RELEASE SENT BY Headwaters Health Care Centre and copied below here.
Orangeville, ON – March 19, 2020 – With the rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation in Canada, Headwaters Health Care Centre is one of a number of hospitals across the province taking proactive steps to ensure the health and safety of the residents in Dufferin County-Caledon through the opening of a COVID-19 Assessment Centre.
As of today, the COVID-19 Assessment Centre is open and will operate from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., seven days a week and will be staffed by local family physicians and team members from home and community care, primary care and the hospital. It will be a self-contained, semi-permanent, hard-sided tent located at the top parking lot at 140 Rolling Hills Drive. People will drive through and be assessed in their cars. Walk-ins will also be accepted.
The location of the Assessment Centre has been chosen in collaboration with the tenants at 140 Rolling Hills Drive (Highlands Health Network and Rolling Hills Pharmacy) as well as the specialist clinic at 150 Rolling Hills Drive.
Hospital staff have also worked with the County of Dufferin, County of Dufferin Paramedic Service, Orangeville Police Service, Town of Orangeville, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, the Dufferin Area Family Health Team, the Town of Caledon and Infectious Disease Specialists, among others to ensure the location was appropriate and is designed to best serve the people in our communities.
Careful consideration has also been made to manage parking and traffic flow to respect the Hospital’s neighbours.
“I urge people to stay informed and review recommendations from public health and the Ontario Ministry of Health frequently,” said Kim Delahunt, President & CEO, Headwaters Health Care Centre. “If you do not need to be at the hospital, or you do not meet the assessment criteria, please stay away. For those that have to come to the hospital, your patience is greatly appreciated.”
According to guidance from Wellington-Dufferin-Public Health, individuals should not visit the assessment centre unless they have symptoms. If symptoms are MILD, individuals should stay home and self-isolate. Self-isolation information can be found at www.wdgpublichealth.ca/coronavirus.
For MODERATE symptoms including fever, cough or shortness of breath, individuals should call their physician and follow their directions. For SEVERE symptoms, individuals should visit their nearest emergency room or call 911 immediately.
Individuals can also seek guidance from a new online self-assessment tool, calling Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000 or by calling their doctor who can do an assessment over the phone. People should not go to an assessment centre unless they have symptoms of COVID-19.
What to expect when you arrive at the COVID-19 Assessment Centre at Headwaters
- Please bring your health card with you
- The Assessment Centre is located at 140 Rolling Hills Drive via Highway 10
- Directional signage and directional assistants will be available to direct drivers to the drive-through COVID-19 Assessment Centre
- We anticipate an average of about 15 minutes for an assessment but the lines and wait time will be unpredictable
- We will have two drive through lanes which means if we are fully staffed that we would be able to assess two vehicles at once. There will not be any additional staff for walk-ins so that means depending on how many walk-ins we get, they may not be able to screen two vehicles at a time.
- Vehicles will come through and be handed an assessment screening tool which is a sheet that those being screened have to fill in
- Based on those answers, that will determine whether people are tested
- If a person needs to be tested, based on the assessment tool, they will register and pull into the drive through tent and turn off their car
- A member of the care team (nurse and physician) will assess them while they are still in the vehicle
- If they meet the criteria, they will get a nasal pharyngeal swab
- Depending on the symptom severity they will be told to self-isolate or visit the emergency department while they await test results
Video Link: Headwaters COVID-19 Assessment Centre Dry-Run to show people what to expect.
Chuck Ferguson
Manager, Communications, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health
1-800-265-7293 ext. 4374
chuck.ferguson@wdgpublichealth.ca
Danny Williamson
Communications Specialist
1-800-265-7293 ext. 4376
danny.williamson@wdgpublichealth.ca
