In innovative partnership, lawyers and CLSC health professionals team up to improve patient health
Dr. Louis-Bruno Théberge, a Family Physician at CLSC de Parc-Extension, recently saw a patient in his 40s who suffered from severe anxiety and depression. Dr. Théberge offered psychological support and prescribed medication—and then, he recommended an unusual remedy.
He suggested that the patient see a lawyer through a new Medical-Legal Partnership at the CLSC. Dr. Théberge wanted to go beyond the man’s ailments and address the problems that may have caused them. In this case, the patient—a married father of two who had recently immigrated to Canada—was facing eviction with his family, due to a conflict with their landlord.
“I can always put a Band-Aid on a patient,” says Dr. Théberge, Medical Director at CLSC de Parc Extension’s Family Medicine Group (GMF-U), which is affiliated with McGill University. “But I have a team that can help me address the underlying problem.”
That “team” includes the CLSC’s social workers and a lawyer from Justice Pro Bono, a Montreal organization that provides the free legal services. In a pilot project, healthcare professionals are teaming up with lawyers to improve patients’ well-being and health outcomes. Ours is the first CIUSSS in Quebec to set up this Medical-Legal Partnership (it has also operated at the Montreal Children’s Hospital).
Health professionals such as Dr. Théberge say the idea rests on solid medical grounds. “When you’re in crisis, you don’t have the physical and mental energy to address your basic needs; you’re in survival mode,” he says.
“This service allows you to get out of survival mode. The benefits are immediate.”
Dr. Louis-Bruno Théberge, Family Physician
The project is inspired by research showing that social determinants of health, such as the conditions in which people work and live, have an influence on health outcomes. These play an especially significant role for families in Parc Extension, which include a large number of immigrants and low-wage earners who may not be familiar with their rights or how to access to legal support. The CLSC’s partnership makes such services available in the heart of their neighbourhood. “It’s rooted in the community,” says Dr. Théberge.
Patients must be referred to the service by a CLSC social worker, and they are then taken in hand by Aude Exertier, the Justice Pro Bono coordinator and triage lawyer. During weekly sessions at the CLSC, Ms. Exertier conducts an evaluation to identify patients’ needs and can then find a volunteer lawyer to take on their case.
In one instance this year, a patient was facing eviction from his apartment in Parc Extension and was so distressed, he ceased taking his medication to treat his diabetes. The man was referred by a CLSC physician to the social work team, who then recommended he see Ms. Exertier.
She was able to get him a lawyer to accompany him to the Tribunal administratif du logement, the provincial body that handles rental housing issues. Thanks to the lawyer’s intervention, the man was able to reach an agreement with his landlord and remain in his home. He resumed taking his medication.
“Stabilizing his housing situation reduced his stress, and he started following his treatment again,” says Jaycee Rivette-Brutus, his Social Worker at the GMF-U of Parc Extension. “He felt supported by the healthcare network.”
Ms. Rivette-Brutus says defending clients’ rights is part of her job, so she appreciates the legal service. Some patients don’t meet the strict criteria for legal aid and the free services of Justice Pro Bono fill an important gap.
“The partnership really supports us in our interventions, so it’s extremely relevant for our work.”
Jaycee Rivette-Brutus, Social Worker
Proponents say the Medical-Legal Partnership has already had a positive impact since the pilot project began in early 2024, and they hope to see it continue.
“Patients’ health can be affected when their rights are violated, and from the moment we were able to support those patients in legal proceedings, we could see their health improve,” says Bernadette Thibaudeau, Coordinator of GMFs in Frontline Integrated Services. “It’s enormous.”
“You can treat health problems with medication, but it might not heal what’s ailing them,” Ms. Thibaudeau adds. “It takes a team to defend their rights.”