Blue Door Clinic for uninsured people living with HIV moves to Casey House
September 29, 2023
Blue Door Clinic for uninsured people living with HIV moves to Casey House
TORONTO, ON (October 2, 2023) – As of today, Blue Door Clinic, a community collaboration offering interim health care for people living with HIV who are precariously or uninsured, is now hosted at Casey House.
Being HIV+ without access to medication can be life-threatening. The clinic’s free and confidential services include HIV primary care from physicians and nurse practitioners, laboratory testing, referrals to specialists, connection to medication access programs, case management support, and referral to community services to address social determinant needs such as housing, legal services, and immigration support.
Since 2019, Blue Door Clinic has been hosted at Regent Park Community Health Centre. The clinic’s steering committee was looking for a new home for the clinic and Casey House, a long-standing partner of the project, is well positioned to host and add value: the hospital has expertise in HIV care, as well as expertise and infrastructure in other areas to augment the clinic’s work, including research, evaluation, and knowledge mobilization, and can assist in building provider capacity.
Medical care and case support will continue to be provided in-kind by a rotating group of multidisciplinary health service providers from partner agencies, and Blue Door Clinic clients will now have access to Casey House’s outpatient services: group programs facilitated by interdisciplinary team members, a hot midday meal, supervised consumption services (SCS), peer support, and individual appointments with a physiotherapist, mental health clinicians, harm reduction workers, and recreational therapists.
Regent Park Community Health Centre physician and Blue Door Clinic co-founder Dr. Alan Li is happy to see the clinic offer patients access to additional services. He says, “Noninsured people living with HIV face complex barriers in accessing care and support. Moving to Casey House is another successful step forward in the Blue Door Clinic collaborative partnership. It gives me great hope and excitement that we can expand our hours of services and enable clients to access a wider range of on-site services.”
Li goes on to express gratitude for the ground-breaking work of the partner organizations. The Blue Door Clinic’s current steering committee is chaired by Casey House CEO Joanne Simons, and includes representatives from Regent Park Community Health Centre, Community Alliance for Accessible Treatment (CAAT), Fife House, Hassle Free Clinic, Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN), Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre, Sherbourne Health, and the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation (PWA).
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Casey House is unlike any other hospital. We are a specialty hospital in Toronto providing ground-breaking care to people living with and at risk of HIV. Together with our clients, staff, peers and volunteers, we strive to create an inclusive environment where everyone feels safe. We offer a growing mix of inpatient, outpatient and community-based services that meet clients where they are in their individual journeys of health and wellness. Building on a legacy of advocacy and social justice, we actively dismantle barriers to care and safe living. We provide a community and sense of belonging that connects people to care. The humanity of each client is at the heart of everything we do.
Blue Door clinic is a community collaboration providing interim health care and social supports to people living with HIV in the greater Toronto area who do not have health insurance coverage or access to HIV medication.
September 29, 2023
Blue Door Clinic for uninsured people living with HIV moves to Casey House
TORONTO, ON (October 2, 2023) – As of today, Blue Door Clinic, a community collaboration offering interim health care for people living with HIV who are precariously or uninsured, is now hosted at Casey House.
Being HIV+ without access to medication can be life-threatening. The clinic’s free and confidential services include HIV primary care from physicians and nurse practitioners, laboratory testing, referrals to specialists, connection to medication access programs, case management support, and referral to community services to address social determinant needs such as housing, legal services, and immigration support.
Since 2019, Blue Door Clinic has been hosted at Regent Park Community Health Centre. The clinic’s steering committee was looking for a new home for the clinic and Casey House, a long-standing partner of the project, is well positioned to host and add value: the hospital has expertise in HIV care, as well as expertise and infrastructure in other areas to augment the clinic’s work, including research, evaluation, and knowledge mobilization, and can assist in building provider capacity.
Medical care and case support will continue to be provided in-kind by a rotating group of multidisciplinary health service providers from partner agencies, and Blue Door Clinic clients will now have access to Casey House’s outpatient services: group programs facilitated by interdisciplinary team members, a hot midday meal, supervised consumption services (SCS), peer support, and individual appointments with a physiotherapist, mental health clinicians, harm reduction workers, and recreational therapists.
Regent Park Community Health Centre physician and Blue Door Clinic co-founder Dr. Alan Li is happy to see the clinic offer patients access to additional services. He says, “Noninsured people living with HIV face complex barriers in accessing care and support. Moving to Casey House is another successful step forward in the Blue Door Clinic collaborative partnership. It gives me great hope and excitement that we can expand our hours of services and enable clients to access a wider range of on-site services.”
Li goes on to express gratitude for the ground-breaking work of the partner organizations. The Blue Door Clinic’s current steering committee is chaired by Casey House CEO Joanne Simons, and includes representatives from Regent Park Community Health Centre, Community Alliance for Accessible Treatment (CAAT), Fife House, Hassle Free Clinic, Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN), Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre, Sherbourne Health, and the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation (PWA).
-30-
Casey House is unlike any other hospital. We are a specialty hospital in Toronto providing ground-breaking care to people living with and at risk of HIV. Together with our clients, staff, peers and volunteers, we strive to create an inclusive environment where everyone feels safe. We offer a growing mix of inpatient, outpatient and community-based services that meet clients where they are in their individual journeys of health and wellness. Building on a legacy of advocacy and social justice, we actively dismantle barriers to care and safe living. We provide a community and sense of belonging that connects people to care. The humanity of each client is at the heart of everything we do.
Blue Door clinic is a community collaboration providing interim health care and social supports to people living with HIV in the greater Toronto area who do not have health insurance coverage or access to HIV medication.
Learn more:
Bluedoorclinic.org
To book an interview with Blue Door Clinic founder Dr. Alan Li or Casey House chief executive officer Joanne Simons, or for more information, contact:
Lisa McDonald
Casey House
lmcdonald@caseyhouse.ca
647-224-4415
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