Special team transforms coronavirus isolation into life-enhancing experience
A COVID-19 isolation is 14 days, or 336 hours, or 20,160 minutes.
Where will vulnerable people with no fixed address spend this challenging time when ordered to self-isolate? And who will help them meet their complex needs?
These were among the first questions CUPS and other social service agencies pondered when the first wave of the Coronavirus was about to hit Calgary in March 2020. There was already an escalating crisis facing vulnerable Calgarians. That spring, there were approximately 800 people a night staying at the Calgary Drop-In Centre. The situation was already urgent.
To avoid this population being forgotten or in hospital, CUPS was part of an engaged group of organizations to come up with a solution, along with The Alex, Alberta Health Services and the Calgary Homeless Foundation.
The result was a ground-breaking project: the Assisted Self-Isolation Site (ASIS).
Located at an undisclosed Calgary hotel, ASIS would house individuals facing homelessness who tested positive for COVID-19, were symptomatic or have been in contact with a positive case.
Since the team launched ASIS in April 2020, the site has become a temporary home for hundreds of people who have been triaged by medical personnel at hospital emergency departments or emergency shelters, and then transported to the hotel. During their stay, clients receive housing, hot meals, medical treatment and social supports.
It has been quite an adventure for CUPS, The Alex and the other agencies. The ASIS team has ridden each wave of COVID-19 at the site like a rollercoaster, putting in long hours, facing complex cases and challenging days.
Each guest has a unique story and personalized care plan. Many face mental health issues, addictions, and more than one disease, often ones that are very treatable but have been poorly managed.
“You can’t just put high risk people in isolation in a hotel room and lock the door,” says Dr. Kerri Treherne from The Alex, the Medical Director of ASIS. “We have to medically support those experiencing detox from their addictions during their stay.”
A big component is making these two weeks of isolation count for every guest, to stabilize them, and to help them address their needs and goals beyond this period. From the beginning, the goal was not just to isolate these folks, but to try and remove them from homelessness.
In fact, in the first five months of ASIS, more than 55 people transitioned to long-term Housing First programs and more than 35 individuals were reunited with their families or moved into independent housing.
Many guests at ASIS also don’t have family doctors or primary care providers, so CUPS, along with others, would step in and provide primary care follow up after their isolation was complete. With this care option available, it meant removing another gap in care for some of the most vulnerable members of our community.
For the entire team working at ASIS, the work has been stressful but meaningful, and received with gratitude and grace by their clients. Because guests are more stable during their stay, they have been able to transition more people off the streets to permanent housing than ever before.
“It is very difficult to assess their skills on the streets and have the conversations necessary to make a plan,” says Dr. Treherne. “So, this opportunity (to help them plan for a more hopeful future) has been extremely rewarding. There’s time here to make a difference.”
ASIS was more than just a hotel stay. It was a place where lives were supported and often changed for the better.
One guest had Crohn’s disease; an extremely debilitating illness that had been previously diagnosed but untreated. He was in terrible pain and during his time at ASIS, the medical team was able to help him get it under control with the right medication.
It’s stories like this that have CUPS, the Alex, the Calgary Homeless Foundation continuing conversations about additional program opportunities that can help provide some simple care and treatment to those who need it, to allow them to find more comfort while they work to build resilience and a stronger future in the community.
ASIS was a result of strong partnerships, collaborations and a determination to support those who need it most. And CUPS was proud to be part of it.