The Canadian Centre for Refugee and Immigrant Health Care
4158 Sheppard Avenue East M1S 1T3 Toronto, ON, Canada

2021 is shaping up to be the year when a world’s hope is realized. When together we take victory over an ugly virus and the pandemic. Hope for the most vulnerable in this uneven world and in our communities is when someone cares enough to reach out their hand and say 3 simple words. Let me help? Donate: https://healthequity.kindful.com/

Mental Health Status of Canadian Immigrants During the COVID-19 Pandemic https://www150.statcan.gc.ca//2020001/article/00050-eng.htm #mentalhealthmonday #mentalhealthawareness

Don't Rush; Just Brush Most of us learned how to brush our teeth when we were little! In school, we learned how important it is to brush our teeth twice a day. But do we think twice about HOW we are brushing our teeth? Improper brushing technique is more common than we think and therefore the sooner we correct our techniques, the sooner we can achieve healthy teeth. ... Follow these five simple steps and see if you get ahead in your brushing game: 1- Place a pea size amount of toothpaste on your toothbrush. 2- Hold the brush at a 45 degree angle towards the gum line and brush with a soft circular motion 3- Don’t forget to brush the inside surface! 4- Brush the chewing surfaces back and forth with a gentle and slow motion. It should take you about two to three minutes to thoroughly brush your teeth. 5- Don't forget to brush your tongue! Feel free to leave your questions in the comments below or send us a DM! To check if you are eligible for dental services, click the link in our bio or visit https://www.healthequity.ca/urban-dental-clinic/ #BrushingYourTeeth #ToothBrush #Toothpaste #UrbanDentalClinic #UDC #VolunteerDentist #VolunteerDentistry #TorontoDental #CommunityClinic #CommunityDentalClinic #CanadianDentist #VolunteerClinic #VolunteerHygienist #TorontoHealth #TorontoHealthCare #DentalX-rays #ToothExtractions #Fillingsandcleanings #OralHealth #healthequitycanada

Crisis Text Line powered by Kids Help Phone serves anyone, in any type of crisis, providing access to free, 24/7 support and information via the medium people already use and trust: #MentalHealthMondays #HealthEquityCanada @kidshelpphone #mentalhealthawareness

Assessing young girls for evidence of Female Genital Cutting has become a pressing need. In the past 5 years more have arrived. Up 500% in 5 years. Recently Sick Children’s and Mount Sinai Hospitals and 100 Women Who Care ( Beaches chapter) sent help and donations to our SWAN clinics, to these young girls and their mothers. The Centre has become a trusted place, a gender competent home. The care is 100% by female providers. Our mental health counsellors lend support for those harmed. Immigration lawyers, advocates and mothers anxious to never return their daughters to unimaginable abuse seek letters, verifications of their genital status, input for refugee hearings to come. Nurse practitioners, nurse doctors, staff provide this, in the midst of COVID. #healthequitycanada #fgm #swanfridays

Being diagnosed with diabetes can be stressful. We often have to make choices in our lives to best manage, with what we may have available. Your social worker can help you find out what is available to you and how to best manage your diabetes and stress. Book an appointment to see a social worker. See your healthcare provider regularly. Your doctor or nurse can help you learn how to control your blood sugars, get your blood tested regularly, learn which medications may ...be needed and refer to other members of your team. Tell them if anyone in your immediate family has diabetes. Learn how to test your blood sugars at home and set a schedule and your target blood sugars with your healthcare provider. Keep a record of this and be ready to share it at your appointments. Take any medications prescribed by your doctor/nurse regularly, NOT only when you feel symptoms. The medications are used to control your diabetes and it may be hard for your doctor/nurse to know what is working for you if you are not taking them regularly. Make sure you read your medicine label carefully and if you are unsure speak to your pharmacist or call your doctor/nurse with any questions. Exercise regularly. If doctor’s could make exercise into a pill it would be the most prescribed pill for diabetes. Exercise is important for everyone, but when you have diabetes it helps break down our food for energy. Make sure to speak to your doctor/nurse before starting any exercise program, start slow and build up your love of exercise. The food we eat breaks down to give us energy. When we have diabetes, the food we eat may break down, but not give us energy. Instead, energy is left as sugar in our blood and we still feel tired. Your dietitian can help you figure out which foods to choose and how to balance and distribute your food throughout the day to make it easier for your body to manage your blood sugars. Book an appointment to see a dietitian. #diabetesawareness #diabeteswednesday #healthequitycanada #novanordisk #diabetes HealthEquity.ca/diabetes-strong

