LISA BISHOP, R.M.
Lisa Bishop is Anishinaabe from Wikwemikong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island. Lisa now lives in Fort William First Nation and practices there and in the surrounding Robinson-Superior Treaty First Nation communities. Despite a profession organized along binary colonial dictates, Lisa has carved culturally and clinically responsive practice innovations. She says ‘Social Determinants of Health’ sanitizes the true costs of colonisation. Instead, she says “Indigenous Midwifery means working relationally with clients”, developing trust, building community engagement and forging unique pathways to care. Lisa’s practice is based squarely on client realities. She folds in adaptation with awareness of both the resilience and the shifting priorities of her clients, the majority of whom are affected by substance use and serious health issues. Lisa scaffolds Midwifery protocols by building on existing standards of care. Monitoring client diabetes is a frequent challenge. Trialing constant glucose monitoring is a realistic adaptation and allows for dependable results; only one of her many clinical innovations that has enriched client engagement. Increasing Indigenous community Midwifery is essential. Lisa rigorously mentored an Indigenous student through to independent practice, giving an immense gift back to her community. Lisa’s gentle humility accomplishes big things while infusing personal integrity into everything she does. |
SHEZEEN SULEMAN, R.M.
Shezeen Suleman is South Asian Diaspora, with roots in India, via Kenya and Tanzania. She is a Registered Midwife at the MATCH program at South Riverdale CHC. At MATCH Shezeen co-leads a team of four midwives and one social worker uniquely integrated into the CHC’s primary care team. Her work is with folks affected by marginalization, racial inequity, poverty, substance use, newcomers or the uninsured. medical termination care and early pregnancy loss care is also offered. But it’s Shezeen’s decades long dedication to community which sets her apart. She has a deep history of decades of community development; from anti-racism work to community gardening to working with teens and their families made disadvantaged. Even now she chairs or sits on multiple active committees. She is involved in projects of Racial Equity, on committees like Women and Drug Policy, The National Abortion Federation, and the Health Network for Uninsured Clients. She leads the Newborn OHIP subcommittee working with a legal team developing resources used to ensure babies born to uninsured families still have health care access. Her life continues to be about enriching her community-within Midwifery and well beyond. Shezeen Suleman is precisely who the Cape Award is meant to honour. |