Megan Stock found a gap in access to children’s health services within Indigenous and northern communities while doing contract work for six years as a speech language pathologist.
“Imagine your child being diagnosed with a speech and language delay and facing travel to regular speech and language therapy sessions of an hour or even three hours,” Stock said.
“That would be very prohibitive for many families.”
– Photo supplied by Tamaca Therapy Services
Noting there was a need to address mental health services and rehabilitation of fine and gross motor skill development, Stock launched Tamaca Therapy Services in September 2017.
“I saw an opportunity to really impact the health and wellness outcomes for children in First Nations’ rural and remote communities by bringing services to them,” she explained.
Today, Tamaca employs nearly 40 health specialists, including speech language pathologists, occupational and physical therapists, and psychologists to serve 18 First Nations communities in Alberta.
– Photo supplied by Tamaca Therapy Services
“All these services are as needed in rural, remote, and First Nations communities as anywhere, and we want to see greater equity in child health care in every way possible. We aim to fill all the gaps that we can to support the children we serve,” Stock explained.
According to Stock, Tamaca determines the best approach to assess and treat patients by taking the location of the patient and the funding available to meet their needs into consideration.
“[Assessment and treatment] could involve virtual (Zoom, DoxyMe, Google Meet) or in-person sessions, or a combination of both when ongoing, in-person treatment or intervention is requested,” said Stock.
“Before they came, I really had no answers or direction on how to help my son. Now that I have [received] answers and help, we’re living a much better life. We know what’s going on with him and how to address his situation and, if we’re stuck, we are able to call the team for help.”
— Donna Aubichon on her son receiving therapy in Fort Chipewyan
The in-person service schedule is largely dependent on the location of the community.
“If the therapist lives within a few hours of the community, they may visit one or two days every week. When they are required to fly in, they may go for four or five days every four, five, or six weeks,” she added.
In almost all cases, services are provided through early learning programs such as Head Start, daycares, schools, and health centres. Typically, program, school, or health centre staff contact Tamaca when they identify potential needs for speech and language, occupational/physical therapy, psychology/mental health, or nutrition support services.
Donna Aubichon’s three-year-old son, Theo, is autistic and receives physiotherapy and speech and occupational therapy.
“If we didn’t have these services, we would have to travel with our children—in our case fly—because we’re a remote community, and that’s not always easy, especially during COVID,” said the mom from Fort Chipewyan.
“Tamaca staff have taught me how to help [Theo]. They’re very hands on, and their style of communication is very open. I love that we can contact them any time of the day for help,” said Aubichon.
“Before they came, I really had no answers or direction on how to help my son. Now that I have [received] answers and help, we’re living a much better life. We know what’s going on with him and how to address his situation and, if we’re stuck, we are able to call the team for help.”
Tamaca’s teams collaborate with families and community staff and, in partnership with organizations such as the Stollery Children’s Hospital and Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, allow families to access health and wellness services without leaving home.
Lee Barrios is a principal at Fox Lake Elementary School operated by the Little Red River Cree Nation Board of Education. A 10-hour drive north of Edmonton, Fox Lake is only accessible by ice road in winter and barge in summer, or intermittent flights from Fort Vermilion or High Level.
Barrios is pleased to see additional resources emerge focused on children.
“Fox Lake has a large population of children … that up until now, have not received any services or [those services] were extremely limited,” said Barrios.
“It has been a pleasure for me to see these dedicated professionals working with children in the community … who were in dire need.”
In 2021, Tamaca requested use of the school’s playground to work with students and, since then, has started using other school spaces when they are available.
– Photo supplied by Tamaca Therapy Services
Johnna Blesse, a parent in Fox Lake, has a three-year old daughter, Jordyn, who’s been receiving physical and speech therapy for the past two years from Tamaca.
Jordyn’s walking was delayed, so she has been visiting the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital since she was six months old. She was diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy at about 10 months, which affects the mobility on her right side.
“It took her a while to get there, but she’s doing more with the help of therapists from the Glenrose Hospital as well as the Tamaca team,” Blesse said.
Therapists have taught Jordyn’s family stretches and exercises for her right hand, so she can move it more and use it daily.
“We also receive support to help with her speech. [Tamaca speech language pathologists] teach us how to increase her vocabulary.
“Having the Tamaca team coming to Fox Lake is great, especially with all the doctors being in Edmonton. [The team members] always have new ideas to help Jordyn with her speech and mobility.”