Dear friends,

On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Senior Management Team of the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre (SHCHC), I would like to provide you with an update on the Centre's strategy to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

As identified within the City of Ottawa emergency response and within our Ottawa CHC Pandemic Plan, SHCHC has been tasked to play a critical role in working with our health system partners in addressing the impact of the COVID-19 disease.

SHCHC is doing its part to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). We are following the guidance of Ottawa Public Health, and have taken steps to reduce the number of people entering and working at the Centre.

VIRTUAL SERVICES

SHCHC has made service accessibility and continuity a priority, and continues to offer the following services either by phone or online:

Routine medical appointments

Substance Use and Concurrent Disorder Counselling and Therapy

Smoking Cessation

Crisis support

Case Management Support

Back-on-Track assessments, groups and follow-ups

SMART Recovery for Family and Caregivers

Chronic Pain Self-Management Group

If you are registered in an upcoming group, or have an appointment and have any questions, please call us at 613-789-1500. Our teams will let you know what arrangements have been made for changes to services, and other resources that are available.

IN-PERSON SERVICES

To reduce the number of people entering and working at the Centre, operations have shifted to provide only essential services in-person.

The Essential In-Person services identified are:

Some urgent medical appointments (please call ahead to book)

Medical appointments – Oasis

Same-Day Medical Clinic

Supervised Consumption & Treatment Services

Junction (8 AM – 5 PM)

Opioid Agonist Treatment

Active screening of all people entering the building

HOURS:

Junction and Consumption and Treatment Services: 8 AM – 5 PM,  Monday-Friday

All other in-person services: 8 AM – 4 PM, Monday through Friday.

At Sandy Hill Community Health Centre, the health, safety and well-being of our employees and clients is our top priority. We understand concerns about coronavirus are top of mind, and we want to encourage you to refer to reliable information sources. We recommend the Ottawa Public Health web site, to get the best information in real time. If you are not feeling well, there is a self-assessment tool available that can help you decide the best course of action.

If you are in distress (e.g. significant trouble breathing, chest pain, fainting, or have a significant worsening of any chronic disease symptoms), do not go to the Assessment Centre or a COVID-19 Care clinic. Go to the nearest Emergency Department, or call 9-1-1.

Thank you for your continuous support as we move forward.

David Gibson,

Executive Director