Team profiles :

Dixon Hall

At a Glance

  Region: Ontario

Setting: Urban

EAIP program principle(s): 

• Access to specialized healthcare services 
• Access to social and community supports 
• Access to system navigation and support 

Implementation (new, spread, and/or expand):   

• New 

Team Profile  

The team leading this initiative is McMaster University, in collaboration with Dixon Hall, a multi-service agency that supports individuals in the Downtown East Toronto community. Team members include academic staff (Professor and Research Associate) from McMaster University, and research support and management staff from Dixon Hall.  

Community

• This program will be implemented in a Toronto Seniors Housing (TSH) building in Downtown East Toronto. The building houses over 50% women (110 out of 196 residents) and 96% are aged 55 years and older. While 50% of residents prefer spoken English, other commonly spoken languages include Vietnamese (12%) and Cantonese (11%), with a total of 13 different languages spoken within the building. 
• Downtown East Toronto includes neighborhoods such as Moss Park, St. James Town, Church Wellesley Village, and Cabbagetown. It is bounded by Bloor Street to the north, Front Street to the south, Bay Street to the west, and the Don Valley Parkway to the east. This area faces challenges related to low socioeconomic status, homelessness, mental health, and substance use. 
• Dixon Hall Neighbourhood Services offers a range of services including housing support, employment services, and programs for seniors and youth, addressing the diverse needs of the community. 

Program Focus 

Program Description  

• The Community Paramedicine at Clinic (CP@clinic) program will be adapted for older adults and immigrant seniors living in social/supportive housing or who are precariously housed, serviced by Dixon Hall Neighbourhood Services. This adaptation, named Healthcare Provider at Clinic (HCP@clinic), will complete a needs assessment to tailor the evidence-informed intervention for different populations and conditions. The goal is to generate knowledge to inform the potential scale-up of HCP@clinic to other sites within Dixon Hall Neighbourhood Services, promoting health and health equity.   
• The program aims to improve access to primary healthcare and social/community resources, enhance health measures and quality of life, keep participants healthy at home longer, reduce transfers to long-term care, and prevent progression to more intensive interventions. Initially targeting residents of Toronto Seniors Housing at 252 Sackville, this adaptation will involve other healthcare professionals instead of community paramedicine, as the target population for Toronto Paramedic Services differs from the program's target group. 

Implementation Approach: 

• Conduct Interviews with Dixon Hall Staff: Interview case workers to assess suitability of skills for delivering the HCP@clinic program and gather insights for implementation. 
• Complete Needs Assessment: Conduct a needs assessment of TSH tenants to understand their health and social needs, and tailor the HCP@clinic program accordingly. 
• Onboard Health Navigators: Hire Health Navigators with knowledge of local community supports and challenges, multilingual abilities, and social skills to help clients navigate the system.  
• Establish HCP@Clinic: Hold an initial planning meeting with key partners, schedule HCP@clinic sessions based on needs assessment and resource capacity and facilitate referrals to health education and promotion resources.