A new community health care centre is coming to Renfrew-Collingwood this spring.
On Wednesday morning, the province announced the launch of the new RISE Community Health Centre in April. The provincial government is launching the centre in partnership with the Collingwood Neighbourhood House Society with the aim of providing comprehensive primary-care services to residents in the Renfrew-Collingwood neighbourhood.
“The RISE Community Health Centre will help connect more people with the health care they need when they need it,” Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a press release. “This will make a difference for people who have been struggling to access health-care services.”
Located at 3425 Crowley Dr., the centre will offer “comprehensive primary-care and health-promotion services”, including attaching people without a primary-care provider to a family doctor or nurse practitioner, providing access to preventative and primary health-care services to patients with complex medical and social needs, mental health and addictions challenges, and co-ordination of specialist care.
The centre opened in November, providing limited primary-care services out of a small clinical space at Collingwood Neighbourhood House and is currently accepting patients by referral from selected organizations and programs. Services at that site will continue when the main location opens in April offering services such as chronic disease management; pregnancy, prenatal and postpartum care; mental-health assessment, treatment and support; medication prescription refills and health screenings, assessments and prescriptions.
The centre will also continue to expand its services and clinical team in the first two years of operations. Other planned services include a pharmacy dispensary, physiotherapy, nutrition support, counseling and patient education, as well as support navigating the health and social service systems.
The centre expects to have around 12,000 patient visits in its first year of operation.
“RISE Community Health Centre would not be possible without the dedication and tireless efforts of the Collingwood Neighbourhood House Society,” Dix said. “Its passion and support for serving the community has made RISE a reality, and I thank everyone for their continued partnership in this project.”
