There’s a new health outreach program on the streets of Thunder Bay.
Joseph Esquega Health Centre and Elevate NWO have been offering services out of a remodeled ambulance nicknamed “Ellie” for three months now.
The Health Centre’s Medical Director Dr. Cheryl Everall explains the project is aimed at people who aren’t comfortable seeking medical attention at a hospital or clinic.
Many of their clients often fear they’ll face stigma, be mistreated, or suffer withdrawal symptoms from drugs.
Five days per week, Ellie heads out to different parts of the city, offering to test people for HIV, Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B, along with other services.
Officials say they treat around six people at each building they visit, and often see several more who approach the van, which they say has become a familar sight in the areas they visit.
“The value has snowballed, the reception we get on the streets and where we’re invited into has just grown and grown,” Everall says, calling that reaction a sign of the program’s success.
“We build that trust and we respect them for where we’re at,”
Everall says that approach has made patients comfortable enough to accept treatment from their team for severe wounds.
Building those relationships also lets the team connect patients with other services, like housing.
The van also carries naloxone kits to reverse opioid overdoses, which Everall feels have already helped save lives.
The team handed out 35 kits in one day, and got word that two of those had been used that night to reverse an overdose.
Elevate NWO spokesperson Eric Shih adds that they have plans to take Ellie into other communities in the Northwest in the future. (Staff Photo)