Ep 4: Dr Evan Adams - Transforming Health Care

We’re really thrilled to have Dr Evan Adams as our guest on this podcast.He is the deputy chief medical officer at Indigenous Services Canada, where he has helped lead their on-going national COVID-19 response, while ensuring culturally safe and efficient service delivery.And for many of you, he is a familiar face and voice from his days as an actor, before he began practicing medicine, especially from his role in the hit 1998 hit film "Smoke Signals," playing a character with a very specific catchphrase! “Hey Victor!”Since then, Dr Adams has dedicated his life to health and health policy.Prior joining Indigenous Services Canada, he was Chief Medical Officer with the First Nations Health Authority in British Columbia, which has transformed Indigenous health care delivery in recent years.In this smart and fascinating conversation, Sherry Huff and Dr Adams discuss the success of the FNMHA, how that can be replicated across the country, his take on the impact of the opioid and meth crisis, the importance of harm reduction in tackling that crisis, why traditional medicine can sometimes play a more important role than its western counterpart, and his decision to run for the presidency of the Canadian Medical Association.Dr Adams is a Coast Salish physician and a proud member of the Tla'amin First Nation near Powell River, BC.For more on the work of Thunderbird Partnership Foundation, please visit our website www.thunderbirdpf.organd you can find us on social media by searching for ThunderbirdPFOur theme music is by Courtney Riley, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation.Mino Bimaadiziwin is produced by David McGuffin of Explore Podcast Productions and the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation.