NEWS RELEASE
ORILLIA SOLDIERS' MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
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As the COVID-19 Assessment Centre at Rotary Place transitions back to the hospital campus this week as a Testing Centre, the Couchiching Ontario Health Team (COHT) and Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (OSMH) are saluting the City of Orillia for their tremendous partnership throughout the pandemic.
Originally established at the Kiwanis Building at OSMH in March 2020, the Assessment Centre was relocated to Rotary Place later that year to more safely accommodate increased volumes. To date, Rotary Place has enabled the Assessment Centre team to complete 53,956 swabs, with a monthly peak of 8,026 in December 2020.
“Specific gratitude goes out to Chief Brent Thomas, City of Orillia Fire, and also the City of Orillia Community Emergency Management Coordinator, for his leadership in our Region’s community response to providing critical COVID-19 testing space and services,” said Cheryl Harrison, OSMH Executive VP of Patient Care and People Strategy.
“Chief Thomas’ leadership was instrumental in our Region’s ability to quickly find suitable space for mass testing service provision with very short notice. The support from both Chief Thomas, City officials and the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) afforded the COHT the ability to focus on patient access to testing and community safety through peaks and waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The COHT and OSMH are also grateful to the user groups of the Rotary Centre for their patience and understanding during this unprecedented time, and are pleased to return this dynamic space to the City and the community so that skating, hockey and other recreational services can resume.
As of Thursday, Aug. 12, COVID-19 testing services will resume back at the OSMH Kiwanis Building for any members of the community seeking this service. More details can be found on our COVID-19 Booking Site here.
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