Welcome to Women’s College Hospital’s Refugee Health Clinic, Toronto’s first hospital-based refugee health clinic.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 2022 Global Trends report, the number of forced migrants has more than doubled in the last ten years. There are now over 36 million refugees. This includes women, men and children who are forced to flee their country in fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, membership in a particular social group, armed conflict or violence. Most have experienced immeasurable violence, trauma, poverty and discrimination. In 2023 Canada accepted over 75, 000 refugees with a large number settling in Toronto.
Contact Info
Women’s College Hospital
76 Grenville St.
Floor 3
Toronto, ON M5S 1B2
Phone: 416-323-6031
Hours:
Monday to Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Many refugees have had to endure tortuous and perilous journeys to come to Canada. Many have not had access to primary health care pre-migration. Others had been victims of war and other forms of violence. Upon arrival in Canada, there are many competing priorities as they become oriented to their new life. Despite pressing health care needs, it often becomes complicated for refugee populations to connect to health care.
To address these challenges, WCH created the Crossroads Clinic. We are a team of committed health care workers providing comprehensive primary care to newly arrived refugee clients for their first two years in Toronto.
Our l team consists of physicians, nurse practitioners and nurses, a social worker, peer navigator, medical secretaries, a clinic aide and administrators. We have had extensive experience working with people going through the refugee process and the challenges it involves.
We provide full primary care for people of all ages for their first two years in Canada. This includes management of chronic disease, acute issues, anxiety, and depression as well as health education and disease prevention. After two years, we help you find a primary care provider in your community and ensure a seamless transfer of care.
Partners
We work closely with many of the refugee shelters in Toronto and have a satellite clinic at Sojourn House refugee shelter. We also work with many specialists at WCH and other hospitals which we access for more complex health issues. We do not work directly with immigration officials and clients’ information is not shared with them without consent.
The Crossroads Clinic serves newly arrived refugees. We prioritize those that are or were living in the refugee shelter system. We have access to telephone interpreters for those with limited English proficiency and provide full primary care for the first two years in Canada. We accept patients by appointment only.
If you are a physician or nurse practitioner interested in accepting patients after their two years at the Crossroads Clinic, please call us at the number below.
If you are a clinician interested in better serving those going through the refugee process, consider attending the Refugee Primer conference that takes place at WCH every two years.
To reach the clinic, please call 416-323-6031
If you are looking for a primary care provider and have been in the refugee shelter system, please call us at 416-323-6031 ext 2 to book an appointment. Note that there is often a delay of weeks before we can accommodate first appointments.
If you are going through the refugee process and the Crossroads Clinic does not seem like the right place for you, we recommend you connect to a community family doctor or a nurse practitioner.. To do so, you can use the following links/contact information below:
- Refugee Health Line: call 1-866-286-4770 for free, to register for help in being connected with health care services
- Health Care Connect
More information about health care is available at the following sites:
Learn more about the Crossroads Clinic and the services we provide
- The Crossroads Clinic – Amharic (.pdf)
- The Crossroads Clinic عيادة – Arabic (.pdf)
- The Crossroads Clinic – English (.pdf)
- The Crossroads Klinika – Hungarian (.pdf)
- The Crossroads Clinic – Tigrinya (.pdf)
- The Crossroads Clinic – French (.pdf)
- The Crossroads Clinic – Spanish (.pdf)