The CUPS Connect 2 Care Program
What it is and why we need it in our community
Did you know?
On average, hospital admissions for people who are experiencing homelessness in Calgary cost $2559 more than for those who have housing.
45 per cent of medically complex homeless individuals have a primary care physician — compared with 94 per cent of the general population.
The average life expectancy for people experiencing homelessness in Canada ranges from 34-47 years, versus 77-82 years for the general population.
To add to the statistics, we know that homeless and vulnerably-housed Calgarians often have multiple social, economic and health challenges, and can have difficulty connecting with community resources that can help set them up for long-term success. This often results in presentations to acute care centres which only provide temporary fixes for chronic conditions.
Understanding the barriers
People who are experiencing homelessness face a myriad of barriers to access healthcare, such as:
No identification
No telephone or cell phone number
No income
No basic medication coverage
No access to reliable transportation
With all of these barriers, follow-ups are difficult to arrange, and discharge plans often fall through. What’s more, a large portion of the time spent for those living on the streets centres around meeting basic needs, like food and shelter. As a result, illnesses and non-life-threatening conditions are not often prioritized and they go to emergency for reasons that might have otherwise been prevented.
The combined lack of housing and connection to appropriate resources in the community often leads to recurrent visits, lower quality of care and an increased burden on our health care system.
What is Connect 2 Care?
In order to better care for these vulnerable populations, CUPS, the Alpha House and the O’Brien Institute at the University of Calgary partnered to implement the Connect 2 Care (C2C) program.
Founded in 2015, C2C is designed to bridge the gap between hospital and community. To help guide clients, C2C relies on a team of health navigators — non-clinicians who have experience working with vulnerable populations. Navigators, along with nurses and palliative care workers, provide an interdisciplinary approach to care for homeless and vulnerably housed Calgarians.
Their aim is to engage and connect with these individuals and figure out why they go to hospital in the first place. With a deeper understanding of their challenges, they can be connected to the right resources. And with the right support in place, their acute care use will decrease and their quality of life will improve.
In order to be admitted into the program, individuals must:
Be homeless or vulnerably housed
Be suffering from a chronic, high-risk medical condition
Have had multiple acute care visits
Making an impact
Over the last 5 years, the C2C team has been evaluating the program's structure, processes and outcomes by collecting both quantitative and qualitative data. Already, they have make a measurable impact, including:
After intake, C2C clients spend less time living in homelessness.
Clients access emergency departments less frequently
When admitted, clients spend fewer days in hospital
The C2C program serves as a great example of the power of collaboration between like-minded services and how, together, we are making a tangible difference in building resilience and lasting change in our community.
Interested in getting involved at CUPS? Click here.