Niagara Health Social Worker Carrie Vanderform (middle) recently completed her co-op placement with the Indigenous Health and Reconciliation team.
When Carrie Vanderform started her co-op placement with the Indigenous Health Services and Reconciliation team, she wasn’t just completing a requirement for her Master of Social Work (MSW) – she was answering a personal calling.
“Change has to happen in healthcare for Indigenous people,” says Vanderform, who joined Niagara Health’s Labour and Delivery, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Children’s Health units as a social worker in 2023. “Being part of the Indigenous Health Services and Reconciliation team gave me the opportunity to deepen my understanding of how change is already happening – and the path that still has to be travelled.”
Vanderform’s placement, which concluded earlier this year, provided a unique opportunity to see firsthand how Niagara Health is putting its commitment to Truth and Reconciliation into action. Working alongside the Indigenous Health Services and Reconciliation team, she participated in community events, researched hospital policies and supported patients on units ranging from mental health and addictions to the Emergency Department.
“I wanted to complete my placement with this team because I am deeply committed to improving equity in healthcare,” she says. “I have witnessed firsthand how systemic gaps and a lack of culturally safe care can negatively impact outcomes.”
One of the highlights of Vanderform’s placement was supporting the opening of the Gathering of Good Minds Indigenous community room at the Marotta Family Hospital, a space designed to nurture connection, ceremony and healing for patients, families and community members.
“Watching change happen at a systemic level makes me proud to be working at Niagara Health,” she says. “Integrating Indigenous ways of knowing and being into a westernized organization can be done – and is being done.”
Charity Beland, Manager of Indigenous Health Services and Reconciliation at Niagara Health says the team was quick to notice Vanderform’s dedication and openness to learning.
“Carrie came to us with a willingness to listen, learn and engage in the work of Reconciliation with humility and heart,” says Beland. “Her passion for advocacy and commitment to creating culturally safe spaces for Indigenous patients was evident from the start.”
Now, back in her role as a social worker in the Labour and Delivery, NICU and Children’s Health units, Vanderform brings her expanded MSW education and Indigenous health knowledge to work every day. The experience has strengthened her commitment to providing anti-colonial, trauma-informed care to families navigating complex medical and emotional journeys.
“There can be a lot of fear for Indigenous families accessing care in labour and delivery and the NICU because of past systemic harms,” she says. “It’s critical that social workers advocate for culturally safe, respectful care that honours each family’s traditional ways of being and knowing and the lived experiences they bring.”
Vanderform’s experience underscores the importance of education building in equitable healthcare, stressing that every member of a patients’ healthcare team has a role to play.
“Reconciliation is not a broad goal – it’s about action. It’s everyone’s responsibility to challenge systemic barriers, build relationships, advocate for culturally safe care and support self-determination and agency.”
As a social worker, Vanderform brings these values into her daily practice, approaching each patient interaction with cultural humility, recognizing that the patient is the expert in their own life.
“My role on a care team is voluntary – it’s not about what I think is best for them, it’s about what they want and need from me,” she says.
Vanderform says her experience has made her a better person and better social worker.
“The team gave me space to grow and learn in a safe way,” she says. “They taught me the importance of slowing down, resetting and reflecting – something I’ll carry with me throughout my career.”
Her time with the Indigenous Health Services and Reconciliation team has also shifted her view of how change happens within a hospital system.
“Change has to happen at an organizational level before it can happen individually,” she says. “Leadership at Niagara Health, alongside Charity’s team, are making those changes – and that’s vital for culturally safe care.”
