Norway House is set to get a new health centre after the Government of Canada announced $100 million in funding for the project Friday.
Minister of Indigenous Services Jane Philpott was in the community for the announcement and said the funding will come over the next five years to build the Norway House Cree Nation Health Centre of Excellence.
The health facility will provide emergency, in-patient programs and services to the 8,000 people living in and around Norway House.
“This new state-of-the-art facility will not only address the health care needs of our community, but will also create education, training and employment opportunities for our people,” Chief Larson Anderson said.
It will include a sweat lodge, birthing unit with two birthing rooms, an emergency care department, a pharmacy and space to provide health programs.
Norway House Hospital’s chief of staff and the medical advisor of the new health centre Dr. Adrienne Morrow said the new health centre will make a big difference.
“In addition to addressing the healthcare needs of the community, it will continue to serve as a training hub for physicians who will go on to work in other under-serviced areas in Manitoba and Canada,” Morrow said.
The long term plan is to replace the existing Norway House Hospital and to be operated by the community.