A physician group in Windsor is one of four groups across the province approved to offer services through the Homeless Shelter Alternate Payment Plan.
The plan is a non-enrolment model providing primary care services to those who are largely uninsured, medically complex, and disconnected from the traditional health system.
The Windsor Shelter Health Associates (WSHA) began their work in 2021 delivering healthcare services to those experiencing homelessness without provincial funding.
In 2024, the province granted WSHA $3,881,138 in funding allowing their 11 physicians, 8 general practitioners, and 3 specialists to continue offering care at key locations across Windsor.
These include the Salvation Army Men's Emergency Shelter, the Homelessness and Housing Help Hub (H4), the Welcome Centre Shelter for Women & Families, the Downtown Mission of Windsor, Journey Home Hospice, and various Housing with Supports sites.
WSHA Medical Director Dr. Jennifer Bondy says clinic rooms are set up in all shelters across the city and they accept patients on a walk in basis.
"We're seeing more people coming in, there's more trust that's been built, and that's actually a large component of it because when we build trust then we can encourage people to continue to come in, and that is going to lead to improved outcomes, more preventative care, and so a lot less catch up afterwards which is good for the healthcare system in general because it means then we're spending less money downstream then we would be otherwise," Dr. Bondy said.
Dr. Bondy said they currently have a partnership with Windsor Regional Hospital where discharged patients who require mental health care can have follow up visits with WSHA psychiatrists.
"We anticipate that that's going to improve the chances of people actually making their follow up appointment, which means there's going to be, again, less risk of rehospitalizations, readmissions, second, third, fourth trips to the emergency department," Dr. Bondy said.
Nicole Sbrocca, CEO, Canadian Mental Health Association - Windsor Essex County Branch, says data from the past fiscal year shows the success of the program.
"Our intraprofessional team has provided over 5,000 visits across the shelter sites, our physicians are seeing on average each month 200 unique patients, we've observed a reduction in emergency department use for issues that are now being addressed on site in shelters," Sbrocca said.
WSHA also partners with organizations like Street Health, the Hepatitis C Clinic, and STEPS (Support Through Education Prevention Stability) to deliver wrap-around, patient-centered care.