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
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.