The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority - Fort Smith Region serves the 2,400 residents of the Fort Smith Region in the Northwest Territories.  Located on the banks of the Slave river and by the calming boreal forest, the community has access to the Wood Buffalo National Park, beautiful geological formations, trophy fishing and world-class rapids.

NTHSSA - Fort Smith Regions operates the Fort Smith health centre, Northern Lights Special Care Home, and community based health and social services programs for the Fort Smith region, with over 100 employees who provide health and social services such as home care, mental health, medical care, counseling, rehabilitation services, public health, laboratory and diagnostic imaging services, and more.

All services provided by the NTHSSA - Fort Smith Region are located within the Fort Smith Health Centre:

Address: 41 Breynat Street, Fort Smith
Main Switchboard: 867-872-6200

Health and Social Services in Fort Smith Region

Regional providers work in partnership with health centre staff and/or travel to surrounding communities to deliver services in the following areas:

Fort Smith Programs

• Public Health
• Home Care
• Rehabilitation Services
• Midwifery
• Walk-in Clinics
• Preschool Physicals
• Healthy Families Program
• Mental Health and Addictions Services

Fort Smith Social Services

• Medical Social Work
• Child and Family Services

Fort Smith Health and Social Services Centre 

Main Switchboard
867-872-6200
 
Emergency Room Hours
24 hours, 7 days a week on an on-call basis
 
The Fort Smith Health and Social Services Centre provides services to Fort Smith in the Northwest Territories and Thebacha N’ere (Bordertown), Fort Fitzgerald and Peace Point in Northern Alberta.
 
Services

• Emergency centre
• Ambulance bay
• Medical clinic
• Public health clinic
• Birthing rooms
• X-ray and laboratory testing
• Morgue
• Administrative offices
• Medical travel office
• Social services offices

Hours of Operation 
Monday to Friday: 08:00-17:00

Lab & Diagnostic Imaging
Hours of Operation
Monday to Friday - 08:00 to 14:00

Closed on Statutory Holidays.

Walk-in Clinics

Walk in clinics are scheduled the following times:

• 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM
• Monday to Friday

Walk in registration is cut off at 11:00 AM, or once 20 people have registered.
Phone: 867-872-6200

Public Health

The role of the Fort Smith Public Health Unit is to promote health and education, and to prevent communicable disease across the lifespan. The Fort Smith Public Health Unit is located at Fort Smith Health Centre.

• Walk-in Immunization Clinics are available every Monday 8:30am-12:00pm and 1:00pm-5:00pm
• Well Child Clinics available every Wednesday by appointment
• STI screening available by calling 867-872-6224

Phone: 867-872-6224

Home Care

Home care Registered Nurses, Licences Practical Nurses, and Support Workers provide basic nursing care within the home of clients.  Homecare workers can also transport homecare clients to and from the health centre when required for medical resons.  For a client to receive these services, they must be referred by a practitioner

Phone: 867-872-6222

Midwifery

The Fort Smith Midwifery program provides care for maternity clients in Fort Smith, including pregnant women, babies up to six weeks of age, and new mothers up to twelve months postpartum.  Services provided include: 

• Preconception care
• Prenatal care
• Intrapartum care
• Breastfeeding education and support
• Prenatal classes

Phone: 867-872-6253

Healthy Families Program

The Healthy Family Program is a free and voluntary service for families in the community of Fort Smith. The most important phase of development is when a child is young, and the Health Family Program offers support to families with children that are prenatal to 6 years of age.  All families want the best for their children, and your Healthy Family Visitor will support you in making parenting more enjoyable and less stressful. 

Usually, your Healthy Families visitor will visit with you in your home weekly or bi-weekly. Your visitor will visit less frequently, as your child grows and develops. A Healthy Family Program

Home Visitor share:

• Information about how your child grows and develops
• Parenting tips and strategies 
• Ways to help your family work together 
• Provide resources that are available for you and your child in your community.  

Growing great Kids, used in home visits, is a parenting and child development resource that helps your family become even stronger by providing interesting information and fun activities to strengthen your child’s growth and development

The Healthy Family Program also offers the following programs: 

• Post-natal Group: All parents with infants welcome. Wednesdays 1030am-12pm at the Rec Centre 
• Collective Kitchen (nutrition & cooking program): Tuesdays for families receiving home visits
• “Kids Have Stress Too” parent/caregiver workshops (kids 2-6 yrs), stress reducing tools and strategies 
• Triple P Parenting groups and individual sessions (1-6 yrs): learn to manage and understand the underlying issues for common parenting challenges such as bedtime problems, fighting/aggression, disobedience, tantrums, promoting your child’s development and raising confident children.
• Community Events: Breastfeeding Celebration, Water Day, Family Carnival, Fire at the lookout & Story Walks.

Phone: 867-872-6283

Preschool Physicals

Preschool Physicals will be held at JBT elementary school  April 9,10, 11.

Please call Public Health to make appointment at 872-6203.
There will be hearing & vision screening, developmental screening, dietitian assessment, and immunization.  All children and families are welcome!

Mental Health and Addiction Services

In Fort Smith, the Mental Health Counsellors and Community Wellness Workers provide the following services:

• Clinical counselling for all community members across a wide range of therapeutic modalities and presenting issues
• Workshops including Mental Health First Aid and Suicide Intervention Skills Training
• Referrals to residential treatment programs
• Facilitation of programming and events on topics such as addiction, resilience, trauma
• Ear acupuncture services for stress, chronic pain, mental health and addictions

Phone: 867-872-6310

Medical Social Work

The role of the Medical Social Worker at the Fort Smith Health Centre is to coordinate necessary resources and referrals for patients/clients and their families.   

Phone: 867-872-6200

Child and Family Services

For Child and Family Services Information Requests, please contact the main line at 872-6200 and ask to be transferred.