Bella Moses Petawabano, chairperson of the Cree Health Board, says that medevacs are steadily rising in Cree communities, even as local health services improve. (Jaime Little/CBC)

Despite new telehealth services that allow Cree patients to undergo certain medical procedures in their home clinics, more Cree are travelling south for medical treatment every year.

"The work goes up 10% every year" for the department dealing with medical travel, said Cree Health Board Chairperson Bella Petawabano this week at the Cree Nation Government's annual general assembly in Ouje-Bougoumou, northern Québec.

"We have almost 10,000 emergency and scheduled medevacs per year" — in a total population of almost 20,000 people. 

Procedures such as ultrasounds, dialysis and eye exams are now available in some Cree communities, but many other services require patients to travel several hundred kilometres to southern centres.

Petawabano said addressing the root causes of obesity and diabetes is urgent. She encouraged people to get active and "just say no to poutine," one of the most popular snacks in the Cree communities. 

"In the past, people knew what was good for them," she said. "They knew how to eat well and that made them strong. It's not like that today." 

The annual assembly wrapped up on Thursday.