By Brigette Choiselat
A new look and location in a more accessible building has created a larger, more diverse clientele for the Centretown Community Health Centre.
The centre, which offers services such as medical care, counseling and health education programs, was granted $1,625,000 from the Ministry of Health to relocate to Cooper Street.
Since it moved from MacLaren Street in March, it has been attracting more and more people.
On average, five to 10 new clients are using the centre’s services everyday, says Cathy Collett, the manager of the primary care services.
During the daily walk-in hours, 15 to 20 people are using the service, up about 10 per cent from the old location.
“By observing the waiting room, you can tell there are a lot of new people coming in,” she says, adding that the move further downtown has made the centre and its signs more visible.
“It seems to be a location that is lending itself to people walking in and finding out about our services.”
But it’s not just new clients that are benefitting from the centre’s transplant – regular patients are too.
Ellen Lougheed often had to depend on strangers to help her and her wheelchair through the front doors if she wanted to visit her doctor in the old building.
“[There was] a ramp outside that was quite tricky and it wasn’t well cleared in the winter. Often passers-by would have to help me get through the slush and down the ramp.”
The new location was designed with such problems in mind, says Stella Andriopoulos, the executive director of the centre.
“The whole space has been renovated and revised according to designs that were created specifically for the needs of our clients.
“That’s why [we have] the wide hallways so you can turn around in a wheelchair, for example,” says Andriopoulos.
Linda Bigras, a regular client, is pleased with the changes to the new centre because it means an easier visit for her husband.
“In the other building he had stairs to walk up but he couldn’t walk up because his legs were so sore. This is all one floor so it’s easier,” says Bigras.
For herself, the move means more educational visits to the centre.
She recently participated in the “Community Based Diabetes Education Program”and she is planning on joining the “Healthy Eating, Healthy Living” program.
“There wasn’t enough space to provide all the programs that we wanted to. We had the staff but not the space,” says Andriopoulos.
In the clinic, five more exam rooms have been added, for a total of 15 and an additional physician started on a part-time basis in September.
The centre is also hoping to expand its mental health services and addiction services for seniors while planning its programs according to the community’s needs, says Andriopoulos.
“And it’s all made easier with a more visible location that’s centrally located.”