Christina Jabalee named IPCT Senior Director of Community Health
Secondment role to support launch of new program to enhance access to primary care for vulnerable and unhoused populations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Christina Jabalee, Associate Executive Director of Support House, has been seconded to a new role as Senior Director of Community Health to support the onboarding and coordinating of its new Interprofessional Primary Care Team (IPCT).
Support House, with the Connected Care Halton Ontario Health Team (CCHOHT), Halton Physicians Association, Oakpark/Churchill Neighbourhood Centre, the Mental Health + Addictions Alliance, and people with lived experience, including family and caregivers, has been granted $1.65M through the Interprofessional Primary Care Team (IPCT) to form an Enhanced Primary Care Pathways and Integrated Care (EPPiC) Team that expands and enhances vulnerable and unhoused populations’ access to primary care in Halton.
Jabalee will directly oversee EPPiC’s strategic direction and operations, including the Response Team, Congregate/Short-term low barrier support beds and the Community Outreach Team. Over the last five years, she has overseen the coordination and alignment of teams within housing support, choice and need. Jabalee is a Registered Support Worker with her BSW and brings over 20 years of work experience in health and wellness, including 15 years specifically working in the Halton region healthcare system. Over the last ten years, Jabalee has focused on system transformation at the LHIN and Ontario Health levels. She has over a decade of executive leadership experience, including countless leadership training and certificates — and is working towards her MBA.
“My goal is to continue to focus on quality improvement and key stakeholder engagement to develop Halton’s first assertive outreach Community Health Centre model,” says Jabalee. “This includes improving service delivery and care pathways for people who are unhoused with multiple needs at the intersection of mental illness, substance use, and other primary care medical concerns. Improving access to primary care will help improve people’s health outcomes and our overall community wellness.”
The EPPiC Interprofessional Primary Care Team will provide support through encampments, local shelters, the Churchill Neighbourhood Centre, Milton, and Halton Hills. Community and assertive outreach will also be conducted in Halton’s most vulnerable encampment areas. Referrals will be accepted from community partners, primary care providers, specialists, ERs, and other acute care services. The referral process will emphasize a “no wrong door” approach. An assertive outreach model will form the foundation of the Team.
“The EPPiC Interprofessional Primary Care Team will increase access and connections to primary care for vulnerable and unhoused individuals in Halton,” explains Paul Gregory, Executive Director of Support House. “Additionally, this role will guide the integration of this new assertive outreach model into our current offerings at Support House and as a community directed initiative it will enhance offerings across our sector.”
EPPiC will be supported by Support House’s Response Team, which has successfully worked to house people living in encampments and shelters. The Response Team obtains referrals through the Region of Halton’s By-Name database, prioritizing services for the unhoused/homeless population based on the highest acuity.
With Jabalee’s secondment role, Support House’s Centre for Innovation in Peer Support, led by Betty-Lou Kristy, will now report directly to the Executive Director.
Improving primary care services to vulnerable populations was identified as a community need and is community-driven. Halton Public Health reports that one in 10 Halton adults (18-64) have been diagnosed with a mood and/or anxiety disorder, and from 2006 to 2015, the rate of ER visits for mental illness increased by 24%, with the rate of hospitalizations increased by 36%.
About Support House
Support House (supporthouse.ca) has provided support services and housing for people with mental health, substance use and addiction concerns in Halton since 1984. Support House provides low-barrier, harm-reduction approaches to providing accommodation and support to people with multiple needs to address housing stability issues.
Everyone deserves and has a right to housing.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Paul Gregory, Executive Director, Support House
1-833-845-9355 ext 134
[email protected]
