First Nations Primary Care

Last updated: October 15, 2024

First Nations led primary care centres and programs provide access to culturally safe and trauma-informed primary care services for people who are First Nations, Inuit or Métis and their families.  

Indigenous ways of knowing and being are the foundation of these centres and programs. Elders, Sacred Knowledge Keepers, Traditional Wellness Practitioners and other Indigenous care providers are core members of the health-care team who work in close collaboration with family doctors, nurse practitioners and others to provide holistic health and wellness services.

First Nations led primary care centres and programs offer many everyday primary care services to meet the unique needs of the community. This may include:

• Regular checkups
• Care for pregnant people
• Care for chronic medical conditions
• Other supports such as access to mental health professionals (in some communities)
• Access to traditional Indigenous healing, health and wellness services

First Nations primary care programs and initiatives in your community

• Fraser Region: Indigenous Health Primary Care
• Interior Region: Indigenous Peoples, Families and Communities
• Island Region: Indigenous Health 
• Northern Region: Northern Health Indigenous Health
• Vancouver Coastal Region: First Nations and Aboriginal Primary Care Network
• Province-wide: First Nations Health Authority

If you need a primary care provider, register on the Health Connect Registry to get matched with a family doctor or nurse practitioner in your community.