PI: Yasser Ismail (Casey House)
Project Team: Casey Schapel (Casey House), Alessandro Bisignano (Casey House)
Casey House is a hospital in Toronto that provides inpatient and outpatient services, harm reduction, and social support for people who are living with and at risk of HIV/AIDS. In 2022, Casey House became the third hospital in Canada to offer an on-site supervised consumption site (SCS), and the first in Ontario to offer indoor supervised inhalation. This research project, led by Dr. Yasser Ismail, established an advisory committee of people who use drugs (PWUD) in early 2024, bringing together diverse voices to shape harm reduction services, advance the understanding of supervised inhalation services within hospital settings, and determine best practices for supporting individuals who use these services.
Since February 2024, the advisory committee has engaged in monthly meeting sessions, along with other collaborative opportunities for knowledge-sharing within the hospital. The committee provided recommendations to improve the SCS and other harm reduction services delivered at the hospital, and contributed to the development of harm reductions strategies and wrap-around services to support people who inhale drugs and other PWUD. Looking ahead, the advisory will continue to engage in monthly meetings and knowledge-sharing initiatives at the hospital, and a report of findings is expected in early 2025, which will help inform the development of similar services across Ontario’s health system.