Indigenous Cultural Safety
We are committed to addressing and decreasing health inequities for Indigenous people by providing culturally safe and responsive services.
Along with our health system partners, we have signed a Declaration of Commitment to have cultural competency, humility and safety embedded at all levels of the health system.
- Cultural competency refers to an understanding of cross-cultural interactions and an awareness and acceptance of the variety of people and populations that we work with.
- Cultural humility is a process of self-reflection to understand personal and systemic biases and to develop and maintain respectful processes and relationships based on mutual trust. Cultural humility involves humbly acknowledging oneself as a learner when it comes to understanding another’s experience.
- Cultural safety is an outcome of cultural competency, defined and experienced by those who receive the service – they feel safe. Cultural safety is based on understanding the power differentials and potential discriminations inherent in the health service delivery system.
VCH pillar: Indigenous Cultural Safety
Delivering culturally safe care to Indigenous Peoples every day in every way.
Indigenous Cultural Safety Policy
The Indigenous Cultural Safety Policy guides us to become a culturally safe organization and informs our policies and programs. We are committed to ensuring this policy is embedded throughout VCH. Read the Indigenous Cultural Safety Policy
Indigenous Health Team
The Indigenous Health team supports our commitment to provide culturally safe care through Indigenous patient care programs and learning opportunities for staff.
Learn more about Indigenous HealthOur pillars guiding our commitment to care
Our vision
We believe in delivering exceptional care and our patients, clients and residents are at the centre of all that we do. Our vision and purpose inspire us and our values and pillars guide us.
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
At VCH, we are committed to advancing equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) throughout our organization in partnership with our staff and medical staff. We believe this is critical to delivering exceptional care and building a great place to work.
Anti-Racism
Grounded in our core values, VCH acknowledges and condemns racism in health care – from patient care and from the environment in which VCH delivers care. We are deeply committed to advancing culturally appropriate care and have initiated a comprehensive effort to address racism in our health care system.