KO Health Services coordinates the delivery of community-based projects and administers regional health programming and services for Keewaytinook Okimakanak communities.

Health Services works in collaboration with the KO Health Advisory Committee (KOHAC) and the member First Nation health staff to support capacity building and ongoing formalized training.

Nurses working in KO transferred communities provide the main point of contact between community members requiring associated medical services and the greater health care system. Currently, Deer Lake First Nation has transferred nursing services from the Federal Government to the KO Tribal Council.

Community Nurses provide primary health care in KO communities at health centres and/or nursing stations. Nurses duties include:

• Conducting well baby clinics
• Providing immunizations
• Encouraging physical activity
• Facilitating community education sessions
• Providing primary care services for chronic disease management during
  scheduled clinics
• Attending emergency needs (for example: trauma, obstetrical emergencies,
  acute illness and cardiac conditions).

As there is limited access to hospitals and doctors, nurses in KO communities often provide care that requires advanced knowledge, skills and clinical judgment. Community nurses use a holistic, culturally appropriate approach to care for clients requiring treatment for routine, acute and emergency health problems, focusing on:

• Clinical assessment
• Health promotion
• Disease prevention
• Illness management