With support from generous people just like you, Cool Aid is working to open a second Community Health Centre (CHC) in our new Crosstown development.
The Dr. Joe Haegert Community Health Centre will expand on the successful model of care we currently deliver to patients at the downtown CHC. At both locations, we’ll continue to provide wrap-around health care to people who are homeless and/or challenged by complex mental health and substance use issues.
In 2018, our downtown CHC served 4,500 patients. Since then, with increasing numbers of people struggling with homelessness, mental health challenges, and affected by a toxic drug supply, our patient roster has grown to 7,000. Without CHCs, more marginalized people would end up in their local hospital emergency department.
In addition to providing care from nurses and doctors, the new Dr. Joe Haegert CHC will provide access to supports such as counselling and physiotherapy, referrals to social workers, and help with finding stable housing. Mary Chudley, director of health and support services at Cool Aid, says, “The Dr. Joe clinic will be a health care hub. Patients will be seen in a real clinic, not a temporary room set up in a shelter. When not on the road, our mobile health clinics will park there, so our teams can replenish medical supplies. Also, plans are in the works for an onsite pharmacy.”
Mary explains that donor support for the Dr. Joe Haegert Community Health Centre will be essential to equipping the clinic with everything from stethoscopes to a defibrillator. “With more people than ever living on the edge, our funding is stretched. That’s why we are asking donors to support this important project to ensure excellent medical care for the most vulnerable among us.”
Thank you for your generosity as we prepare to open the new Dr. Joe Haegert Community Health Centre.