Community Health & Immunization Program

OKAKI is a trusted public health partner with a steadfast commitment to public and Indigenous health. They deliver on time with flexibility, and creativity, adopting a public health lens to complex projects. OKAKI’s team has the right balance of public health, technical, privacy, and health system experts to deliver transformative solutions. They have worked with First Nations community, healthcare and government partners to relentlessly pursue the creation of a complete and intuitive immunization registry for all Albertans. For over a decade, they have worked to address public health and immunization information gaps that the pandemic only highlighted, and their work has been vital to the COVID-19 response. Since immunization partners have implemented their systems the data quality to support immunization surveillance and clinical decision making has improved significantly.

Our experience in working with OKAKI over the last 12 years has been nothing but positive. OKAKI has been a trusted partner, both in providing cutting-edge electronic health record solutions, such as CHIP and CARE, that meet the needs of our core programs and by supporting our staff with program expertise and guidance. They have consistently gone above and beyond in advocating for change and helping us to achieve significant milestones, including being the first community to have our RNs access Alberta Netcare under their own authority and to be one of the first in the province, on or off reserve, to implement 2-way real-time integration for immunization records with Alberta Health. OKAKI’s skill and perseverance has positively impacted our health centre and community. CHIP has been a godsend during the pandemic.

OKAKI is an organization that is driven by purpose. Their team of experienced public health professionals and technical experts is led by a commitment to bringing resolution to long-standing health system challenges in First Nations communities. They combine an unparalleled understanding of the issues on reserve, with a visionary approach, and courage to break down barriers and solve tough problems, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. OKAKI’s suite of public health tools has been absolutely critical to informing and managing the pandemic response on reserves.

The Blackfoot term “OKAKI” means intelligence of the mind, body, and spirit. Dr. Samanani and the OKAKI team continue to deliver innovation, best practices, and world-class technology. Working with them has resulted in positive, progressive, and meaningful change at the community level. They are game-changer.