University of Saskatchewan
IN-3: Innovation 3

Student Wellness Initiative Toward Community Health (SWITCH) is a student-managed interdisciplinary wellness project that provides after-hours inter-professional health care and outreach services in the Westside Community Clinic in Saskatoon, a clinic that serves a mostly Aboriginal and low-income population of Saskatoon. SWITCH students work under the direct supervision of licensed health care professionals including a cultural support worker.

SWITCH’s volunteers include students studying a variety of disciplines at the University of Saskatchewan, University of Regina, Saskatchewan Polytechnic, and the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology. SWITCH’s mentors not only include health professionals, but also First Nations and Metis leaders, advisors, and/or elders. In the clinical and program setting SWITCH students, staff, and mentors learn from working together with our clients.

The program started in September, 2003 when a handful of University of Saskatchewan medicine students were inspired by the Vancouver project CHIUS. A SWITCH Steering Committee was formed and a mission statement written. A community needs survey was completed while funds were secured from Saskatchewan Health and the College of Medicine. In the 2004-2005 school year, SWITCH made links with Westside Community Clinic and other organizations. A budget was written and funding confirmed from Primary Health Services and the University of Saskatchewan. By then SWITCH was starting to get the attention of the media. By the summer of 2005, a needs assessment report, orientation manuals, policy manuals, and service agreements were in place. In September 2005, staff and mentors were hired and by October 12, 2005, SWITCH opened at the West Side Community Clinic for its first Wednesday shift.
In autumn of 2010, SWITCH opened up its third shift, which is dedicated to Women’s Health. The services focus on prenatal care, contraception, sexually transmitted disease, annual pelvic exams, and menopause.
Since opening in October 2005, SWITCH has been instrumental in extending the hours of Westside Clinic and offering an inter-professional clinical services, programming, childcare for SWITCH clients, and a hot meal on every shift.

Services include:
• Counseling
• Physical therapy
• Needle exchange
• Immunizations
• Condoms
• Exercise advice
• Referrals and resources
• Nutritional advice
• Advocacy

Vision, Mission, and Values:

SWITCH strives to follow our vision, mission, and values in directing the day-to-day operations and planning the future growth of our organization.

• Vision: All residents of Saskatoon have equal access to healthcare, nutrition, education, and employability skills to better arm them with tools to create opportunities for themselves.

• Mission Statement: SWITCH augments the training of future professionals while improving the health, education, and skills of people from Saskatoon’s core communities; ultimately achieving lasting positive change for everyone involved.

• Values: The following values serve as a guide as we work toward our vision:
-- Positively impact the social determinates of health.
-- Empower all clients served, as well as, students and mentors to make a difference in the community.
-- Build cooperative partnerships with organizations, governments, and post-secondary institutions to foster open and collaborative relationships.
-- Earn the trust and respect of our partners, clients, mentors, and volunteers.
-- Be innovative and dedicated to excellence.
-- Be ethically, socially, and culturally responsible.
-- Provide educational experiences that help students become more aware of and responsive to the needs of diverse populations
-- Show compassion and empathy for everyone

SWITCH operates 110 shifts per year. Both clinical and programming services are offered each shift.

From September 2012 to August 2014, SWITCH engaged 799 volunteers for a total of 22,490 hours.

Volunteers came from the following disciplines: Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Social Work, Nutrition, Kinesiology, Public Health, Physiotherapy, Education, Clinical Psychology Dentistry and Law, as well as some from the College of Arts and Science.

SWITCH engages more than 60 professional mentors.

Demographics of Clients:
-- 8,077 people accessed services
-- Approximately 60% were female – 4,846
-- Approximately 14% were children – 1,124
-- 1884 adults and children attended educational programming
-- 95% of adult attending educational programming were female
-- 80% of females accessing programs had children
-- 80% of clients accessing services were Aboriginal/indigenous ancestry
-- 100% of clients accessing services were below Low Income Cut Off
-- 82% of clients had literacy level of 2 and below