Mobile Outreach Street Health – Taking it to the Streets in Halifax’s North End

We’ve all heard of lunch trucks… but a mobile clinic, now that’s health care getting innovative!

If you know the North End of Halifax well, you may have heard about The Mobile Outreach Street Health
program, that has been making its rounds there the last couple of
months. This new mobile clinic provides on-site care to Halifax’s
at-risk populations.

The idea to open a mobile clinic arose from pressing need to bring
health care services more directly to a growing population of homeless
people in the area.

To face the issue, a group of local organizations (Stepping Stone,
Public Health, ARK Outreach, the Direction-180 Methadone clinic,
Mainline Needle Exchange, the North End Community Health Centre and a
wide range of government and non-profit agencies dealing with mental
health, housing and drug and alcohol issues) decided to form a coalition
called the Street Involved Working Group.

The mission of the Group is to provide health care services in places where clients gather frequently. For the Mobile Outreach Street Health program, it means going to shelters, drop-ins as well as church suppers and breakfasts.

If you’ve encountered the clinic-on-wheels in that neighbourhood, you’ve probably met Patti Melanson, coordinator of The Mobile Outreach Street Health
program. Patti, a registered nurse, has worked with street-involved
youth in Halifax for many years now. Her work is essential to help
marginalized population to get good access to primary health care
services.

The Mobile Outreach Street Health Program receives help and support from the Frontline Health Program.



About the Frontline Health Program
The Frontline Health Program is a long-term commitment by
AstraZeneca Canada to help improve the capacity to serve those Canadians
who face barriers to healthcare. It was inspired by AstraZeneca’s
belief that every Canadian, whether living on the street or 100
kilometers from the nearest hospital, has the right to quality care.


>>For more information,click here .


For more information on the Mobile Outreach Street Health program or to make a donation, visit: http://www.nechc.com or call 1 – 902 – 802 – 9696.