Indigenous Patients & Community Members
If you identify as First Nations, Inuit or Métis and are coming to Sunnybrook as a patient or community member, support is available to you.
Find out more below.
Smudging and Ceremonial Practice at Sunnybrook
Sunnybrook supports Indigenous Ceremonial Practices for patients, families, and staff as well as community partners. These Ceremonies take place in a safe manner inside Sunnybrook facilities or on Sunnybrook grounds. All staff, midwives, physicians, students, and volunteers support identifying a physically, culturally, and spiritually safe space in which the Indigenous Ceremonial Practices can be performed.
If you or your family want to practice Ceremony when at the hospital for treatment or an inpatient stay, please speak to a member of your healthcare team. Medicine bundles are available at all campuses.
Indigenous Wellness Space (Bayview Campus)
This room is available for Indigenous community members and families for meeting and ceremony. It is also available for Indigenous care partners who are on site to have a space to work or meet with clients.
Medicine bundles, a ceremonial drum and a rattle are available as well for use within the room and around the hospital.
Anishinaabe artist Que Rock designed and painted a wall-to-wall mural in the space. Learn more about the art through an interview with the artist, and see a video of the process here.
The space has been made possible thanks to the ongoing guidance and advice from the Indigenous Community Advisory Council and through support from Sunnybrook Foundation via the Indigenous Cancer Fund of the Gord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer Research.
Patients, families & care partners: If you will be on site at the Bayview Campus and wish to access the Indigenous Wellness Space, please email: laurie.legere@sunnybrook.ca to gain access or speak to a member of your care team.
Staff: If you are working with a patient or family who may be interested in accessing the Indigenous Wellness Space, please contact The Department of Equity & Social Accountability. You can also review the Ceremonial Practices Policy on Sunnynet.
Seventh Generation Midwives Toronto
Sunnybrook has a long-standing partnership with Seventh Generation Midwives of Toronto. SGMT is a group of primary caregivers who provide care to birthing parents and their families from the City of Toronto. Midwives have privileges at Sunnybrook.
Indigenous Patient Navigator for People with Cancer and their Families
The Indigenous Patient Navigator strives to meet the needs of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people facing cancer. The Navigator is here to support people with cancer and their families through every step of their cancer journey.
Pregnancy and Infant Loss Network (PAIL)
The Pregnancy and Infant Loss (PAIL) Network provides support for all Ontario families who experience the loss of a pregnancy or infant no matter the circumstance. The team at PAIL Network has committed to listening, learning and supporting the needs of Indigenous peoples. Read more about the supports for Indigenous families.
Sunnybrook’s Indigenous Community Advisory Committee
This committee is open to staff, physicians, students, volunteers and patient partners who are interested in improving the patient experience for First Nations, Métis and Inuit community members. The mandate of the committee is to guide Sunnybrook towards an understanding of how to address unique issues faced by Indigenous patients and caregivers in Ontario and oversee initiatives to address the Truth and Reconciliation of Canada’s Calls to Action for Healthcare Organizations.
