Salvus mobile clinic continues to serve clients on the streets: report

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The Salvus Clinic’s mobile health unit continues serve patients on the streets of Moncton in 2024, even though the physical clinic was closed last November and still has no place to call home, the clinic’s director told Moncton city council Monday.

Salvus Clinic executive director Melissa Baxter said Monday they are still without a physical clinic after being evicted from their space on Church Street last fall. They do have small clinic space for examinations. She said they had plans to move into locations last year, but on four occasions landlords rejected their letter of intent to lease the space. They are looking for a space of 8,000 to 10,000 square feet with clinical exam rooms and other facilities.

“We are piecing everything together and trying to do what we can for the individuals we serve,” Baxter told council.

The city has provided a space in the old fire station on Assomption Boulevard to store the mobile unit, but Baxter said they have not found a space to lease in the downtown to serve as a physical clinic. The clinic has 24 staff and the only clinic of its kind in the province to help people who would likely fall through the cracks of the health care system.

Mayor Dawn Arnold said the service is important and goes with the need for housing and care for people.

Through the mobile unit and temporary office space, they have continued to provide primary health care, housing support and service navigation for the vulnerable, homeless and many clients with addictions and mental health issues. The mobile clinic makes regular rounds to the various shelters to help clients staying there.

In a presentation to Moncton city council Monday, Baxter and nurse practitioner France Maillet Gagnon, provided a look at the work they’ve been doing. As of December, 2023, the mobile clinic served a total 491 people, or 31 new client/patients per month. Those numbers are expected to increase as more people become homeless due to economic conditions.

The treatments include substance use care, wound care, blood born injections, anti-psychotic injections, mental health counselling, mental health diagnosis, substance use disorder diagnosis, and intravenous drug use. The report said 37 per cent had no family physician. The mobile clinic also helped clients make connections to support services, employment services, mental health support, meal programs, peer programs and mental health counselling. They also participated in discussions on housing, primary health, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy tests, prenatal care, contraception care and immunizations.

The presentation said the mobile clinic has an annual budget of $350,000, which includes the salaries for a full time Registered Nurse ($110,000 plus benefits), a Peer Health Navigator ($60,000 plus benefits), an administrator ($30,000 plus benefits) and Licensed Practical Nurse ($80,000 plus benefits), $10,000 in equipment and $60,000 in various operating costs.

“We won’t be able to continue to provide the service without the staff,” she said.

Baxter said funding for the mobile unit is provided through Health Canada in partnership with the provincial health department, Horizon and Vitalite Health Networks. She said the clinic is looking to the city to cover some of the costs in the future.