The City of Orillia and Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (OSMH) are pleased to announce today that the Couchiching Ontario Health Team (OHT) COVID-19 Assessment Centre currently located at Rotary Place will be re-located back to the Kiwanis Building at OSMH by Aug. 11, 2021.
The move will continue to provide Orillia and area with access to COVID-19 assessments while allowing the City to re-open the ice pad that the Assessment Centre is occupying for a safe return to recreation in late summer/early fall.
Originally established on March 18, 2020, the Couchiching OHT COVID-19 Assessment Centre started as a drive-through service outside the Kiwanis Building at OSMH. As demand quickly grew, lengthy vehicle line-ups began to stretch throughout the neighbourhoods surrounding the hospital with waits exceeding four hours at times. To improve efficiency, the Centre was re-located to Rotary Place with pre-booked appointments.
“Through their Emergency Management Committee, the City of Orillia has been tremendously supportive throughout the pandemic, particularly when it came to locating and establishing the Assessment Centre at Rotary Place,” said OSMH President and CEO Carmine Stumpo. “The facility has served the community well, at times conducting more than 500 tests per day, and it provided the necessary space, accessibility and parking to provide the service safely.”
Currently, the Centre conducts between 100-150 tests per day, and fewer on weekends when the hours of operation are shorter. Once relocated in August, it will be renamed the Couchiching OHT COVID-19 Testing Centre and will provide both drive-through and in-building services for as long as required.
“The continued partnership between the City of Orillia and OSMH throughout the pandemic has been fantastic and has put the health and safety of our community above all else. Now that we are seeing a decrease in assessment volume, the City is pleased to be able to have the second ice pad at Rotary Place accessible for a safe return to recreation – something our community needs for its physical and mental health.”
The mass vaccination centre operated by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit in partnership with the Couchiching OHT is not affected by this change and will continue to operate in the Orillia Room at Rotary Centre.
To book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment visit Ontario.ca/bookvaccine or call 1-833-943-3900 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
To book a COVID-19 assessment, visit https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/COVIDAssessment@osmh.on.ca/bookings/
or call 1-888-589-4109 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.