Health Sciences North COVID-19 Assessment Centre is moving.
The new location will be in the south end of Sudbury, at 2050 Regent Street, across from the South End Public Library. Patients booked for testing appointments will begin going to the new site to be tested on November 19.
The new location will allow for an improved approach to testing with the arrival of cold and snowy winter weather.
“The bulk of the tests at our COVID-19 Assessment Centre are done by drive-through testing which takes place outside,” said Mark Hartman, Senior Vice President of Patient Experience at Health Sciences North. “This approach has been really effective and efficient as it allows us to test the most people in the safest way possible. But in order to continue with this approach during the cold winter months, we needed an area that will provide some shelter to staff and patients.”
Despite a new location, the process for getting tested remains the same and walk-ins are not allowed. Patients will still need to book an appointment by either filling out a form at www.hsnsudbury.ca or by calling 705-671-7373. They will be referred to the new HSN site or to NEOMO or Primacy Clinics for testing.
“I’m really excited about the new site. It has two garage doors which means patients will be able to drive in to the building and stay in their vehicles to be swabbed. There will still be plenty of airflow which maintains safety, but our staff will be able to keep warm and not get covered in snow while doing the testing,” said Nicole Sykes, Manager of HSN’s COVID-19 Assessment Centre.
Assessment Centre staff will provide directions to patients on how to access the new site when they call to book appointments. When attending, patients are asked to ensure the site via the lights at Regent Street and Old Burwash Road.
It’s expected that HSN will continue to offer testing at the new location throughout the remainder of the pandemic.