St. Boniface Hospital Closing Healthcare Gaps with Our Healthbox
Manitoba has seen alarming increases in fatal accidental drug poisonings.
In 2023, there were 1–2 deaths per day, with a total of 445 drug-related deaths. Preliminary figures show that 530 people died from substance-related causes between January and November 2024, including 67 drug-related deaths in January alone.
To help combat the ongoing opioid crisis, Naloxone — a fast-acting medication used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose — will now be available, along with other harm reduction, sexual health, and wellness supplies, through Our Healthbox.
The St. Boniface Health Team is excited to bring this important initiative to our community that aims to improve the safety and well-being.
Listening to the community’s concerns and collaborating with community members is key to serving our population.
When asked how we could improve harm reduction services in the city, community members identified accessibility — especially on weekends and after hours — as one of the biggest healthcare gaps in Winnipeg.
Although Winnipeg has mobile harm reduction services (e.g., needle exchange programs) and supports, service hours are limited, and not everyone who needs help can access it when they need to.
Developed by Dr. Sean B. Rourke, Director of REACH Nexus at the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Our Healthbox features an interactive touchscreen installed onto commercially available vending machines — transforming them into cutting-edge Our Healthbox (OHB) units.
With support from BMO and CANFAR, the Our Healthbox at St. Boniface Hospital will be accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Uniquely located in the entranceway to our Emergency Room, it will be available to both community members and patients.
The St. Boniface Hospital Healthbox is stocked with safer smoking and injection supplies, Naloxone, HIV self-test kits, as well as snacks, warm socks, underwear, and hygiene kits.
HIV rates have increased significantly in Canada — and especially in Manitoba, where there were 280 new HIV diagnoses in 2024, representing a 40% increase compared to 2022.
Manitoba's HIV infection rate was 19.3 per 100,000 people, second only to Saskatchewan, which had a rate of 19.4 per 100,000, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
De-stigmatizing HIV and giving people easy access to HIV self-test kits will help improve the health of our community. Access to new, unused needles will also help reduce the transmission rates of HIV and Hepatitis C.
Our Healthbox provides a safe, non-judgmental, and anonymous way for people in our community to access the wellness supplies and supports they need to stay safe and healthy.
We love our community and are passionate about harm reduction and ending the HIV epidemic. We hope that people across Manitoba will see our St. Boniface Healthbox as a beacon of hope and care — and that it will lead to more Healthboxes in accessible locations throughout the province.
About the Organization
The St Boniface Hospital was established in 1871 by the Sisters of Charity of Montreal “the Grey Nuns”. It is the first hospital in Western Canada.
The four-bed hospital was situated on the present site, on the east bank of the Red River at the fork of the Assiniboine and Red River. Known today as the Forks, one of the most historic places in Canada where people from all over the country met for trade and collaboration.
It is presently located in the heart of St. Boniface, a bilingual district of Winnipeg in walking distance from downtown. This land is on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and on the national homeland of the Red River Métis.
We respect the treaties that were made on these territories and we acknowledge the harms and mistakes of the past. Recognizing that we are all treaty people, we dedicate our efforts towards a more loving and compassionate world as we all move forward in a spirit of reconciliation and collaboration.
