Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation - Dr. Peter Centre

www.drpetercentre.ca

The Dr. Peter Centre operates a Day Health Program and a 24-hour Residence with palliative care and respite care services from its new permanent location in Vancouver's Mole Hill neighborhood. As the only program of its kind in Canada, it is recognized as a leader in HIV/AIDS care, particularly for individuals with the added issues of long-standing addictions, mental illness, and other life disadvantages.

The Centre operates one of only two supervised injection services in North America and participates with BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS to examine the effectiveness of the service. While registered nurses supervise the injection of illicit drugs, they also conduct health assessments, educate on safer techniques and drug use practices and provide information on addiction treatment options. Harm reduction is seen as a key to stemming the spread of HIV/AIDS and improving health status. The Centre's programs have demonstrated their effectiveness in improving the health of individuals and in reducing their utilization of acute hospital beds.

Dr. Peter Centre Day Health Program

• Operates 9 am to 3:30pm Monday to Friday
• Approximately 90-120 participants attend each day; 20,000 visits annually
• Participants rely on the Centre for a range of clinical services, including full access to health care, nutrition, counseling, recreational and complementary therapies, plus a social support network of staff, other peers and volunteers
• Participants rely on nursing for varying levels of medication assistance
• Nurses distribute pre-poured methadone, provide wound care, access to non-prescription medication, and consultation for symptom management and health assessments

Dr. Peter Centre Residence

• Offers Comfort Care through 24 assisted living residence suites with 24-hour nursing care, and longer term medially complex care, including 2 palliative care, end-of-life care and/or respite care beds
• Residents have access to all of the Day Health programs and services plus recreation, music and complementary therapies such as massage, reiki and healing touch
• Volunteers further complement Comfort Care by assisting with outings, personal shopping, laundry, hair styling, pet care and bedside vigils.

The mission of the foundation is simple and clear: to provide comfort care for people living with HIV/AIDS.The Dr. Peter Centre not only provides a solution, it offers a safe-haven that for some means a 'home'.

Jaime's Story

At twenty-four years of age, Jaime is the youngest resident. In her suite at the Dr. Peter Centre residence, she counts herself among the lucky ones.

"Before I came to the Dr. Peter Centre, I had double pneumonia. I was diagnosed with Hepatitis C because of sharing works (street drug paraphernalia) and also HIV positive because of a gang rape. Today, I am in the health-care program of my choice. I am clean and sober, and getting my life back - one day at a time."

I was born to a mother who was an addict and an alcoholic. I was 3 pounds, 2 ounces at birth. I had fetal alcohol syndrome, and went through withdrawal when I was a baby. I started using alcohol when I was ten years old. My father used to beat my mom and then beat me, so I finally ran away to the streets of Vancouver, where I began prostituting to support my cocaine habit. My addiction made it impossible for me to live in a shelter - they have curfews. I slept in alleys. That was "home sweet home."

I spent many years in the back alleys shooting up and smoking dope, even when I hated it. I have also made multiple suicide attempts, but none of them succeeded - thank God."

Dr. Peter's Story

Peter Jepson-Young was born in New Westminster, British Columbia in June 1957. He spent most of his childhood in Nanaimo, BC. In 1981, Peter began studies at the University of British Columbia School of Medicine. He did his residency at Ottawa General Hospital. At that time St. Paul's was the only BC hospital willing to care for dying AIDS patients.

In the summer of 1985, he began to experience a number of symptoms that led him to have a HIV test. He was HIV-positive. In September 1986, Peter was admitted to St. Paul's Hospital and diagnosed with PCP pneumonia. It was then he told his family he was gay and had AIDS.

In 1989, he developed Karposi's Sarcoma (KS) and a few months later cytomegalovirus (CMV). He was going blind. He realized he could no longer continue his medical practice. He expressed to his colleague, Dr. Jay Wortman, an interest in doing AIDS education.

Days before his death, Dr. Peter established the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation to provide comfort care for people with HIV/AIDS. "If all persons could be provided with the same degree of comfort care as I have been, then the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation will have achieved that which government or society in general cannot provide. There is no substitute for the ongoing involvement & support of caring people. Persons living with HIV and AIDS have many needs for greater than just survival."