327,000 swabs later, Niagara Health’s COVID-19 Assessment Centre and COVID, Cold and Flu Care Clinics set to close

Niagara Health’s COVID-19 Assessment Centre and COVID, Cold and Flu Care Clinics (CCFCC) will permanently close on Friday, March 31, 2023.

COVID-19 testing will be available at select pharmacies across the region, and the prescription drug Paxlovid will continue to be available through family physicians and at select pharmacies across the region. Remdesivir infusion therapy, which aids in treating COVID-19, will be available in the community.

Niagara Health’s first Assessment Centre opened on March 17, 2020 at our Niagara Falls Site and have since administered more than 327,000 swabs. The centres served as the primary screening and testing locations for COVID-19 in the region. The Niagara Falls centre is the final of the three to close.

Closing these operations will help our health human resources efforts by allowing teams to return to their regular work or to NH priorities and help address staffing pressures and support for those providing frontline care.

“Working with our partners, we also opened an additional temporary location in Niagara Falls to test hospitality and tourism sector workers,” says Zeau Ismail, Director, Interprofessional Practice, Research and Education; Director Lead, COVID-19 Assessment Centre and COVID, Cold and Flu Care Clinic. “Community healthcare professionals, including family physicians, stepped up to work at these centres, in addition to a number of redeployed hospital staff and physicians.”

Niagara Health, along with partnering members of the Niagara Ontario Health Team-Équipe Santé Ontario Niagara (NOHT-ÉSON) operated five CCFCCs to test, assess and provide treatment for people with COVID-19 and other cold and flu-like illnesses. Since opening in 2022, the CCFCCs and Niagara Health’s Clinical Assessment Centre have had more than 1,900 visits.

After March 31:

• If a person has symptoms of a respiratory illness, they are encouraged to call their primary care provider if they have one as the first option for guidance and care.
• If someone develops severe symptoms, they are urged go to their nearest emergency department or call 9-1-1.

“We are incredibly grateful to our staff, physicians and partners, both on the frontlines and behind the scenes, who helped make the ACs and CCFCCs possible throughout our fight against COVID-19,” says Ismail.