HARM-REDUCTION CONFERENCE IN FULL SWING

Community-Based Program Highlighted

A program delegating medical care for drug abusers to local community
centres will be showcased today at an international drug
harm-reduction conference.

The Community Transitional Care Team oversees injection drug users
who need "serious antibiotics" and relocates them from hospitals to
smaller sites in their own neighbourhoods, explained Dr. David Marsh.

The program benefits patients because they are more comfortable and
less antsy when closer to home, he said. Also, it eases the burden on
Vancouver's medical system, freeing up hospital beds for other patients.

"It's going very well," said Marsh, who will explain the program in
the first of his three lectures during the five-day event.

The conference kicked off yesterday at the Fairmont Hotel in downtown
Vancouver. Events and displays for the 17th International Conference
on the Reduction of Drug Related Harm are also being held at the
Hyatt Regency Hotel.