A children's clinic recently opened at the new County of Simcoe facility on West Street North.
The clinic is in partnership with the county's social and community services, the Couchiching Ontario Health Team, and Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital.
The clinic offers episodic care for children and serves as an essential alternative to emergency room visits, offering families a quicker and more efficient healthcare solution for their unwell children and adolescents.
Malcolm Morum, executive director and nurse practitioner with the Huronia Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic, says the new initiative provides primary care services that include assessment, diagnosis and treatment.
"This may include referrals, prescriptions and immunizations," he explained.
At this time, the clinic is staffed with one full-time nurse practitioner and one full-time registered nurse. Morum hopes to expand to two full-time nurse practitioners in the near future.
He notes patients can book directly into the clinic without a referral.
"The clinic sees unattached patients who do not have a primary care provider," he said. "We can also see attached patients who do have a primary care provider. However, patients and families are encouraged to see their doctor or nurse practitioner if able."
Morum encourages patients to book appointments online using the booking portal. They can also call 705-835-7545.
There is no cost to access care at the clinic and there is no current wait list.
Morum says the clinic aims to address a major need in the Orillia area. He says there are more than 20,000 unattached clients in Orillia in need of primary care services.
"We want to support people to access care in the right place at the right time and decrease visits to our local emergency department," he said. "The clinic was needed to support our community."
He says the clinic has received positive feedback from patients so far.
"A lot of them don't have primary care providers," he said. "They are always really happy that they can get access to care now. It's something they've been looking forward to."
There are now four children's clinics in Ontario. One is in Keswick and the others are in the Greater Toronto Area.
The Orillia clinic, located 250 West St. N., Unit 6, is open on select days from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. More information can be found here.
