We are IH: Indigenous Patient Navigator proud to help her people

May 21, 2026

Indigenous Patient Navigator Deb Donald has been helping Indigenous patients for more than 17 years at Royal Inland Hospital.

Name: Deb Donald
Job Title: Indigenous Patient Navigator
Length of Service: 17.5 years
Worksite: Royal Inland Hospital
Community: Kamloops
Ancestral Territory: Simpcw First Nation
Favourite Quote / Advice to Live By: “A drum made of heart will call the spirits that are concerned with the human heart. The heart symbolizes essence. The heart is one of the few essential organs humans and animals must have to live. Remove one kidney, the human lives. Additionally, take both legs, the gallbladder, one lung, one arm, and the spleen; the human lives. Not well perhaps, but there is life. Take away certain brain functions and the human still lives. Take the heart, the person is gone instantly.”

As an Indigenous Patient Navigator (IPN), Deb Donald has spent time in nearly every area of Royal Inland Hospital. There are few places in the hospital she hasn’t been.

And she wouldn’t want it any other way.

“Every day is different,” she notes. “As I am walking into work, I am wondering what I will get today. I float the whole hospital, so I could be anywhere at any given time. I get my steps in each day. I recall a day where I was doing a viewing for a family in the morning and then helping deliver a baby in the afternoon.”

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Learn more about Deb’s journey with IH

A casually dressed person with long brown hair and glasses kneels next to a floor with etched-in names. — Deb beside her foundation fundraiser tile at Royal Inland Hospital, which reads Deb Donald, Simpcw FN (First Nation), APN (Aboriginal Patient Navigator). APNs are now referred to as Indigenous Patient Navigators.

It’s been her routine at the Kamloops hospital for more than 17 years, helping Indigenous patients of all ages navigate RIH and the health-care system.

“I get to provide support to my people daily. The IPN service at RIH is from the ‘womb to the tomb.’ Not only do I provide emotional support during their health-care journey, but I am a part of some pivotal moments,” says Deb.

With a degree in Psychology and Social Work, Deb feels they are the perfect combination for the work she does.

She’s proud to represent and lend a helping hand to her people. Deb says RIH serves 46 of the 54 First Nation communities, and that brings her a lot of pride.

A colleague once shared with me and it’s something I carry with me to this day: ‘You are the voice our Ancestors did not have,’ in walking with patients and families through their health-care journey. Historically, Indigenous people did not have a voice in the health-care system and were treated badly. Many experienced trauma in health care. Today, I am their voice to advocate for their journey to be culturally safe and get the treatment they need.

-- Deb Donald

Deb notes the amount of support she receives for her IPN role throughout the hospital, working with many different units and staff, makes the job that much more fulfilling.

Her hope is to be involved in training more IPNs and seeing the program continue to expand across Interior Health.