UHRESS

UHRESS, Eastern Québec

The Hospital Unit for Research, Teaching and Care of HIV/AIDS/Hepatitis in Eastern Quebec was founded in 1989. Its mandate is to provide leadership and to coordinate care, research and teaching related to these diseases for patients, their families, health care professionals and other organizations interested in people living with HIV and/or viral hepatitis.

Our clientele includes children, teenagers, women, men and transgender persons aged 0 to 90 years. We follow pregnant women with HIV or viral hepatitis and their babies whether they are HIV positive or not. Our patients often live with several co-morbidities requiring services within the Hospital Center: consultations and follow-ups in specialties other than infectious diseases and specialized examinations.

Our patients also include people with mental health problems, drug addiction, immigrants, refugees, and people living in very precarious and vulnerable situations, which requires a specific and personalized approach. HIV infection is now considered a chronic disease with a nearly normal life expectancy, demanding long-term follow-up. Viral hepatitis can be cured or controlled depending on the virus, its host and the treatment administered.

Our team is composed of infectious disease specialists, pediatricians, a coordinator, nursing assistants, research and clinical nurses, a social worker and sexologist and technical support staff. We have three missions: Research – Teaching – Care.

Research

• Fundamental: Many researchers are working to find a cure and a vaccine to stop HIV.
  • Examples of research topics: viral replication, HIV vaccine, interaction between HIV and certain pathogens, etc.
• Clinical: A team of several doctors and nurses is dedicated to clinical research.
  • Examples of ongoing research: access to antiretroviral drugs in development, new therapeutic approaches, monitoring of complications, etc.

Teaching

Our team is frequently invited to give courses and conferences to various clienteles:

• people living with HIV, AIDS or viral hepatitis
• private, public or community organizations involved in the field
• Different educational institutions such as high schools, CEGEPs, universities, in various areas such as nursing, social work, psychology, medicine, microbiology, etc.

Consultations and training for other health professionals are also offered by members of our team. We also welcome interns from a number of disciplines as well as resident physicians.

Care

• Medical: Follow-ups by an infectious disease specialist, either for pediatric or adult clienteles.
• Nursing: Follow-ups of tests, blood work, drug intake support , information sessions, vaccination, etc.
• Psychosocial: Follow-ups with patients, their families and caregivers. Support and guidance, sexual education, referrals to community resources, etc. Our social worker has a unique expertise. She receives requests from various institutions: Miels-Québec, CIUSSS, TSO clinic, HDL, other CHU sites, etc.

We offer post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PREP) services which require regular monitoring at our clinic.

Simply put, we are a multidisciplinary specialty clinic that treats patients infected with HIV and/or viral hepatitis. The management of these patients demands a high level of expertise that requires constant evolution of our knowledge. We play an important role at the regional and supra-regional level and receive referrals from the greater Quebec City area as well as the Chaudières-Appalaches region.

The team