The French primary care clinic in Timmins continued to provide services during the pandemic, which may have eased the situation for the members of the community, says the clinic's primary care supervisor.
“It’s been challenging because some patients were not used to having virtual care but it’s almost a norm now,” said Sylvie Gélinas, who is also an acting executive director at the Centre de santé communautaire de Timmins.
“They knew they had access to primary care providers, I think, that eased a lot of people’s minds.”
The non-profit organization, funded through the Northeast Local Health Integration Network, provides primary care services and community programs to the francophone community in Timmins and its surrounding areas.
The centre opened its doors last November and held a grand opening in January. It has two registered nurses, a full-time nurse practitioner, two part-time family physicians, a social worker, two medical secretaries, a community program co-ordinator and a community health worker.
Currently, there are more than 400 registered patients but because staff couldn’t see patients in-person during the pandemic, there’s currently a waitlist of about 200 people. Gélinas said they have started to process the waitlist.
Although the doors of the clinic, located inside the Timmins Square, were locked during the pandemic, the centre continued to provide services.
Patients would call in and a nurse would triage them and, if needed, make an appointment with either a physician or a nurse practitioner, Gélinas said. There was also an advertised clinic for more urgent needs.
“If we had to have the hands on the patient to do a good evaluation, we’d bring them in the clinic. We had an isolation room designated for patients, so then the doctor or the nurse practitioner would come in with full PPE and do an evaluation," she said.
Gélinas said the clinic continues to provide pap tests as well as vaccines to infants 18 months and younger to make sure they still have all their required vaccinations. There are also at least 30 minutes in between each appointment to ensure all rooms are cleaned. In addition to telephone services, patients can ask to have a consultation via video.
"We concentrate on high-risk patients that we see in the clinic," Gélinas said.
A lot of community programs have been put on hold until the centre receives more directions from the Ministry of Health, she added.
The centre is open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. till 4:30 p.m.
