The community’s healthcare facility was shuttered after the smell of fuel was detected when water got into the basement.
NESKANTAGA — The closure of a remote Northwestern Ontario First Nation’s only medical facility has the entire community on edge, say local healthcare workers and community leadership.
“It’s very concerning, especially the vulnerable elders that are here that I’m really worried about … and there’s newborn babies too,” said Gloria Atlookan, community health representative in Neskantaga.
She’s been working at the nursing station since 2003, and said it’s never had to close like this, which is scary, given the high rate of chronic illnesses in the First Nation that require constant care.
“A lot of the community is chronic here because of diabetes and all that and other health issues,” she said.
Water got into the basement of the Neskantaga First Nation’s nursing station on Sunday when multiple sump pumps failed and the rising groundwater from melting snow overflowed from the sump pits. When investigating that situation, on-site staff also noticed a very strong smell of fuel in the building, which subsequently prompted its closure.
The nursing station is a multi-faceted facility with an emergency department, multiple exam rooms, as well as spaces for dental care, public health, radiography, a pharmacy and other services.
As a stop-gap measure, the community started using a small room at a local lodging centre for very basic healthcare services.
Atlookan said, for people she provides medications to, she now has to get them from the clinic and ferry them down to the lodge.
“It’s like the basic equipment there only, nothing for, like, major emergencies,” Atlookan said of the converted temporary space they’re now using. “It’s just basic (stuff) — your blood pressure, to check your sugars and all that.”
Rebecca Sakanee is the community’s healthy babies coordinator and also works as an x-ray tech. She has a dedicated space in the nursing station for her healthy babies work, but not now. “We rely on that clinic,” she said. “There’s a lot of chronic pre-natals and the newborns that are needing that service in there.”
“Where they are now, it’s not really (private) and it’s a small space. And the equipment — what if an emergency happens?”
The source of the fuel smell hasn’t yet been determined. Community leadership held a press conference over Zoom on Tuesday about the state of emergency they declared on Sunday, including calls for a mobile health unit and other resources in the First Nation. “Something needs to be done today, like right now,” Neskantaga health director Sharon Sakanee said at the press conference. “Everybody is entitled to healthcare.”
“This is why we’re calling for (a state of) emergency,” Chief Gary Quisses said. “We need immediate help.”
Contractors fixed and installed new sump pumps on Tuesday and left spares, along with extra hoses. Tests for fuel contamination and air quality will be conducted before the nursing station reopens, Neskantaga officials said in a press release on Wednesday.
Evacuations also began on Wednesday for vulnerable members of the community. In a media release announcing those measures, the First Nation’s leadership also said, after a meeting with senior government officials, work is underway to identify a location for a temporary nursing station that, in the meantime, can handle medical emergencies.
In a statement to Newswatch on Wednesday afternoon, Indigenous Services Canada said that location will be the wellness centre across the street from the nursing station. A provincially-funded physician is also in the community this week, the department continued.
On Tuesday, Coun. Bradley Moonias said there are longstanding concerns about the medical centre building, including that it floods practically every year, sparking concerns about mould.
A large diesel tank is also next to the facility (it fuels the backup generator for the health centre, he said), and while a new tank was just installed, there have been previous fuel spills. He said he’s concerned spilled fuel has contaminated the groundwater, adding that after the flooding, he and staff checked the water in the basement drains and smelled fuel.
“We did that a few times just to make sure,” he said. “It was fuel, and then you could see that oil film … it’s sitting right on top of that.”
“And then, so we figure maybe that’s where the smell is coming from because it’s right above where the furnaces where it’s shooting out air and … the air is circulating all over the place from the furnace room.”
Indigenous Services Canada said fans and dehumidifiers have been installed and air purifiers are en route. The building’s condition is also being assessed and an investigation into the source of the fuel smell is underway, a spokesperson said
Moonias said people have been frustrated. The building was built about 30 years ago, he said, adding that, aside from the roof, there haven’t been any major renovations.
“What the people are saying is ‘enough is enough’, right?” he said. “We shouldn’t have to close our clinic for whatever reason, right, it shouldn’t be like that.” “We’re Canadians, we’re supposed to be treated equal, right? We should have our services there at all times.”
Atlookan agreed.
“This should be worked on ASAP because our health matters too.”
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