Presented at the invitation of the Gay & Lesbian Medical Association at the GLMA conference on August 10th, 2000 in Vancouver

Improving Health Care Access:

Innovative programming for making health care more accessible to marginalized LGBT populations

Moderator: Steve Martindale, The Vanguard Project, BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.

Speakers:

  • Andrew Barker, coordinator of both the Monday Health Project and AIDS Vancouver's Man to Man Program;
  • Peter Granger, Three Bridges Community Health Centre;
  • Justin Jagosh, The Centre's LGTB Community Health Project;
  • Mary Lou Miller, The Vanguard Project, BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS;
  • Catherine White, Community Counsellor, Three Bridges Community Health Centre.

 

ABSTRACT:

How can health care be made more accessible to lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered people, particularly those who are further marginalized by poverty, housing instability, mental illness and addictions?

A community health centre in Vancouver has tackled this issue head-on, providing street-level care to a diverse urban population comprising youth, the elderly, people with HIV/AIDS and/or Hep C, the homeless, injection drug users, sex trade workers and the mentally ill ­ many of whom are also lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered.

The Downtown South Community Health Centre (recently re-named the Three Bridges Community Health Centre) uses a "one-stop shopping" multidisciplinary team approach to care management for patients with complex health and social needs.

By working in partnership with community-based queer health advocates and researchers, this Community Health Centre has developed such innovative programming as a one-day-per-week queer-specific health clinic (the Monday Health Project), a nightly drop-in centre for male sex trade workers (the "Boys R Us" Boystown Drop-In Centre), and other services to promote health care access for hard-to-reach populations.

This session will feature presentations by health care workers and community-based health care advocates involved in providing these services. They will explain how their programs were developed and discuss how these services can be exported to other communities.

 

OUTLINE:

PART ONE: BROADER ISSUES

  1. Justin Jagosh: Historical context. Overview of Vancouver's LGBT communities and geography (West End, East side, Downtown eastside, Downtown South). Health issues affecting LGBT populations. Will mention LGBT PHAC and Health Board structure. Will define "health" using WHO's definition. What The Centre is doing to address these issues. Collaboration between community partners and The Centre's LGTB Community Health Project. Advocacy, community-based organizing and coalition building. Will mention LGBT Health Association and "Your Everyday Health Guide," and the earlier work of the association which was the two year lobby that started in 1995 to get the Health Board to designate an LGBT PHAC.
  2. Peter Granger and Catherine White: General approaches to health care. Working in partnership/collaboration. The DSCHC/Three Bridges model of multidisciplinary health care, community involvement, coalition building, innovative programming and care management for "frequent flyers." Will mention the Monday Health Project, the transgender support group, needle exchange and methadone maintenance and will explain community counselling.

 

PART TWO: TARGETED APPROACHES TO PROMOTING ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE IN SPECIFIC COMMUNITIES

  1. Andrew Barker: The Monday Health Project: the goals and accomplishments of a queer-specific clinic and how this model could be exported to other communities. Will mention transgendered support group and gender services.
  2. Andew Barker: "Boys R Us" Boystown drop-in centre for male sex workers. How this service came into existence through the collaborative efforts of various community-based groups and individuals. The goals and accomplishments of Boys R Us and how this model could be exported to other communities.
  3. Mary Lou Miller: Community-based research and health promotion. The Vanguard Project and the Vancouver HIV Vaccine Trial. How researchers can collaborate with community-based health services and ASOs to improve participants' access to health care services.
  4. Andrew Barker: AIDS Vancouver's Man to Man Program. How Man to Man has adjusted their HIV prevention efforts by taking a more holistic approach.

 

Steve will thank speakers and moderate Q & A session.