Month: June 2025

Nestled along the banks of the Miramichi River, our city may not rival Moncton, Saint John, or Fredericton in size, but it certainly matches them in spirit, determination, and community pride.

Like many urban areas, Miramichi faces complex challenges—ranging from healthcare access to social inequities—but unlike larger cities, we often do so without the same level of funding or infrastructure.

Today, we are celebrating a new collaborative, innovative effort of community-led change: the arrival of a Healthbox in Miramichi.

Developed by Dr. Sean B. Rourke, Director of REACH Nexus at the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael’s Hospital (Unity Health Toronto), the Healthbox is more than just a machine—it’s a symbol of accessible, inclusive healthcare.

These smart, touchscreen-enabled vending machines are stocked with essential, no-cost wellness supplies and designed to meet people where they are — physically and socially.

“This initiative is a step toward increasing equitable access to wellness items and essential harm reduction supplies for our most vulnerable community members,” said Dr. Arifur Rahman, acting deputy Chief Medical Officer of Health of New Brunswick. “By reducing barriers and meeting people where they are, we are addressing the social determinants of health and advancing our commitment to health equity and community well-being.”

The Miramichi Healthbox, located at 10 Hotel Dieu Street, is a result of an incredible partnership between AIDS New Brunswick and Horizon Health Network (Horizon), offering access to health and harm reduction supplies. Staples Canada through the Even the Odds program – an innovative partnership between Staples Canada and MAP at St. Michael’s Hospital – is generously supporting the Miramichi Healthbox.

“We would love to have more of these Healthboxes in our communities and are excited for the launch of the Miramichi Healthbox,” said Linda Thompson-Brown, Executive Director of AIDS New Brunswick. “This is a free, low-barrier method of getting access to harm reduction and healthcare supplies can be life-changing—and in many cases, life-saving—for people who are underserved and who face barriers due to stigma and discrimination.”

It includes HIV self-testing kits, naloxone kits to reverse opioid overdoses, and a range of wellness products, such as menstrual hygiene items and seasonal necessities like hats and gloves. All items are chosen to the unique needs of our community.

This initiative is rooted in equity, compassion, and innovation. And it’s already making waves—not just in Miramichi, but across Atlantic Canada, with six Healthboxes currently in operation and more planned for Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. Staples Canada through its Even the Odds program supports the Healthboxes in Atlantic.

“The Healthbox is a vital resource that supports both individual and community well-being. Its services play a crucial role in providing low-barrier access to harm reduction initiatives, especially for individuals most vulnerable to stigma, isolation, poverty, and other socioeconomic challenges,” said Deatra Blacquier, a Public Health Nurse with Horizon.

The project is generously supported by Even the Odds, a unique partnership between Staples Canada and the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions. This funding helps ensure the continued growth of Healthbox technology, allowing more communities to benefit from its presence.

What makes the Healthbox particularly innovative is its integration of real-time data analytics. These insights help monitor usage, track supply levels, and identify emerging community health trends—enabling faster, smarter responses to evolving public health challenges.

So far, Healthboxes have been visited over 122,000 times, distributing more than 54,000 essential items—including over 2,200 naloxone kits. These numbers reflect more than just product distribution—they tell the story of lives supported, stigma reduced, and barriers broken.

For Miramichi, the arrival of the Healthbox represents more than a new service—it’s a powerful example of what can be achieved when local organizations, healthcare professionals, and compassionate citizens come together for a common goal.

We may be a smaller city, but we’re proving that size doesn’t define impact. With resourcefulness, resilience, and a commitment to community care, Miramichi continues to pave the way for healthier, more inclusive futures—one thoughtful initiative at a time.

On June 5, MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions announced the winners of the 2025 MAP Awards: Moizza Zia Ul Haq, Katherine Griffin, Hayley Thompson and Cassandra Bertucci. These annual awards recognize outstanding MAP staff, students or volunteers who have excelled in their roles and demonstrate a passion and commitment to applying MAP’s values in their work.

Moizza Zia Ul Haq (she/her), Research Coordinator on Dr. Nav Persaud’s team, is a winner of the MAP Values in Practice Award, an award to recognize an individual who exemplifies and advocates for MAP values in their work and interactions. From Moizza’s nomination: “Moizza’s compassion and excellent communication skills have been noted by many patients… participants routinely ask to speak to her by name.”

Katherine Griffin (she/her), Research Program Manager on Dr. Darrell Tan’s team, is also a winner of the MAP Values in Practice Award. From Katherine’s nomination: “Katie advocates ceaselessly for ensuring equity in the lab… she is an exemplary leader who promotes MAP principles every day that she is on the job.”

Hayley Thompson (she/her), Research Program Manager for Ontario’s Drug Checking Community, is the winner of the MAP Community Partnerships Award, an award to recognize an individual who consistently models exemplary community partnership practices and integration of the perspectives of community and people with lived expertise into their research. From Hayley’s nomination: “Hayley’s approach goes beyond mere consultation—it is about creating genuine spaces for people to be heard, valued, and supported.”

Cassandra Bertucci (she/her), Research Coordinator on Dr. Darrell Tan’s team, is the winner of the MAP Peer Mentor Award, an award to recognize an individual who works hard to help colleagues learn, feel valued and do well at work. From Cassandra’s nomination: “Cassandra fosters an environment where people are encouraged to ask questions, learn from their experiences and thrive in their roles.”

Congratulations to all of our 2025 MAP Awards winners and nominees!

On June 5, 2025, the Government of Ontario passed the Primary Care Act, a framework of six ambitious, patient-centred objectives for Ontario’s publicly funded primary care system.

The objectives are clearly based on MAP’s OurCare Standard—six statements that describe what every person in Canada should expect from our primary care system.

“To call this historic is an understatement,” said MAP scientist, OurCare lead and U of T Fidani Chair Dr. Tara Kiran.

This legislation will make Ontario the first Canadian jurisdiction to establish a framework to improve its primary care system. The Minister is now required to prepare an annual report describing how the Government of Ontario is working to achieve the Act’s objectives.

About OurCare: In 2023, MAP led the largest-ever public consultation on primary health care, collecting input and ideas from close to 10,000 people across Canada. In 2024, we distilled what we heard into the groundbreaking OurCare Standard: six simple statements that describe what every patient in Canada should be able to expect from primary care. The Standard represents a concrete and achievable vision and a new benchmark for assessing the quality of primary care in Canada. This national initiative was made possible through generous support from Staples Canada (Even the Odds), Max Bell Foundation and Health Canada.

Our Healthbox is rolling out their harm-reduction vending machines across the country. The latest machine has been installed in the former Bond Place Hotel in downtown Toronto, which is now a supportive housing building. It is the city’s first Our Healthbox unit – and its first such machine to be located in a supportive housing building.

“This is about more than just providing supplies – it’s about restoring dignity and trust in health care,” said project lead Dr. Sean Rourke.

Why, as the number of family doctors per capita in Canada grew, did it become more difficult to find one? A new publication by MAP’s Dr. Tara Kiran sheds light on where the nearly 40 per cent of the 6,310 family doctors who entered the physician work force since 1993 have ended up working within the health-care system.

Coverage of this study was recently featured on the front page of The Globe and Mail. The story was also featured in the Toronto Star, CTV, CP24 and om CBC, Global News and CTV radio stations across the country.

Dr. Tara Kiran‘s most recent study looks at 30 years of data and found that while there are now more family doctors practicing in the province, fewer are providing full-service family medicine. She recently spoke with the Toronto Star about the findings.