Essex-Windsor EMS Paramedics Help Vaccinate Persons Experiencing Homelessness

Paramedics with Essex-Windsor EMS were on hand at the Temporary Emergency Shelter at the Aquatic Centre in Windsor Wednesday helping to vaccinate against COVID-19 persons experiencing homelessness.

Dean Giffen was the first individual to be vaccinated at the centre by Paramedics with the Vulnerable Patient Navigator team, which has also started inoculating vulnerable residents in certain apartment buildings under the direction of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.

“I’m feeling very blessed,” Giffen told the VPN team. “I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”

Other vulnerable residents who have been vaccinated have expressed the same sense of relief and hope to VPN team members, who are honoured and humbled to be playing such a key role in this historic mass vaccination effort.

The Province of Ontario has recognized the challenges faced by persons experiencing homelessness and has prioritized them for vaccinations. In addition to supporting two Isolation Centres and the Temporary Emergency Shelter – Aquatic Centre, staff with the City of Windsor are assisting the health unit and EMS with this vaccination effort.

“It’s difficult to adhere to a ‘stay at home’ order, when you don’t have a home,” said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens. “We are grateful that our residents who face additional challenges from COVID-19 are able to access the vaccine.  We would especially like to thank EMS, the Health Unit, and CRST Medical Teams for their help in vaccinating residents.”

Jelena Payne, the city’s Commissioner of Community Development and Health Services, agrees.  

“We are extremely grateful to Hotel Dieu Grace Healthcare, Canadian Mental Health Association, and Assisted Living Southwestern Ontario for partnering with the City, Health Unit, EMS and CRST to support this population group throughout the crisis,” she said.

Several non-profit agencies serving persons experiencing homelessness have stepped up to serve residents in need.  

The Welcome Centre Shelter for Women and Families has continued to provide emergency shelter for women and families, in addition to leading operations at the City’s Isolation and Recovery Centre for the past year.  

The Salvation Army Centre of Hope has mobilized during the COVID outbreak amongst persons experiencing homelessness to add an additional 25 shelter beds to prevent people from sleeping rough.  

Family Services Windsor Essex has deployed their outreach workers to engage with residents at the Housing and Homelessness Help Hub (H4), and worked intensively with Housing Information Services to secure housing for residents, many of whom have been living in shelter for years.

The Vulnerable Patient Navigator program was launched in 2016 to help ease the strain on the local ambulance service and reduce offload delays by working closely with patients who use emergency medical services more than three times per year.

The program holds clinics in high-rise apartment buildings and also deploys wireless devices to monitor blood pressure and other key health indicators.

In 2019, the VPN team held more than 100 Paramedicine clinics and made 607 home visits, making 298 referrals and administering 110 flu shots to vulnerable patients. More than 65 patients were outfitted with remote monitoring equipment.