TELUS Health mobile clinics are helping to vaccinate Ontario’s more vulnerable residents

The specially-equipped mobile health clinics, powered by TELUS Health and operated by Sanguen Health Centre, Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre and Ottawa Inner City Health are offering COVID-19 vaccinations to Ontarians in need

TORONTO, June 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, TELUS announced that through its innovative Health for Good program - in partnership with Waterloo’s Sanguen Health Centre, Toronto’s Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre, and Ottawa’s Inner City Health - COVID-19 vaccinations are being provided to at-risk and vulnerable residents of Ontario from its mobile health clinics, powered by TELUS Health. These specially-equipped clinics on wheels have been providing essential primary health and harm reduction services directly to individuals in the communities they serve since they launched in 2020. Operations have recently expanded to offer COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, following the provincial public health guidelines.

Through relationships with local community centres, homeless shelters, and congregate housing facilities, the clinics have administered more than 1,500 doses of the vaccine to at-risk Ontarians, conducted 15,400 COVID-19 tests/assessments, and have supported nearly 30,000 patient interventions to-date.

“At TELUS, we believe that everyone should have access to healthcare when and where they need it, regardless of their socio-economic status. Through our partnerships across the country, we are removing many of the barriers facing underserved and at-risk populations by providing access to critical healthcare, social support and COVID-19 vaccinations,” said Darren Entwistle, President and CEO, TELUS. “As we continue to navigate the global pandemic, our Health for Good program enables us to care for our most marginalized citizens at a time when access to high-quality, compassionate healthcare, including vital support for mental wellness, has never been more important.”

Backed by a $10 million commitment from TELUS, the Health for Good program is active from coast to coast with 13 state-of-the-art mobile health clinics operating in communities where frontline care is urgently needed.

Sanguen Health, Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre, and Ottawa Inner City Health provided the following insights into their COVID-19 response efforts and partnerships with TELUS:

• “The opportunity to partner with TELUS created the means to, first, incorporate COVID assessments, education, and testing into our services back in March of 2020. Since this time, we have developed trusting relationships with the Waterloo Region community, providing vaccinations to those who face daily barriers to their well being.” - Erika Liban, Nurse Practitioner, Sanguen Mobile Health Clinic.
• “The Parkdale Queen West Mobile Health Clinic’s continuous vaccination efforts are critical, especially in light of the rising and recurrent COVID-19 variant infections in shelters and congregate settings that continue to impact the most marginalized and highest-risk populations in our communities. Our partnership with TELUS enables us to continue our tireless efforts to vaccinate the most marginalized and high-risk populations in our community. We need to stay on the vaccination course, improve vaccine uptake while also fighting vaccine misinformation and hesitancy in order to get back to ‘normal’ life.” - Raymond Mackareg, a primary health care nurse practitioner at the Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre (CHC) in Toronto.
• “Despite desperately wanting to be vaccinated against COVID, many of our clients faced insurmountable barriers. Accessing the internet to search for accurate and timely information about vaccines, knowing when they were eligible, and coordinating transportation and support are just a few examples that posed significant challenges for our clients. The Health for Good program has allowed us to bring vaccines right to their doors and reach people who would otherwise not have had the opportunity.” - Wendy Muckle, CEO of Ottawa Inner City Health. 

These mobile health clinics are equipped with TELUS LTE Wi-Fi, TELUS Mobility services, and TELUS Health electronic medical record (EMR) technology. The TELUS Health EMR enables clinic staff to collect and store health data, examine results over time, and provide better continuity of care to patients who previously had undocumented medical histories.

Beyond pivoting its Health for Good program to aid in Canada’s response to the health crisis and in addition to giving $85 million to charitable partners in 2020, representing five per cent of its profits, TELUS collectively contributed more than $150 million to support COVID-19 related initiatives across the country. For more information about TELUS Health for Good, visit telus.com/healthforgood.

About TELUS Health for Good
Since 2014, TELUS Health for Good has been helping to remove many of the barriers Canadians living on the streets face in receiving medical care and reconnecting thousands of patients to the public healthcare system. Mobile Health Clinics, powered by TELUS, were originally inspired by the work being done by Doctors of The World. The Mobile Health Clinics provide essential primary medical care, including electronic medical records, generating over 63,000 patient visits since the program’s inception. Today, through numerous partnerships, volunteers, and the power of technology, TELUS Health for Good is an efficient and innovative mobile healthcare delivery tool to reach communities in need by bringing healthcare directly to the people that need it most.

About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is a dynamic, world-leading communications technology company with $16 billion in annual revenue and 16 million customer connections spanning wireless, data, IP, voice, television, entertainment, video, and security. We leverage our global-leading technology and compassion to enable remarkable human outcomes. Our longstanding commitment to putting our customers first fuels every aspect of our business, making us a distinct leader in customer service excellence and loyalty. In 2020, TELUS was recognized as having the fastest wireless network in the world, reinforcing our commitment to provide Canadians with access to superior technology that connects us to the people, resources and information that make our lives better. TELUS Health is Canada’s leader in digital health technology, improving access to health and wellness services and revolutionizing the flow of health information across the continuum of care. TELUS Agriculture provides innovative digital solutions throughout the agriculture value chain, supporting better food outcomes from improved agri-business data insights and processes. TELUS International (TSX and NYSE: TIXT) is a leading digital customer experience innovator that delivers next-generation AI and content management solutions for global brands across the technology and games, ecommerce and FinTech, communications and media, healthcare, travel and hospitality sectors. TELUS and TELUS International operate in 25+ countries around the world. Together, let’s make the future friendly.

Driven by our passionate social purpose to connect all citizens for good, our deeply meaningful and enduring philosophy to give where we live has inspired TELUS, our team members and retirees to contribute more than $820 million and 1.6 million days of service since 2000. This unprecedented generosity and unparalleled volunteerism have made TELUS the most giving company in the world.