Even though she tried really hard, Darlene Rae couldn't hide behind the camera for the entire conference. Thanks Darlene for taking all of the terrific pictures.
	Early dawn in Red Lake as last minute arrangements are being made for the conference.
	Brian Beaton welcomed everyone, reviewed the agenda (which had to be flexible (yet strict) to accommodate some of the new events and still address the scheduled video conference sessions.

Brian presented an OVERVIEW document outlining the various work accomplished over the past five years of development. The challenge to everyone present is to ensure the work continues with a common agenda (one of the reasons for this conference).

	Conference participants included community representatives from each Keewaytinook Okimakanak First Nation, special resource people, Keewaytinook Okimakanak program staff members from both the Red Lake and Sioux Lookout offices. Where did all the equipment go??
	We were fortunate to have Howard Hampton, MPP for our riding, so he can continue to lobby and support our efforts as we develop Keewaytinook Okimakanak telecommunication strategies.

At this point in the agenda, the group split into two sections, one went to the local hospital in Red Lake for a demonstration of the telehealth equipment and the rest of the group stayed to learn about the program announcement by FedNor.

	Arriving for the special telehealth demonstration at the local hospital in Red Lake. The presention involved using a satellite link from the hospital to the Ottawa Heart Institute (OHI). Alison Pettunuzzo, the Assistant CEO of the Margaret Couchenour Hospital, facilitated the session. Roy Marsh and Sharon-Anne Kearns - an RN working with the project - talked about their pilot project and the ways that patients and health professionals felt about using this new consultation tool. Thanks to Roy Marsh for bringing the session to life by opening up his shirt for a "live" digital stethoscopy demonstration.
	We all lined up to listen to Roy's steady heartbeat. Here's Cornelius Matthews taking his turn.
	People were very interested in seeing how the telehealth unit work - there were many questions! Red Lake is the closest hospital to most Keewaytinook Okimakanak communities and many people were curious how this same approach might be used for First Nations healthcare delivery. Roy said that they are writing an evaluation of the pilot HEART program that connected hospitals in Red Lake, Pembroke, Almont, Chapleau and Sudbury. We learned that one of the big barriers to this kind of project is that OHIP won't pay physicians for tele-consults.
	The HEART project began in August 1998, under their Telecommunications Access Project. This installation was a first step to bringing these types of services closer to the Keewaytinook Okimakanak First Nations and was a result (in part) of a visit to OHI by the Chiefs of Keewaytinook Okimakanak in May 1998.
	Other people chose to attend an audioconference session with FedNor's Telecommunications Program Officer, Carl Seibel. Carl talked about Industry's Canada's recent announcement to support telecommunications (see http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/fn00361e.html ). Les Meekis, the Keewaytinook Okimakanak Outreach Officer and Raymond Mason, Keewaywin Councillor are interested in finding the resources to get these telecom services into Keewaywin First Nation.
	One step discussed during this session was to build a SMART demonstration facility at the new Keewaytinook Okimakanak administration building in Balmertown. This picture of Carl was taken during the Honourable John Manley's trip to Red Lake in May of this year.
	We all got back together just before lunch. Don Richardson and Ricardo Ramirez of the Telecommons Development Group (TDG) talked about the PLANNING PROCESS during the next few days and asked people to think about how we could harness communication and information technologies for our communities.
	An excellent lunch is served to the participants by the local caterers (First Nation entrepreneurs).