U of A students propose a plan for the first ICU facility for the homeless

Experts say a specialized ICU for homeless people would reduce the current strain on hospitals.

A group of students from the University of Alberta is advocating for Edmonton’s first intensive care unit dedicated to the city’s houseless population.

The Student Advocates for Public Health (SAPH) said the unit will provide trauma-informed, patient-centred primary care for the city’s vulnerable population while addressing addiction, housing, counselling, and mental health needs.

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“This (project) was created because of the strain that’s put on ER and the EMS. We wanted to bridge that gap,” said Muskan Kang, a masters student in public health, on Tuesday.

“We’re putting the idea out there to get more traction … Hopefully from this news, we will get some funding,” she added, hoping provincial and federal government officials will take notice.

The students said by providing at least 90 beds, the facility will reduce strain on emergency departments, improve patient care, provide a tailored care plan for patients and create a cost-efficient model for other cities to duplicate.

Bryan Kenny, a peer outreach worker for the Alberta Alliance Who Educates and Advocates Responsibly, used to struggle with addiction and homelessness. He said the ICU proposal will “bridge the gap between the actual needs of the people and what’s currently being provided.”

“(People without homes) don’t feel heard, they don’t feel appreciated, they don’t feel respected, they don’t get the care that they actually need … ERs (are) not equipped to deal with what their actual necessity is,” he said.

Kenny said policy makers and health-care providers need to listen to what vulnerable people are asking for instead of just being told what they need.

“If I feel heard, understood, appreciated, respected … It makes me feel better about myself. If it makes me feel better about myself, I care about life a little more,” he added.

While the proposal is just the start, Imrose Bhullar, another masters student in public health, believes the facility could be its own building, or be part of an existing one.

“The Royal Alex is the epicenter of this crisis here in Edmonton. We would want to keep it localized to the area,” Bhullar said. “As for where the facility will exactly be, or how it’s built … it’s still up in the air.”

According to SAPH, houseless individuals receive treatment at emergency rooms 8.5 times more than the general population and cost the Canadian health-care system more than $7.5 billion every year from poverty-related illnesses.