The new Couchiching Ontario Health Team clinic at Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (OSMH) has been a success.
The clinic, located in the Kiwanis building at the west entrance to the hospital, opened in March 2020 to be the home of COVID-19 testing and, later, vaccinations.
In September 2022, a non-public-facing nurse practitioner service opened, serving those who don’t have a family physician and are possibly waiting for an assessment from the geriatric outreach team, for example.
Kim McIntosh, physician lead with the Couchiching Ontario Health Team and the program medical director for the care clinic at OSMH, says it’s important to care for those with complex needs, vulnerable people, and individuals who have been discharged from the hospital and don’t have a family doctor.
There is only one health-care provider working in the nurse practitioner service, which is why it is by appointment only at the moment. McIntosh says the service has been invaluable in its support of frail seniors who may have complex medical conditions and/or food or housing insecurity.
“We are really trying to account for those needs and build to our future vision where we have a high-level, comprehensive care clinic that can build a way to recruit physicians and nurse practitioners,” she said. “We want to give people care and eventually attach them to a provider for continuity.”
The clinic has also been used recently for pop-up preventative care clinics for women eligible for screening tests for cervical cancer but who don’t have a physician. More recently, it’s served as a new access point for cough, colds, and flu assessments for those who don’t have a family doctor or nurse practitioner.
“These have been developed across the province,” McIntosh said, noting Ontario Health has been leading and guiding such clinics. “Couchiching, over time, has supported and used all primary-care providers throughout the pandemic and (has) been seeing patients, treating COVID, treating colds, seeing in person, using virtual services, when necessary, as a tool.”
During the height of the pandemic, the clinic provided care to "well over" 65,000 people.
McIntosh says there are three factors playing into the need for such services, the first being there are currently not enough doctors and nurse practitioners in the province. While she doesn’t have an exact number, McIntosh says there are more people in Orillia without a family doctor than ever.
Another factor is an influx of new residents moving from urban centres to this community. Thirdly, there is an rise in the number of retirements of family doctors after lengthy careers.
One important advantage of the clinic is it takes a load off the emergency department at OSMH, McIntosh explained.
“OSMH has done a brilliant job at remaining open against the odds and providing high-quality service,” she said, “but we do know that there needs to be a place to go for folks who don’t have a family doctor to call and see or an after-hours clinic to attend.”
The new clinic is an “amazing” service for the community, she says, and it’s thanks to staff members and supporters of the Couchiching Ontario Health Team.
“We’ve had incredible successes in ensuring everyone has access to care when they need it, and it’s the right level of care to match their needs,” she said. “We are an incredible medical and team-based community.”
McIntosh expressed her gratitude to all the family physicians, community nurse practitioners, and members of the Couchiching Ontario Health Team for their hard work during the pandemic to ensure everyone has access to care.
Booking an appointment for the COVID-19, cold, and flu clinics can be done here. More information about booking a COVID-19 vaccine or testing appointment is available here.
