to pursue her career back in the late 1990s, working in maternity at Foothills Hospital and a short stint in Primary Care in Cochrane.

She joined Stoney Health as an opportunity to branch out and try a new area of nursing and loves learning about the people, hearing their stories and learning about the culture and language. She even will attempt a Stoney phrase now and then to make people giggle with her pronunciation.

Interacting with community members is what she enjoys most about home care. Helping others and making them feel better when their health isn’t the greatest and assisting them to access services to improve their wellbeing in the comforts of their own home also keep her motivated.

Stephanie is a baking enthusiast and loves making cakes, really ALL THINGS CAKE! When not covered in flour, she enjoys spending time with friends playing cards or chatting around a roaring fire surrounded by her husband, two step children and their twins. You know she's busy in her spare (if any) time.

In closing she offered, "Most of my career I thought maternity nursing was where all the fun was…then I became a nurse on a First Nation Reserve."

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Suzanne Sihikal, Home Care Nurse

Suzanne is an indigenous nurse who hails from Treaty 1 Territory. She graduated from nursing 33 years ago at the mere age of 7. 😉 She has spent most of her career in the great white north - the real north, way past Edmonton - sampling nearly every area of nursing before landing happily in home care.

With a passion for First Nations' health, Suzanne firmly believes in a holistic approach to wellness and health and loves seeing people in their own homes. She feels it is an honour to be part of their healing journey.

When she's not working, you can find Suzanne off hiking, biking, paddling or simply enjoying the outdoors. She claims that she will never be able to retire as her two young, very independent girls keep pursing biathlon at the national and international level, while also attending post-secondary school. She self-titled her autobiography Second chances, Third chances, Fourth Chances believing you can try to attain any dream possible. Getting up and continuing the race is just as important as winning.

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Natisha Snow, Home Care Nurse

Working as a home care nurse for Stoney Health Services and meeting Nation members for the first time or seeing them again after many years away have highlighted Natisha's return to work. She missed the humor, the laughs, and especially the language.

Now that she's hearing the Stoney language more, she's started to listen more, recognizing the importance of keeping the language alive with and for her children. She hopes to gain the community’s trust as she works her way from a new grad to an experienced Licensed Practical Nurse. She's passionate about her role here and hopes to make a difference within the community for generations to come. In her words, "If you had told me 10 years ago that I would come back to Mînî Thnî and work as a nurse, I never would have believed you. I left for Calgary back in 2011 for better opportunities and although it was uncomfortable being in a big city alone and I missed my family—I knew I had to tough it out."

She goes on further, "Growth is uncomfortable, it’s something you’ve never done before or worked towards because sitting and waiting for opportunities is easier. Starting off as a statistic (teen mom) to now is what drives me to go further and learn as much as I can." That’s why she would title a book about her journey as “Look at You Go” because it describes her current momentum.

Recently, she's become a car enthusiast and attended car shows/meets/races for the past two summers. Introduced by her husband, she's been obsessed ever since, saying "He is also a mechanic so If you’ve ever heard my little Golf roar to life at the Wesley Lodge well then you know it wasn’t my idea."

Meet the Team: Mînî Thnî Crisis Support

Crisis Team Builds on Personal Experiences and Understanding to Support Community

The Mînî Thnî Crisis Team combines current and traditional 24-hour comprehensive crisis and rapid outreach services for the Morley community. 

Working alongside other Stoney Health departments and local first responders, the RCMP, the Stoney School Authority, Stoney Nakoda Child and Family services to provide mobile interventions, immediate safety and short-term support for individuals/families faced with challenging circumstances, such as family violence, grief and substance use. The MTCT support team has the knowledge and skills required to effectively assist individuals, families and community members impacted and affected. 

Alanna Kaquitts

Alanna Kaquitts, Community Outreach Liaison

Family is everything to Alanna Kaquitts as the oldest of six siblings and herself blessed with two beautiful children. She is all about SELF CARE and cites TV binge watching, blasting music in her car, travelling, exploring and adventure as her main ways to unwind.

