The Hope to Health Research & Innovation Centre

Opened in late 2019, the Hope to Health Research & Innovation Centre (H2H) is an interdisciplinary primary care service in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. H2H’s team-based approach to primary health care is based on the best evidence for service design in engaging marginalized populations. Clinical services at H2H were also planned using evidence and best-practices and refined under an ongoing quality improvement (QI) approach. Psychosocial supports offered at H2H include helping clients in areas of housing, income, social supports, and behavioural interventions.

Hope to Health Research & Innovation Centre Includes

Before H2H opened, DTES residents relied extensively on the publicly-administered community health centres (CHCs) in the neighbourhood. CHCs have difficulty in engaging and retaining clients with complex medical and psychiatric needs and also have limited capacity to enroll new clients.

The most marginalized DTES residents predominantly access health care through emergency services at one of three hospitals in central Vancouver. Many patients discharged from acute care stays in hospital do not have an identified primary care provider resulting in limited outpatient follow-up and frequent re-admission.

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Supervised
Consumption Site

The SCS offers low threshold access to harm reduction supplies, supervised injection of substances brought in by clients and also prescribed opioids as an alternative to illicit substances. The co-location of the SCS with an integrated primary care clinic also serves as a stepping stone into the care and treatment of substance use. The SCS is staffed by nurses and peers with the support of the primary care staff, ensuring each client’s health and safety while using their services.

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Prescription Alternatives
to Illicit Drugs

All staff have developed the capacity to offer safer alternatives to opioids, stimulants and benzodiazepines through the implementation of current clinical and treatment guidelines for risk mitigation, opioid use, stimulant use and benzodiazepine use disorders. These alternatives include various options of oral, injectable or transdermal prescribed options to best suit each eligible client’s needs

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Primary
Care Clinic

Aimed at providing a broad range of psychosocial and primary care services, the ICPC clinic is interdisciplinary, focusing on the client’s needs and offering a coordinated and proactive care approach. Serving clients with complex health care needs, unattached to primary care, the clinic provides essential care for those living or receiving most of their services in the DTES of Vancouver. With the goal of enrolling, engaging and empowering these clients to improve their clinical outcomes, the services are akin to “ambulatory critical care” for a priority population. Close monitoring of the population served by H2H with real-time analytics and a solid quality improvement approach, has been key to its success.

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Clinical & Behavioural
Research Studies

Several studies are being conducted by various research teams to characterize barriers and facilitators to accessing care and evaluating services. This work is vital to assess novel clinical and behavioural interventions, and address key clinically relevant questions to the impact on client outcomes.

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Clinical Research
Laboratory

Built to support the clinical activities at both St. Paul’s Hospital and H2H, the Clinical Research Laboratory is a state-of-the-art molecular laboratory located within the facilities at 647 Powell Street. Not only serving as a backup laboratory to safeguard against service interruptions at St. Paul’s Hospital, this laboratory also provides integral support for current and future research studies, including future clinical trials, undertaken at H2H. Designed to support expertise in molecular virology, genetics and pharmacology, this in-house laboratory is equipped to support the current and future personalized client care options offered at H2H.

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Pharmacy
Services

The integration of pharmacy services into the model at H2H is a key support to improvements for client health outcomes. Having access to medication on-site increases adherence to medication regimens, improves clinical and therapeutic outcomes and reduces the waste of therapeutic pharmaceuticals. These services also support clinical research, monitoring and evaluation, leading to improvements in public policy and clinical practice.

info@bccfe.ca

(Please do not use this email address to send personal or client information, or book an appointment).

Monday - Friday, 9:30am-3:30pm

Saturday, Closed Sunday, Closed

Phone/Fax

Tel: 604-416-1517
Fax: 604-564-4893

Address

625 Powell street, Vancouver, BC V6A 1H2