Local hospitals, with the support of Ontario Health West are working together to support a new Regional COVID Care pilot clinic (RCCC) to open at a temporary location: 66 Pinebush Rd in Cambridge. The clinic, which will be managed by Grand River Hospital and supported by all Regional hospital partners, will act as a “one stop shop” for all COVID-19 care.
“This is one strategy that we can implement to improve capacity challenges at local hospitals, and enable hospital teams to focus on providing acute care for our community and increase access to that care,” says Vickie Murray, integrated director of pharmacy services at Grand River and St. Mary’s hospitals. “The regional clinic will provide COVID-19 testing and medications, while Public Health will provide COVID-19 vaccines, allowing separate hospital clinics providing these same services to close and focus on patient care.”
The site at 66 Pinebush Rd has been designated as a temporary location for the RCCC and offers enough space for the Region of Waterloo Public Health to provide COVID-19 vaccinations from the same site.
Community members should still see their family physician or seek a primary care option first for symptoms of respiratory illness. This clinic does not replace care that should be provided by primary care (family doctor or nurse practitioner).
“We will continue to look for a more central location to ensure that all local residents are able to access this proactive and comprehensive care,” says Murray. “The lessons learned by teams from all regional hospitals who have supported COVID-19 care and prevention provide a strong foundation to support the success of this clinic. We are passing yet another COVID-19 milestone and I extend our thanks to the hard working teams and our many partners for their collaboration, work and dedication to support our community and provide care when it was needed the most.”
Separate hospital clinics will close at end of day September 30 and the new Regional COVID-19 Care Clinic will open by appointment only on Saturday, October 1. Information to support community members to make appointments at the clinic will be available on hospital websites starting September 30.
