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Health Unit to purchase new mobile unit for Street Outreach

The Street Outreach program provides public health services to people who may not otherwise have access to health care
Thunder Bay District Health Unit 2020

THUNDER BAY - A program designed to provide health and well being to those who may not otherwise have access will soon be able to reach out even further.

The Thunder Bay District Health Unit board of health approved a recommendation to purchase a mobile unit for its Street Outreach program.

The Street Outreach program was created to deliver public health interventions to people who experience higher burdens of health and do not access health services regularly due to marginalization, socio-economic issues, or mental health and addictions issues.

“Clients who access street outreach services report that they do not seek traditional health care services for a variety of reasons including not having an Ontario health card or family doctor, having negative experience in the past with health care, suffering from concurrent addiction issues and being refused service. They also report that lack of transportation options is a significant barrier to care,” states a report prepared for the Board of Health.

The Street Outreach program provides access to testing for infectious diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, and hepatitis C, as well as case management, education and counseling, harm reduction supplies, surveillance of infectious diseases, and COVID-19 response.

A nurse practitioner and three public health nurses are part of the Street Outreach program and it has been using a decommissioned ambulance gifted to the health unit in 2017 by the City of Thunder Bay.

“Since its acquisition, the vehicle has needed significant repairs, and the frequency of required repairs has been increasing,” the report states. “The cost of repairs and resulting time where the unit is not available impacts the ability of the program to meet its goals.”

The former ambulance also does not provide the space required to administer the services of the Street Outreach program.

The Thunder Bay District Health Unit has located an architecture firm to design the mobile unit that will fit the needs of the program.

“The architecture firm Administration is proposing has designed and provided over 12 of these vehicles across various health related organizations in Canada,” the report states. “They are familiar with the design and details of the vehicle which will be critical considering the important function and client service that is required in the unit.”

The cost of the mobile unit will be approximately $162,725.

The Board of Health voted to proceed with the procurement process for the new mobile unit.



Doug Diaczuk

About the Author: Doug Diaczuk

Doug Diaczuk is a reporter and award-winning author from Thunder Bay. He has a master’s degree in English from Lakehead University
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