New ICHA pilot program to deliver palliative care services to the homeless
There are an estimated 5200 people who are homeless in the City of Toronto, 450 living on the street. Of those, 75 percent have one or more chronic disease. People who are homeless are 28 times more likely to suffer from Hepatitis C, five times as likely to suffer from heart disease, and four times as likely to suffer from cancer than the general population. Among the homeless, the mortality rate is estimated to be 3.4 to 4 times the rate for the general population (Street Health Report 2007; Street Needs Assessment, City of Toronto, 2013; Early Onset Illness and Mortality Group, 2011).
There is a clear need for Palliative Care for Toronto’s homeless population. It is also clear that mainstream Palliative Care services are not always able to meet the needs of these patients. Established best practices in providing palliative care in this population include maintaining flexible eligibility and admissions criteria and flexible program policies; employing diverse and holistic care models; fostering peer-support networks; and providing palliative care within intensive supportive housing where appropriate (Good Neighbours Club, 2014).
Palliative Education And Care for the Homeless (PEACH), a pilot project of Inner City Health Associates (ICHA), aims to fill this gap in services. The objective of the program is to provide early, integrated & safe Palliative Care for the homeless & vulnerably housed, through a clinical consultation service and via partnerships with mainstream Palliative Care providers in Toronto. The program also aims to contribute to the evidence base around providing Palliative Care to this unique population.
To learn more about the PEACH project that launches this month, read the blogs by Dr. Naheed Dosani, who is leading the project for ICHA.