Health care is a basic human right. But for individuals and families who are experiencing poverty and trauma, due to circumstances beyond their control, accessing health services may not be a priority.
As a key component of providing integrated care, CUPS is working to tackle complex health care challenges while addressing social service priorities by engaging clients when they are ready with a primary care health team.
Through this collaborative, dynamic relationship, health care teams and clients work together to identify goals and create opportunities to address complicated health issues. And while many clients find their own way to CUPS to get connected to care and resources, such as a Diabetes support group, for others, CUPS is reaching out into the community with specialized outreach health programming.
“We’ve moved beyond talking about ‘hard to reach clients,’” says Nicola Gale, Clinical Pharmacist with the Liver Clinic, that treats about 150 clients each year. “We now view this as our issue. Instead, we talk about ‘hard to access services’ and we take those services to where people are.”
It’s a concerted effort to remove barriers and increase access for clients. CUPS works on a principle of meeting people where they are at. That doesn’t just mean where they are at mentally and emotionally, but also their physical location.
The Liver Clinic at CUPS is one example of a program that has done this 180-degree shift in thinking. “We don’t wait for people to come to us who may need hepatitis C testing and treatment,” says Nicola. “We go to where they’re at – the Drop-in Centre or Alpha House.”
Reducing deaths due to hepatitis C is a health goal championed by the World Health Organization. And within Canada – where an estimated eight people die each day from viral hepatitis – all provinces are testing for and treating liver infections with the goal to reduce incidence and disease.
“Treatment is very, very successful,” says Nicola. “At the end of three months of medication, 97 per cent of people will be cured. These are excellent outcomes.”
Even with these strong results, one of the barriers to seeking testing and treatment is the stigma that hep C carries.
“It’s not just substance users or people living rough who have Hep C,” explains Nicola. “Removing the stigma will help more people get tested.”
To help remove the stigma, CUPS instituted hep C screening for all its clients. Instead of requiring clients to opt-in for testing, they now have an opt-out, which means the CUPS team finds hep C more often, and can help clients begin treatment.
After confirming a diagnosis, CUPS works with clients to access the benefits needed to pay for their three-month run of medication, removing one of the biggest barriers to treatment.
“That’s where our wrap-around support comes in handy,” says Nicola. “This is a unique part of what CUPS does. It’s not health care versus social care. It’s all related. This is why I love working at CUPS.”
“Being treated, and then having the treatment come out 100% on my side, was the first step into a new life.” Eithan, CUPS client