Parents of children in the Greater Sudbury, Manitoulin and North Shore areas suffering Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder no longer have to go to Toronto for diagnosis and treatment.

Sudbury Regional Hospital has teamed up with four First Nation partners — the Anishnabek Nation of Ontario, Shkagamik- kwe Health Centre on Applegrove Street in Greater Sudbury, the Noojmowin Teg Health Centre on Manitoulin Island, and Mamaweswen North Shore Tribal Council — to launch a one-year FASD Diagnostic Clinic at the hospital.

“It is not just a native issue,” Angela Recollet, executive director of Shkagamik-kwe Health Centre, told a press conference Tuesday at the Children’s Treatment Centre at the hospital site.

“It’s not just an Indian problem. It’s a problem that has affected people all over the globe. I think collectively, we have to look at how we can help all affected people.”

Aboriginal healing has been going on in “various ways, places and spaces” at Sudbury Regional Hospital for many years, says Joyce Helmer.

The chair of the hospital’s Aboriginal Healing Council said she was “over the moon” on Thursday when the hospital unveiled its Mshkikii-Gaming — Medicine Lodge. It will provide a visible, sacred place for aboriginal healing right off the main lobby of the new Sudbury Regional Hospital.

“This is so meaningful for our community,” said Helmer, also the vice-president of the Shkagamik- Kwe Health Centre.

“It will bring a whole different aspect to the forefront that hasn’t been as visible in the past.”