Mobile health clinic hits the road, serving Greater Victoria's marginalized population
The Victoria Cool Aid Society is revving up a new health clinic that brings the doctor’s office to some of the capital region’s most vulnerable people.
The health-care van runs five days a week, with an eye for expansion, travelling to shelters and supportive housing sites so people can get access to care from nurses, social workers, and physicians.
“We expect to be very, very busy,” says clinical nurse leader Karen Lundgren. “There are a lot of people in Victoria who have a real difficulty accessing traditional health care and so this will allow us to reach those people.”
The services include anything a doctor’s office would be equipped for, including primary care assessments, STI screenings, wound care and prescriptions. It also has harm reduction supplies and a physician aboard who can help people access opiate agonist therapy.
A 54-year-old man who accesses Cool Aid’s resources on a regular basis and once experienced homelessness decades ago thinks the mobile tool will be especially helpful for people who don’t have a place to call home.
“It’s quicker care,” says Garry Gordon. “Plus there’s less stigma with the van than having to go to (Royal) Jubilee Hospital or something.”
The mobile health unit was a donation from Doctors of the World to the Cool Aid Society. Its operating expenses are being covered by sponsors like Telus and Island Health, as well as community donations that support Cool Aid.
“Over the past year, health care and housing have come together in an unprecedented way to provide more services for those in marginalized populations,” says Mary Chudley, Cool Aid’s director of health and support services. “And now we’re taking those lessons we’ve learned from that collaboration and realizing that, yeah, we need to be more mobile.”
The charitable organization says the van is a cost-effective and sustainable way of reaching people for health care.
“I think it will help people reach their health potential that otherwise wouldn’t be able to,” adds Lundgren.
The van has already been in operation over the last few weeks. Its schedule is being posted and shared with Cool Aid’s community partners, and it can be viewed on the charity’s website.
“This van is a new way, an innovative way to do health care,” says Chudley.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
U.S. vetoes a widely supported UN resolution backing full membership for Palestine
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
Bayer recalls hydraSense baby product over 'potential contamination'
Bayer announced Thursday it is recalling two lots of its hydraSense Baby Nasal Care Easydose due to a potential contamination.
N.L. gardening store revives 19th century seed-packing machine
Technology from the 19th century has been brought out of retirement at a Newfoundland gardening store, as staff look for all the help they can get to fill orders during a busy season.
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.