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KUGLUKTUK/COPPERMINE
From ear aches to more serious ailments, Barbara Harvey has treated her fair share of Kugluktuk residents and visitors in her more than two decades spent in the community. And late last month, she was recognized for the years of service in the community through being awarded the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Nunavut Commissioner Edna Elias, left, and Kugluktuk MLA Peter Taptuna, right, presented the Queen's Diamond Jubilee medal to Barbara Harvey in Kugluktuk on Aug. 11. Harvey is dedicated to the health and welfare of the community, stated the office of the commissioner. - photo courtesy of the Office of the Commissioner of Nunavut

Harvey's dedication to the health and welfare of the community was recognized on Aug. 11 with the medal ceremony hosted by Nunavut Commissioner Edna Elias and Kugluktuk MLA Peter Taptuna.

The 52-year-old arrived in the Kitikmeot community in 1988 as a nurse and is now the director of professional practice with the territorial government. Getting the honour was an exciting experience, said Harvey.

"It's quite an honour to be recognized by your community for the work you've done over the years," said Harvey. "I would also like to say 'congratulations' to the other winners in Kugluktuk."

Community members Colin Adjun, Simon and Millie Kuliktana, and Thomas Harvey were also recipients of the medal.

The medals commemorate the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II to the throne. During the year of celebrations, 60,000 Canadians will be recognized with the medal.

Harvey was raised in Brandon, Man., and Winnipeg, where she earned her nursing degree. She spent eight to 10 weeks in the Yukon for her senior practicum and worked as a nurse at a tertiary care centre in Winnipeg before coming North. Her time in the Yukon was part of her decision to apply for jobs in the North, explained Harvey.

"But the hospital I was working at in Winnipeg had a lot of patients from this region that would come down – Gjoa Haven and Taloyoak, which was Spence Bay then, and Kugaaruk, which was Pelly Bay," she said. "I really enjoyed the interaction. I was always interested in working in the North and the type of nursing they did in the North."

She added she was looking for a change from the hospital-based care, so she applied for jobs in the North. She eventually arrived as a nurse in Kugluktuk in 1988 before becoming the nurse-in-charge, spending about 15 years at the health centre, said Harvey. She then recruited nurses for one year before working for the territorial government, first as a community health nursing specialist, and for the last three years as the director of professional practice.

"It was that type of nursing that totally attracted me to stay here because it was an opportunity I wasn't able to use in the south at the time," said Harvey. "It just became my home over the years."

Harvey has two stepchildren.

She licenses the 12 regulated health professions in Nunavut, such as physicians, dentists, pharmacists, midwives.

"I am quite content where I am right now. I quite enjoy my job," she said.

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