JULY 29, 2021
TELUS Health mobile clinic helping vaccinate Halifax’s most marginalized residents
The specially-equipped mobile health clinic, powered by TELUS Health and operated by the North End Community Health Centre, is offering COVID-19 vaccinations to Haligonians in need
Halifax, NS – Today, TELUS announced that through its innovative
Health for Good
program - in partnership with Halifax’s North End Community Health Centre, or NECHC, - COVID-19 vaccinations are being provided to at-risk and marginalized populations of Halifax from its mobile health clinic, which is powered by TELUS Health technology. The clinic has already provided over 325 vaccinations to at-risk Haligonians to date, with another round of vaccinations commencing earlier this week in Halifax Regional Municipality. The specially-equipped clinic on wheels has expanded operations to support COVID-19 response efforts by offering testing during the initial stages of the pandemic, to more recently providing vaccination services. These services complement the North End Community Health Centre’s COVID-19 efforts in support of at-risk individuals in the community, including rapid testing and vaccinations at local shelters as well as at pop-up clinics in key areas such as Mulgrave Park, the Library and Gottingen Street. Since launching in March 2020, the North End Community Health Centre Mobile Health Clinic, powered by TELUS Health, has supported over 4,100 patient visits, providing essential primary health and harm reduction services to Halifax’s marginalized community members through relationships with local social service agencies, emergency shelters, and congregate housing facilities.
“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 state-of-the-art mobile health clinics operating in communities across Canada where frontline care is urgently needed. TELUS Health is proud to provide health support to at-risk populations across the country; its mobile health clinics, including the North End Community Health Clinic, have supported 75,000 patient interventions across Canada since the program’s inception.
“The Mobile Clinic has allowed the North End Community Health Clinic to respond in a timely and effective manner throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring we’re reaching people who may not otherwise have had the opportunity to be vaccinated,” said Marie-France LeBlanc, Executive Director, North End Community Health Clinic. “The clinic allows us to provide services in a well-equipped clinical space to individuals experiencing homelessness and offers the flexibility to easily visit multiple locations in a single day, if needed, to maximize the availability of vaccines to this vulnerable population.”
The NECHC Mobile Health Clinic, powered by TELUS Health, is equipped with TELUS LTE Wi-Fi 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 in the last year. 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. The Mobile Health Clinics, operating in 13 communities nationwide, provide essential primary medical care, including electronic medical records, and have enabled 75,000 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.
For more information about TELUS, please visit
telus.com
, follow us @TELUSNews
on Twitter and @Darren_Entwistle
on Instagram.About NECHC
The North End Community Health Centre (NECHC) is a non-profit organization established in 1971 in response to an absence of primary health care and other health services in Halifax’s North End. Over the years, NECHC has grown to offer primary health care, pre and post‐natal care, dental services, nutrition, social work, Mobile Outreach Street Health (MOSH), Housing First, outreach, and advocacy in an environment in which people are treated with respect and dignity and where there is equitable access to services and programs. As well, in the past year, it has branched out and begun managing housing programs for those most in need. NECHC is located in the diverse North End of Halifax, a community home to many social housing buildings, not‐for‐profit housing and co‐ops. It also has a satellite office in North Dartmouth.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Saara Rahikka
TELUS Public Relations
TELUS Public Relations
[email protected]