There is now a mobile COVID-19 Assessment Centre for residents of the North Shore corridor including Nairn Centre, Espanola, McKerrow, Webbwood, Massey, Sagamok-Anishnawbek First Nation and Birch Island.
Hospital spokesperson Jane Battistelli says the Espanola Regional Hospital and Health Centre has partnered with Manitoulin-Sudbury District Services Board’s Paramedic Services to mobilize a COVID-19 Paramedic Response Team.
Starting today, Battistelli says the centre’s purpose is to travel to, assess and, only where appropriate, swab people who may be infected with COVID-19.
She stresses the goal of this response team is to minimize the significant number of patients seeing health providers and going to emergency.
The COVID-19 Paramedic Response Team is accessed by appointment only.
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COVID-19 Mobile Test Centre opens for North Shore           V2     03/25/2020    RR
North Shore communities will have access to a mobile COVID-19 Assessment Centre.
Hospital Spokesperson Jane Battistelli says the Espanola Regional Hospital has partnered with the Manitoulin-Sudbury District Services Board’s Paramedics Services to travel across the North Shore to assess potential coronavirus cases.
She says the team will be mobilized today for the communities of Sagamok-Anishnawbek First Nation, Massey, Webbwood, McKerrow, Espanola, Nairn Centre and Birch Island.
Battistelli stresses the centre’s purpose is to assess, and only where appropriate, swab people who may be infected to minimize patients’ visits to health providers and the emergency department.
The COVID-19 Paramedic Response Team is accessed by appointment only. Â
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WEBSITE:
Individuals will be referred after the screening is done by Telehealth Ontario, Public Health Unit Sudbury & Districts, Family Physician’s Office, Sagamok Wellness Centre, and Birch Island Health Centre.
If you have met the screening criteria, your health care provider will give you the number for the COVID19 Assessment Centre phone line. You will be asked to leave a message as directed and follow the telephone prompts on the COVID-19 Assessment Line.
The Assessment Line will answer calls between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm daily (Monday to Friday) and the COVID-19 Paramedic Response Team will run 8 am to 8 pm (7 days a week).
Individuals with general questions must not call the Espanola COVID -19 Assessment Centre. Instead, please visit Public Health Sudbury & Districts website, call your Primary Care Provider / Family Doctor or call Telehealth to be screened.
Individuals must meet the following criteria for an Assessment Centre appointment:
1. Symptoms:
Fever (over 38 degrees Celsius) and/or cough (new or worsening)
2. Exposure History within the last 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms:
a. Travel outside of Canada
b. Had close interactions with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19
c. Had close interactions with someone who has symptoms of COVID-19 who recently travelled outside of Canada.
There are two steps to be followed to receive an appointment at the Espanola COVID-19 Assessment Centre:
·         Patients need to complete an assessment by telephone and will be triaged by a nurse from ERHHC.
·         Patients triaged by the ERHHC nurse will be referred to the COVID-19 Paramedic Response Team who will contact them for an in-home assessment.
Manitoulin-Sudbury District Services Board – Paramedic Services, Espanola Regional Hospital and Health Centre (ERHHC), Espanola and Area Family Health Team and Public Health Sudbury District – Espanola office are the partners in the initiative.