With a goal to be able to serve more Kivalliq medical patients in a nicer facility when they travel south for care, Sakku Investments Ltd. officially opened its Uquutaq medical boarding home in Winnipeg Wednesday, Oct. 4.

鈥淭oday is an important day to celebrate this new facility for our people,鈥� stated Dino Bruce, chairman of Sakku鈥檚 board of directors, in a news release.

鈥淭he name Uquutaq, in Inuktitut, means shelter, a place to rest and stay warm. This new facility will provide comfort to travellers for the nearly 70,000 bed nights when they have to leave our region to seek medical care in the south.鈥�

Upward of 200 people per day from the Kivalliq are assessed and referred for medical travel and appointments. The new facility, which used to be the Clarion Hotel in the Polo Park area of Winnipeg, has 139 rooms and 40,000 square feet of commercial office space and event areas. It replaces the Kivalliq Inuit Centre, which often faced criticism about its services or the fact that when it became full, overflow travellers would be sent to other hotels in Winnipeg, causing stress for patients and their escorts.

Key to the new facility, says Sakku, is cultural space for programming and services to better meet the needs of care for medical travellers.

鈥淭ravelling for medical services is a challenging and stressful time for families and this wonderful facility will better meet the needs of Kivallirmiut,鈥� stated Kivalliq Inuit Association President Kono Tattuinee. 鈥淭he KIA is pleased to support Sakku and to see their investments resulting in improved services and health outcomes delivered for Nunavummiut.鈥�

Sakku purchased the building earlier this year and secured a short-term contract with the Government of Nunavut to provide medical boarding home services for travellers, which includes airport pickup, accommodations, meals, cultural spaces and transportation to medical appointments and services.

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