RVH hands over Immunization Clinic to health unit
Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) was one of the first hospitals in the province to distribute vaccinations in an effort to halt the spread of COVID-19.
After more than two years, RVH’s Immunization Clinic was officially handed over to the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) on March 30.
Together with the health unit and the City of Barrie, the Immunization Clinic worked during the darkest days of the pandemic to bring hope to the people of Simcoe Muskoka.
More than 293,000 vaccinations were administered at the clinic by:
- 138 doctors
- 115 nurses (many of whom came out of retirement to help),
- 70 patient service clerks,
- 18 pharmacy techs,
- 15 security guards,
- 10 screeners,
- four EVS workers, who kept the clinic running smoothly.
The Immunization Clinic staff have been relocated to positions within RVH, while many returned to retirement or have stayed on to provide essential support to the COVID, Cold and Flu Care Clinic.
“At a time when our world was upended and so many people feared what was to come, RVH staff and physicians stood strong, providing care for those who were infected and sick,” said Gail Hunt, RVH president and CEO.
“We provided leadership and manpower to vaccinate the community against further spread. My deep thanks and admiration go out to all RVH employees who worked at the Immunization Clinic through tremendously difficult circumstances to keep our community safe,” said Hunt.
The Immunization Clinic will remain open five days a week, now under the supervision of the health unit.
“Vaccination has saved many thousands of lives and prevented tens of thousands of severe illnesses from COVID-19 in Simcoe Muskoka,” said Dr. Charles Gardner, Medical Officer of Health at the health unit.
Gardner said COVID-19 had been the most severe pandemic of the century.
“However, it would have been far worse without all that we did together, especially with vaccinations,” he added.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.