2019
The Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) and Toronto Public Health partner to create the TAHSN/TPH Opioid Task Force which also included South Riverdale Community Health Centre (CHC), Parkdale Queen West CHC and Anishnawbe Health Toronto. Their goal was to seek urgent health system solutions to the escalating overdose crisis.
2020
The TAHSN/TPH Task Force develops a multi-pronged plan of action to improve health outcomes for people who use drugs, grounded in a proposal to create the Toronto Opioid Overdose Action Network (TO2AN). The Task Force submits a funding request for this network to Ontario Health and the Ontario Ministry of Health.
2021-2022
TO2AN receives funding for parts of the proposal in late 2021.
Implementation of funded work is now underway alongside continued systems-level work to support all parts of the proposal and the identification of gaps to inform future work.
The History of TO2AN.
Implementation and Future Planning
Provincial funding was received to support expansion of community harm reduction teams, expansion of rapid access addictions medicine clinics and inpatient addictions consult services, network coordination, and evaluation, which is being led by the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at Unity Health Toronto.. Implementation work is now underway and scaling up.
TO2AN will continue to collaboratively develop proposals for funding that support the central aims of the network and advocate for unfunded work.
TO2AN will continually evaluate the impact of network efforts to improve outcomes and healthcare experiences for people who use drugs in Toronto.
Photo by Matthew Henry.