Stobbe earns provincial honour

Dr. Karl Stobbe, medical director of Regional Essential Access to Connected Healthcare (REACH) Niagara, has earned the Community Leader Award for the Ontario region as part of the Canada Volunteer Awards program.

Niagara Region Community Services submitted the nomination for Dr. Stobbe to the Canada Volunteer Awards program in order to showcase his role in addressing the barriers faced by vulnerable populations. In 2018, Dr. Stobbe created REACH to make healthcare services more accessible for those who traditionally have very little access and trust in systems of healthcare. REACH provides shelter-based primary care medical clinics that are staffed part-time by a family doctor, a nurse practitioner and a community paramedic.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Stobbe and REACH collaborated with Niagara Region to provide vital medical services to the homeless population. This work included:
​

• Primary medical care, on-call medical supports and video or phone clinics for shelters within the emergency shelter system;
• Administering COVID-19 screening tools and managing COVID-19 testing results;
• Collaborating with the Niagara Assertive Outreach Team to provide healthcare supports to individuals who are living on the street or are not accessing emergency shelters, and;
• COVID-19 related supports for individuals who access services at Positive Living Niagara.