Dr. Helen Preston Glass Award

Hi. My name is Stephanie Van Haute.  I am Metis and Settler woman, born and raised on Treaty 1 territory in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  I have been an RN since 2003, working in many different areas since that time.  I am not stereotypical of many nurses, including being Indigenous, having a love of counterculture and commitment to political activism. I became a nurse because I have always felt that there are all types of people in the world, requiring all types of nurses to care for them. I wanted to represent and provide healthcare to others like me.  

I have worked acute care, including critical care and recently returned to that specialty to help care for patients in the ICU during the COVID 19 pandemic.  During that time, I also developed a community led First Nations response plan alongside First Nations leadership in Manitoba.  This drew from experience I gained working overseas as Medical Team Lead when working for Doctors without Borders. I have worked in health leadership and program development in the areas of community health, HIV and STBBI care and harm reduction.  Most recently I worked for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority as Director for the Indigenous Health Program. 

Funding I have received, including from the Canadian Nurses Foundation, has allowed me to focus on my studies full-time.  As a PhD student in the College of Nursing at the University of Manitoba, my dissertation work involves supporting the development of a community led Indigenous wellness strategy in Churchill Manitoba.