SWAN. A dignified, welcoming, safe healthcare home for women new to Canada. Long, dangerous refugee and forced migration journeys leave many women and girls without women’s healthcare for many years. Sexual assaults and trafficking are common. Barrier free care by women providers. No fees. No paper or document/admin requirements. ... - Cancer screening and prevention. Pap smears, Ultrasounds, breast exams, mammograms - Female genital mutilation exams and assessments, surgical repairs, mental health support - immigration status application supports - Midwife, Gynaecology, Obstetrician consults and care. - family planning, contraception - domestic violence support - Sexually transmitted disease screening, treatment - LGBTQ care Women can self refer to SWAN - call 647 267 2176 - press option 1 When Rose arrived at clinic her stomach felt bloated, uncomfortable. Unable to afford the costs other doctors wanted before seeing her Rose turned to our Centre for help. Her examination and ultrasound revealed a cancer on her ovary. Rose was seen by the gynaecologist. Surgery remove the cancer. Rose is working again - with no OHIP, off the grid, cleaning offices through the night Thank 100 Women who Care, Beaches Chapter for their support of Swan HealthEquity.CA/SWAN #HealthEquityCanada #supportnewcomerhealthcare

Blood Sugars Our bodies try very hard to keep our blood sugar in very tight control so we always have enough energy to keep us going. Someone without diabetes will usually have blood sugars between 4-7. Speak to your doctor/nurse/dietitian to understand what your target blood sugars levels should be. Why does it matter?... Maintaining blood sugar in good control is very important. Those of us with diabetes don’t have have the same blood sugar control as someone without diabetes. Keeping our blood sugar in control means we will have less risk of some of the problems that we know can sometimes come with Diabetes. The problems we know that can come with diabetes can be amputations, blindness, kidney disease, heart disease and stroke. We can’t change the fact that we have diabetes but we can decrease our chances of getting the problems that can come with it. By Y. Sharma HealthEquity.CA/diabetes-strong #diabeteswednesday #bloodsugar #diabetes #diabetesawareness #novanordisk #diabetesstrong #healthequitycanada #newcomer #newcomerhealthcare

FLOSS LIKE A BOSS Did you know that only brushing misses one-third of your tooth surface? What about cleaning in between your teeth? The solution: FLOSS FLOSS FLOSS ... Flossing takes you into every nook and cranny and removes plaque and bacteria that you cannot reach with your toothbrush. Floss at least once a day, and plaque never gets the chance to harden into tartar. Getting into the habit of daily flossing is easier when you floss while doing something else like watching TV or listening to music, for example. String floss is our favorite product for cleaning in between the teeth, but piks work wonders as well. These products can easily be found at your local pharmacy. If you struggle with flossing and want help or to know other options, talk to one of our hygienists. You'd be surprised at what you'll learn. HealthEquity.CA/urban-dental-clinic #dentaltuesdays #urbandental #healthequitycanada

Our Mental Health Team is comprised of experienced counsellors such as Registered Social Workers/Registered Psychotherapists who are specialized in culturally-sensitive, trauma-informed psychotherapy for diagnoses such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other mental illnesses. A wait-list for referral to Psychiatric/Psychological assessments is maintained, with needs-based triage by our team. Please ask your family doctor or other healthcare provide...r for a referral if you wish to speak with a member of our Mental Health Team. If you do not have a family doctor/healthcare provider, call to schedule an appointment to see a healthcare provider at our clinic, free of charge. We accept referrals for newcomers with and without immigration status regardless of federal or provincial healthcare coverage Healthequity.ca/mental-health #mentalhealthmondays #healthequitycanada #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthsupport

In 2021 Canada will proudly celebrate the discovery of Insulin. It happened right here in Toronto, in a small laboratory 100 years ago. In 1921 Frederick Banting, Charles Best and John Macleod stunned the world with their announcement of Insulin’s discovery. Thereby saving hundreds of millions of lives, worldwide. And yet 100 years after this monumental discovery Canada is still struggling to ensure that everyone with diabetes receives the full care they require. At The Cana...dian Centre for Refugee and Immigrant Health Care we will celebrate Insulin’s discovery. We will increase our efforts, with our partners and donors, including Novonordisk, to ensure all vulnerable diabetics - the homeless, the poor, first nations people, newcomers to Canada, refugees receive full access equity to care. Of note, the team’s discovery earned them the Nobel Prize in 1922. They would go on to donate their discovery of Insulin, its production, and all rights through Novonordisk to all persons in the world - for one dollar. It is truly a Canadian story #diabetes #diabetic #health #diabetesawareness #canada

Over the past 3 months our Centre has received 3 grants to expand our care to vulnerable, racialized and impoverished newcomer populations. These grants increase access and healthcare during COVID-19. Research shows newcomers are at higher risk of COVID and risk of access inequities to primary healthcare. Two grants are from the federal liberal government through United Way and Toronto Foundations. The third is from the provincial government and Central East LHIN to upgrade a...nd make our facility safer in COVID-19. It will soon be too cold in our medical outdoor field tent. The tent with its outdoor ventilation system has been a success to see those patients in person who can’t be safely treated virtually. It has given us time to make indoor in person care safe for patients and providers. Our ultraviolet light (UVC) system is installed in every room and inside our HVAC systems. It purifies all surfaces and the room air before and after each patient. Clear vapour barriers are in each room to prevent droplet spread. Each room has a medical grade HEPA filter that continuously purifies all air in the entire room in 20 minutes. Patient appointments are separated in time so only one patient is waiting at any time. We rotate through 4 rooms. When one room is being used the others are undergoing sterilization. @ESDC_GC @uwgreaterto #locallove #covid19update #covid_19 #healthequitycanada #primarycare