She's held a number of administrative roles, including most recently with the Eagles Nest Stoney Family Shelter and Hobbema Dental and completed certificates as a health care aid and medical office assistant.

She's so excited to continue in her role as community outreach liaison where she'll combine her administrative and organizations skills with her love of meeting, connecting and working with people. She notes with pride how much she's grown professionally and personally in her role and is looking forward to what's next.

Shylance Twoyoungmen

Shylance Twoyoungmen, Community Support/MTCS Mobile Worker

Pride in family is a shared theme across the Crisis team. Sharing her home with her partner and stepson, Shylance Twoyoungmen (prefers Shy) comes from a large family who tragically lost a brother recently due to illness. She is also a proud member of the two-spirit family in the community and is fluent in Stoney.

Maintaining an active lifestyle appeals to Shy. Getting outdoors, hunting, fishing and hiking - all top her list of hobbies. She also attributes sports and physical fitness to her determination, discipline and patience.

She's most excited about 'the mental and emotional challenges' of her role. Adding, "Being able to help my community and give support to the Nation. It's not enough to simply say 'I'm a great fit for the role,' I also see an opportunity to learn and grow these skills."

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Tara Glass, Victims Services Liaison

Tara Glass is the oldest of four kids and was the first in her family to move to Calgary. She's a mom to an energetic kid who fills up most of her free time outside of work. You can usually find them at park or hockey rink, exploring the mountains, swinging clubs at the driving range, or finding a camping spot near a beach where they can swim or paddleboard.

Tara is a recent graduate of Bow Valley College’s Justice Studies program and hopes to continue her education over the next few years to achieve a Bachelor of Criminal Justice. She's always had a passion to work in a career where she could help others and give back to communities. However, it wasn't until her 30s that she had the opportunity to go back to school and begin her career. She worked for a number of years for a sporting goods retailer before working at the Stoney Nakoda Resort & Casino for the past year.

It was the people she met and worked with at the Casino who inspired her to apply for her current role with Stoney Health. She is a mental health, women’s fertility advocate and a trauma survivor. She also loves a good podcast or audio book in her down time. She'd also be the first to volunteer to cook rather than do the dishes and clean up.

Tara was recently asked if she could write a book about her career to date, what would the title be? In her words, "The title that immediately came to my mind is 'Why I Spent Years in the Wrong Career and How it Helped Me Find Myself.'

Meet the Team: Environmental Health

Ensuring a safe, healthy water supply

Jerott Mark and Andrew Kaquitts, Stoney Health Service's environmental health technicians, assess a well spout on a Stoney property.

Environmental health technicians’ Jerott Mark and Andrew Kaquitts joined Stoney Health Services in late 2020 and began a several-months’ long water monitoring project, with funding provided by Environment Canada.

Stoney Health Services is taking drinking water samples from all homes on the reserve, which are then tested to ensure a safe, healthy community water supply. As part of the testing, Jerrot and Andrew also locate, assess and survey the homes’ cistern or well, and the septic field to determine future maintenance requirements.

Both technicians bring years of carpentry experience, a strong understanding of plumbing and water systems and importantly, a love of their community.

When asked what they hope comes from their work, Jerott spoke up, “to see water systems that need to upgraded get done.”

Andrew added, “Good clean, drinking water. I want better drinking water for everyone.” 

The crew expect to complete testing on the Chiniki First Nation (southside of the Trans-Canada Highway) this summer and plan to move  the homes on the centre and northside of the reserve this fall and early winter. Their work doesn’t depend on the weather – they are on the road rain, shine, smoky days or snow (yikes, let’s not mention that yet.)

Find out more about the environmental water monitoring project and check out the photo gallery for a sample of their workday.

Stoney Health Service’s environmental health technicians Jerott Mark and Andrew Kaquitts
Calcium-filled aerator. Trick to clean this. Remove and put in a cup of vinegar overnight to remove the buildup.
Taking the first drinking water sample of the day.
The well water testing kit. 10 samples are required for well water samples – testing for calcium, iron, cholera and other harmful bacteria.
First test of the day complete.