When Medicine Leaves the Hospital

You know, I would say, Sina, that the main thread that really connects my work is really a real commitment to advancing health equity for people who are typically left behind in our health system.

I'm talking about people who are unhoused, for example, people who experience poverty, structural racism, mental health challenges, or just other forms of social exclusion.

The initiative I'm probably best known for is the PEACH program, Palliative Education and Care for the Homeless.

As the founder and lead of this program, I've worked to create this program with my colleagues that is a mobile, community-based palliative care program in Toronto that brings serious illness and end of life care to wherever people are, on the streets, in shelters, under bridges, in encampment communities, so that no person really falls through the cracks.

The idea is simple, but it's powerful.

People should not have to become less poor, less traumatized, less stigmatized, or more system ready in order to receive compassionate care.

Look, a lot of people think that palliative care is something that happens very late in a hospital or a hospice or just for people who experience cancer.

At Peach, we really challenge some of those notions.

We care for people with complex diseases, often alongside untreated trauma, people who are using drugs and people who deal with profound isolation day to day.

Many people that the health system often deems difficult to manage or difficult to support.

So our work isn't just about medical care or symptom management, although that's very important.

We spend a lot of time building trust, building relationships, advocating for things like housing and income support, addressing grief and dignity, and making sure that people are not alone.

Another major initiative I'm working on is called Radical Love.

Yes, that's actually the name of the program.

It's based at Kensington Hospice, and it's an equity-oriented hospice palliative care program where I serve as medical director at Kensington Hospice, which is Toronto's largest hospice.

This program is really transforming the way we think about access to hospice care for people who experience structural vulnerabilities like poverty and homelessness.

We went from a hospice that cared for structurally vulnerable people less than 2% of the time to a hospice that typically cares for structurally vulnerable people 50% of the time.

Just over the course of a year.

We're now actually on year three.

I'm really honored to be part of some national work with Healthcare Excellence Canada and the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer.

Recently, we launched an initiative called Improving Equity and Access to Palliative Care.

We ran this initiative for five years, and we actually implemented 23 programs across Canada, coast to coast to coast.

Wow.

that do similar work in improving access to palliative care.

So whether it's at the bedside, in a shelter, in a hospice, in a boardroom or a policy table, the goal is really always the same.

You know, I would say, Sina, that the main thread that really connects my work is really a real commitment to advancing health equity for people who are typically left behind in our health system.

I'm talking about people who are unhoused, for example, people who experience poverty, structural racism, mental health challenges, or just other forms of social exclusion.

The initiative I'm probably best known for is the PEACH program, Palliative Education and Care for the Homeless.

As the founder and lead of this program, I've worked to create this program with my colleagues that is a mobile, community-based palliative care program in Toronto that brings serious illness and end of life care to wherever people are, on the streets, in shelters, under bridges, in encampment communities, so that no person really falls through the cracks.

The idea is simple, but it's powerful.

People should not have to become less poor, less traumatized, less stigmatized, or more system ready in order to receive compassionate care.

Look, a lot of people think that palliative care is something that happens very late in a hospital or a hospice or just for people who experience cancer.

At Peach, we really challenge some of those notions.

We care for people with complex diseases, often alongside untreated trauma, people who are using drugs and people who deal with profound isolation day to day.

Many people that the health system often deems difficult to manage or difficult to support.

So our work isn't just about medical care or symptom management, although that's very important.

We spend a lot of time building trust, building relationships, advocating for things like housing and income support, addressing grief and dignity, and making sure that people are not alone.

Another major initiative I'm working on is called Radical Love.

Yes, that's actually the name of the program.

It's based at Kensington Hospice, and it's an equity-oriented hospice palliative care program where I serve as medical director at Kensington Hospice, which is Toronto's largest hospice.

This program is really transforming the way we think about access to hospice care for people who experience structural vulnerabilities like poverty and homelessness.

We went from a hospice that cared for structurally vulnerable people less than 2% of the time to a hospice that typically cares for structurally vulnerable people 50% of the time.

Just over the course of a year.

We're now actually on year three.

I'm really honored to be part of some national work with Healthcare Excellence Canada and the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer.

Recently, we launched an initiative called Improving Equity and Access to Palliative Care.

We ran this initiative for five years, and we actually implemented 23 programs across Canada, coast to coast to coast.

Wow.

that do similar work in improving access to palliative care.

So whether it's at the bedside, in a shelter, in a hospice, in a boardroom or a policy table, the goal is really always the same.