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Dr Pierre-Paul Tellier receives a grant for a health clinic and an outreach program for migrants from the LGBTQ community in Montreal
“My passion, as my educational background demonstrates, is caring for adolescents and young adults. That’s what I’ve done most of my career for, ”says Dr. Pierre-Paul Tellier, family physician and associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine. Dr Tellier completed his residency in family medicine at the Montreal Children’s Hospital and after working for two years in the family medicine unit, he left Montreal to do an internship in adolescent health at the Bellevue Hospital in New York with Adele Hofmann, one of the pioneers of adolescent medicine in the United States. “Once in residency, I discovered that being in family medicine was exactly what I wanted to do. I enjoyed working with families, working as a team to provide a wide range of services to each patient, continuity, and the fact that she was community based and strived to meet their needs. «
Dr. Tellier recently received a grant of $ 144,420 from the COVID-19 Pandemic Grants and Response Program (Co-RIG) for the “LGBTQ migrant health clinic and outreach program in Montreal” project. Dr Tellier and Dr Edward Ou Jin Lee are the two medical co-leads of the project, while Dr Vania Jimenez is the principal investigator. « Dr. Jimenez invited me to attend a meeting on the project and I really liked the idea, as it matched my many interests, including health issues and community services for the LGBTQ community, » said remembers Dr Tellier. “I knew the College of Family Physicians of Canada had received $ 5 million from the Canadian Medical Association for projects related to COVID-19. I saw an opportunity and persuaded the group to apply for a grant. «
The project involves implementing a clinic and peer navigator program for migrants (e.g. immigrants and refugees) and racialized people from the LGBTQ community, a first in Montreal. The goal is to improve access and continuity of care and to address the effects of COVID-19 on the health of this population. Integrated into a CLSC serving mainly migrants, this project brings together an interdisciplinary team of health professionals, peer navigators and a community organization for migrants from the LGBTQ community, AGIR. « The grant is for a limited time, but we hope to be able to demonstrate, with this pilot project, the need for this type of service and to secure longer-term funding from other sources, » adds Dr. Tellier.
Dr Tellier is also chair of the LGBT committee of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. This committee is working on a policy statement for the organization on promoting the health and well-being of adolescents in the LGBTQ community. In addition to working on his new project, Dr Tellier is the co-lead of a new Adolescent Health Special Interest Group for the World Organization of Family Physicians (WONCA).