Inuulitsivik hospital celebrates 25 years in Puvirnituq

The Inuulitsivik hospital in Puvirnituq is celebrating its 25th anniversary June 7 — and officially opening its new transit house, shown here. (PHOTO/ NRBHSS)

There’s lots to celebrate in Puvirnituq today, where the Inuulitsivik hospital is celebrating its 25th anniversary and officially opening its new transit house, a June 7 news release from the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services said.

The transit house will admit patients and their escorts coming to Puvirnituq from other Hudson Bay communities to receive care at the hospital or who are en route to Montreal hospitals.

The new transit, located behind the 25-bed hospital, can accommodate up to 24 residents.

Cafeteria services are available in the hospital, located just a few steps from the residence.

The Fédération des coopératives du Nouveau-Québec (FCNQ) built the transit, which will be managed by the co-op’s hotel in Puvirnituq.

“This is an extraordinary example of partnership,” Josepi Padlayat, the chairman of Inuulitsivik’s board of directors, said in the news release.

Community health clinics along Nunavik’s Hudson Bay coast and the Northern Quebec Module, which oversees patient services for Nunavimmiut in Montreal, are also planning to hold celebrations on June 7.

During these celebrations, a minute of silence will be observed in honour of all former members of the Inuulitsivik board of directors who are now deceased, said the news release.

The Inuulitsivik hospital in Puvirnituq provides health and social services for the seven villages on Nunavik’s Hudson Bay coast. It also manages the Northern Quebec Module and Salluit’s youth rehabilitation centre.