Calgary refugee clinic could close if most funding is withdrawn, doctor warns

A Calgary health clinic that treats thousands of refugees every year may soon have to close its doors due to funding cuts.

The Calgary Refugee Clinic, located in the city’s northeast, has a roster of 2,500 patients and has seen a steady influx as newcomers arrive in the city.

But, according to the clinic’s medical director, within a few months, a significant part of its operational funding will be discontinued.

“We are upset. We are concerned,” said Dr. Rachel Talavlikar, who is also a family physician at the clinic.

“We don’t understand why the health care system is creating more problems when we are already in crisis.”

The clinic receives about $1.6 million a year from Mosaic Primary Care Network to cover operating costs, Talavlikar said.

However, staff were informed that funding would end at the end of March, she said.

Additionally, attempts to secure funding through the provincial government have failed, despite meetings with Alberta health officials.

“These people come in times of crisis,” she said. “These patients are resilient… but they need and deserve initial support.”

The clinic is the only one of its kind in Calgary that provides refugees with intensive, multidisciplinary medical care upon arrival and assists them through the resettlement process, Talavlikar said.

According to her, it receives between 1,000 and 1,500 refugees a year.

“We respond to international crises and surges in arrivals.”

The team of more than two dozen physicians includes family physicians, infectious disease specialists, psychiatrists and internal medicine physicians. Other service providers include nurses, case managers, psychologists and social workers.

The clinic provides refugees with key stabilization services, including initial health assessments and screening tests, treatment of acute health problems and chronic conditions, in addition to other services such as immunizations.

With interpreter services, the team helps patients access social services and resettlement agencies and, over time, helps them transition to full-time care in the community.

“If we give this up, it would be really backward thinking,” she said.

Talavlikar said doctors would try to help as many patients as possible by providing basic care if the multi-specialty clinic were to close, but the impact could be significant.

“I think we will see increased pressure on our emergency departments as well as other public services,” she said.

“Or, even more devastatingly, we will see people who arrive and perhaps have unmet health care needs and then, unfortunately, they end up in the intensive care unit with liver failure, heart failure or a situation that should not be was going to happen.”

Mosaic Primary Care Clinic did not make a representative available for an interview or provide a statement about the changes in operational funding.

Government response

Asked about the situation at a news conference Thursday, Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said provincial funding for such programs typically flows through primary health care networks.

“It will be a relationship between the primary network and that particular clinic. So I would encourage them to continue to have these conversations,” she said.

Talavlikar said that when it became clear Mosaic’s funding would end, her team held several meetings with Alberta health officials to ask for grant money, including one meeting with the assistant deputy minister of health, but their request was rejected.

When asked if she was concerned about the impact funding cuts might have on newcomers, LaGrange acknowledged there were questions.

“I’m certainly concerned for anyone – refugees or otherwise – who comes to Alberta and needs care. We want to make sure everyone is taken care of,” she said.

“I am not familiar with the details of this particular case, so I will look into it and see if more can be done. But it is the primary care network that funds this particular situation,” she said.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health said the decision to cut funding was a “decision of the independent board” of the primary health care network and Alberta Health does not have authority over the decision.

“Alberta Health has held discussions with Mosaic Refugee Health Clinic and Mosaic PCN and will be meeting with both groups in the coming weeks to facilitate discussions and reach a meaningful resolution,” the emailed statement said.

According to Talavlikar, the total cost of running a refugee clinic in Calgary is approximately $2 million a year.

In addition to the money traditionally provided by Mosaic PCN, physicians contribute $350,000 annually to the operating funding budget.

No doctor works full time at the clinic. The province pays them to see patients under an alternative relationship plan, and in some cases on a fee-for-service basis.

“The reality is that specialized outpatient care for highly vulnerable populations cannot be achieved through overhead costs alone,” Talavlikar said.

Meanwhile a non-profit society was created and doctors have started fundraising to keep some services running.