Windsor Family Health Team Paves Set To Move Into Proposed Urgent Care Clinic At Former Grace Hospital Site

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A deal reached in principle could see the Windsor Family Health Team move its primary health care operations to the new Urgent Care Centre building at the former Grace Hospital site.

The $150 million Urgent Care Center is part of the overall transformation of the local hospital healthcare delivery service. The new 80,000 square foot, four storey, Urgent Care Centre would be operated by emergency room physicians and nurses from WRH and service some 40,000 plus patients who would typically be seen at an emergency department in a more timely and efficient manner.

The proposed Windsor Regional Urgent Care Centre would be full diagnostic services including a CT scanner, laboratory and pharmacy services.

The co-location of the Windsor Family Health Team ensures a seamless system by “wrapping primary health care” around the urgent care centre to improve access and connected services.　 Patients that could benefit from being able to access comprehensive primary healthcare services could be referred to the Windsor Family Health Team to avoid repeated trips to Urgent Care or the acute emergency department.

Currently the Windsor Family Health Team has 21 staff made up of 4 physicians, 2 nurse practitioners, 2 social workers, 1 registered nurse, 2 registered practical nurses and 1 health promoter/dietitian and an administrative team including quality improvement decision support.　 In addition to the core team, the they also provides access to occupational therapists and a respiratory educator through partnerships.　 The Team currently sees approximately 30,000 patient encounters annually between its main site and 3 satellite clinics located at St. Clair College campuses.　 The plan is to continue to expand the Team as long as it takes to meet the community’s need for access to inter-professional health care services.

“This agreement truly continues the amazing news that started with the extensive planning that was undertaken by the Steering Committee co-chaired by Dave Cooke and has involved our community every step along the way,” states David Musyj, President and CEO, Windsor Regional Hospital.

“The Windsor Family Health Team is excited to continue to play a large roll in the transformation of the health care delivery model for Windsor/Essex. Being part of the renaissance of the downtown core and serving the primary health care needs of our community bodes well for the health of our region,” stated Mark Ferrari, Executive Director, Windsor Family Health Team.

The next step in the process is to continue to have the Program and Services Steering Committee work with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care on moving the project forward to Stage 2 of the 5 stage planning process. The goal is to have the Urgent Care Centre up and running in 7 to 10 years.