Calgary’s Allied Mobile Palliative Program (CAMPP) is a palliative care program for homeless and unstably housed people living in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. CAMPP seeks to bridge complex care, harm reduction, and palliative care to address the suffering of individuals who are homeless or unstably housed with complex medical conditions, multiple co-morbidities, and significant barriers to care.
What prompted the need for this program?
Late diagnosis, early deaths, and inequities in access and quality of palliative care for homeless people prompted the need for CAMPP.
What are our goals?
Provide education and advocacy to improve the care of people living with a life-limiting condition who experience complex service needs and multiple barriers in accessing existing services.
Provide early integrated palliative care consultation to clients and support persons with formal and informal health and social services as well as those living in the streets.
Educate, support, and build capacity among healthcare providers and inner-city health, housing/shelter, and social services about palliative approaches to care in marginalized and vulnerable populations.
Liaison between existing services while addressing any gaps in care that may exist for vulnerable populations.
Who is eligible for our program?
The eligibility criteria for CAMPP is: Low-income people who are: 1) homeless or vulnerably housed; 2) living with a terminal illness; and 3) dealing with deficits in the social determinants of health (SDOH) that result in personal, institutional, and societal barriers to accessing care.
How do we receive referrals?
We accept referrals from anyone through the Connect to Care (C2C) program, a partnership between Calgary’s Urban Project Society (CUPS) and Alpha House. From there, a nurse reviews the client’s chart and hospital admissions, and triages referrals to CAMPP. Our main sources of referrals are: acute care; palliative care service (i.e., intensive palliative care unit, palliative consult team, palliative home care); urgent care; primary care providers; community paramedics, and downtown agency health staff.