#74: Rose Neufeld: Stories of Nursing, Well-being, and First Nations Wisdom

My next guest is Rose Neufeld, RN, BN, MN Rose is a registered nurse with many years of experience in the health care field and has completed her Master of Nursing degree in Administration at the University of Manitoba. Rose serves as a strategic advisor to communities and organizations on a broad range of health and wellness initiatives. Knowledgeable on provincial, federal and Indigenous government health systems, programs and processes. Collaboration on development of First Nations culturally supportive health care service delivery models. Rose and I have had the honour of working with the Opaskwayak Cree Nation in Manitoba; I serving as economic strategic advisor on building an economy of well-being and Rose with her focus on advising on systems of improving health and well-being outcomes. She began her career as a critical care nurse in a tertiary care hospital in Winnipeg, and followed that with work in northern Manitoba, providing primary and emergent care to clients in remote nursing stations. During this time, she became aware of greater systemic issues that exist in the delivery of health care services to people living in the north, particularly as it pertains to Indigenous people. She also became aware of the social determinants that impact the health and well-being of this population. She credits her many First Nations friends and mentors for their wisdom and patience in sharing their knowledge as she has come to understand the importance of culture in the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities. This knowledge has become the basis of her work and significant in the partnerships she has developed. Rose currently works as a consultant with First Nation communities to build and develop improved health care services that focus on improving efficiency in resource utilization and bridging the gaps between federal and provincial jurisdictions. Rose has developed respectful relationships with many First Nation communities and supports their position that communities know what is best for their own families and community members. This has led to her current success in working on several innovative projects and program development. Her focus is to develop new initiatives and work towards system redesign to improve health outcomes for northern Manitoba residents, including First Nations and Metis populations.