COVID, Cold, Flu Care Clinic closing at West Haldimand General Hospital
Thursday, March 30, 2023
The COVID, Cold, and Flu Care Clinic (CCFCC) at West Haldimand General Hospital (WHGH) will close at the end of April, accepting its last appointments on Friday, April 28, 2023. The decision to close this temporary clinic was predicated by the overall seasonal decline of cold and flu and due to the discontinuation of funding.
Care for community members with COVID-19, cold and influenza-like symptoms will transition to family physicians, urgent care clinics, and community pharmacies.
Beginning in April, hours of operation for the CCFCC will be 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. Patients can book an appointment by calling 905-768-3311 ext. 1113. Please have your health card ready.
This clinic, which was run by an amazing team at WHGH, initially opened as a COVID-19 Assessment Centre in March of 2020, before expanding its services in December of 2022 to provide assessments of both adult and paediatric patients for influenza-like illness. Since transitioning as a CCFCC on December 7, the clinic has cared for over 1,100 patients.
“WHGH is thankful to the CCFCC team for providing appropriate and timely care while freeing up resources for those who required emergency care,” said AnneMarie VanSickle, Clinical Director of the CCFCC. “The CCFCC team played a crucial role during a time of an unusually high seasonal surge in viral illnesses and we are grateful for their historic role in protecting the health and safety of our staff, patients, and community members.”
WHGH partnered with Ontario Health West in December of 2022 to open the clinic.
“A sincere thank you to the physicians, nurses, and employees who staffed the clinic, as well as our amazing community partners who made this possible,” said Dr. Robin Martin-Godelie, Chief of Staff. “The clinic provided patients and families with a convenient option that offered shorter wait times while freeing up capacity in the WHGH emergency department.”
For patients seeking more information on COVID-19 assessments, testing for antiviral treatment, please visit the link below:
- For PCR COVID testing: https://www.ontario.ca/assessment-centre-locations
- For Antiviral therapies (Paxlovid/Remdesivir) please contact your family doctor or pharmacy.
- For all other Cold, Flu and COVID concerns please contact your family doctor.
- Call 811 for more information about testing, assessment and treatment.
- Patients needing COVID care for SEVERE symptoms should continue to seek care at the nearest Emergency Department.
As we move forward together, we encourage everyone to continue to follow these good public health practices: Stay home if you are feeling unwell, wear a mask, especially indoors, wash your hands regularly, and stay up to date with the safe and effective vaccinations readily available to both children and adults.
