Hours extended at COVID-19 clinic amid increased community spread
Stevenson Memorial Hospital has seen the impact of the latest wave, so to support the increased demand, the Alliston hospital partnered with community physicians to expand hours at its COVID-19, Cold and Flu Clinic.
"This is our assessment clinic where we actually have built that in addition to our testing centre," says SMH Director of HR, occupational health and volunteer services Jennifer Manicom.
Patients don't need to test positive to visit the clinic, which opened in Feburary.
"We've been able to support anyone with symptoms through the pandemic. Especially this most recent wave where anyone who is potentially looking for Paxlovid, those types of things or just looking to see a physician," says Manicom.
The clinic has helped ease the strain on the hospital's emergency room.
"We originally started at just two days a week but increased it because the need was there from the community," says Manicom.
The clinic is now open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Meanwhile, the hospital is also offering a virtual program for positive COVID-19 patients who aren't sick enough for the hospital but need monitoring, called COVID at Home.
"We're able to provide coaching during their recovery, so we mitigate the risk of them coming back and being admitted," says SMH Director of Ambulatory Care and Mental Health Kate Ostrovsky.
A team of nurses check in with patients every day for five to 10 days, depending on the situation.
"It has been developed with the partnership of the South Simcoe Ontario health team, and we have received the funding from Ontario health," says Ostrovsky.
COVID at Home is intended for follow-up care and has been running since January.
Ostrovsky says the program has been successful, with positive feedback from patients.
"Sometimes they're just not entirely sure what's next for them, so just providing that support, talking to them daily, checking in on their symptoms," says Ostrovsky.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
W5 Investigates | How did a healthy teen die at a minor hockey camp?
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in CTV W5's 'What Happened to Ben,' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.

Trump's call for protests gets muted reaction by supporters
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's calls for protests ahead of his anticipated indictment in New York have generated mostly muted reactions from supporters, with even some of his most ardent loyalists dismissing the idea as a waste of time or a law enforcement trap.
LIVE @ 8 A.M. | 6 missing after Old Montreal fire 'probably still in the rubble': Police
Police are giving an update on last week's fire in Old Montreal that killed at least one person and left six missing. Fire services began partially dismantling the building over the weekend, uncovering one body Sunday evening. Several units in the building were unauthorized short-term rentals, or Airbnbs.
opinion | Biden's Canada visit is long overdue and so are the issues facing the North American neighbours: expert
Questions abound as to why U.S. President Biden is only now making the visit to Canada, more than two years into his presidency.
Woman suing Tim Hortons for $500K after hot tea spill left her 'disfigured'
An Ontario woman has launched a lawsuit seeking $500,000 from Tim Hortons after she suffered major burns from an alleged ‘superheated’ tea. The company has denied all allegations and said she was ‘the author of her own misfortune.'
China's Xi meeting Putin in boost for isolated Russia leader
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due to meet with Vladimir Putin in a political boost for the isolated Russian president after the International Criminal Court charged him with war crimes in Ukraine.
Air passenger complaints triple in one year to pass 42,000 as backlog grows
The number of air passenger complaints to Canada's transport regulator is soaring, more than tripling to 42,000 over the past year.
Trails of human bacteria from sneezing and coughing preserved on Mount Everest: study
Even at one of the tallest natural peaks on Earth, humans have left their mark in a trail of bacteria as researchers have found germs from coughing and sneezing that have been potentially preserved for centuries on Mount Everest.
Credit Suisse, UBS shares plunge after takeover announcement
Shares of Credit Suisse plunged 63 per cent in early trading Monday after the announcement that banking giant UBS would buy its troubled rival for almost US$3.25 billion in a deal orchestrated by regulators to stave off further market-shaking turmoil in the global banking system.