Sanguen Health Centre sees challenges ahead due to funding

The executive director of the Sanguen Health Centre says there will be challenges ahead for them to provide the same level and breadth of care.

An inaugural town hall event was held at Kitchener City Hall for the health centre Monday.

The goal of the meeting was to inform the community about their programs as well as thank supporters.

"I think we're kind of unique here in K-W, Cambridge, and surrounding area," said Dr. Chris Steingart, the executive director of Sanguen Health Centre. "We've got a community that cares about all the members of the community, including folks that we try to help."

The hepatitis C agency is funded by the ministry of health to support wraparound services to those experiencing high degrees of marginalization. This could be as a result of substance use, mental health, homelessness, and chronic poverty.

Included in this coverage is the mobile health clinic, which is often described as a rolling doctor's office.

"We're going to be facing a lot of challenges going forward in providing equity and healthcare access to people," said Dr. Steingart. "There's going to be a number of ongoing and worsening challenges in that area. We know we've got lots of work to do to meet the needs of people going forward."

Dr. Steingart cites the province ending funded healthcare services to uninsured patients on March 31 as a difficult hurdle.