As of March 25 there will be a mobile COVID-19 assessment centre for the residents in the North Shore corridor, from Nairn Centre west to Sagamok-Anishnawbek First Nation, Massey and south to Birch Island.
Espanola Regional Hospital and Health Centre (ERHHC) as the lead agency has partnered with Manitoulin-Sudbury District Services Board – Paramedic Services to mobilize a COVID-19 paramedic response team in partnership with Espanola and Area Family Health Team and Public Health Sudbury District – Espanola office.
The center’s purpose is to assess and, only where appropriate, swab people who may be infected with COVID-19.
The goal of this response team is to minimize the significant number of patients presenting themselves to primary care or the emergency department at Espanola Regional Hospital.
The COVID-19 paramedic response team is accessed by appointment only.
Individuals will be referred after the screening is done by: Telehealth Ontario, Public Health Unit Sudbury and Districts, Family Physician’s Office, Sagamok Wellness Centre, and Birch Island Health Centre.
If you have met the screening criteria, your health care provider will give you the number for the COVID-19 Assessment Centre phone line. You will be asked to leave a message as directed and follow the telephone prompts on the COVID-19 Assessment Line.
The Assessment Line will answer calls between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily (Monday to Friday) and the COVID-19 paramedic response team will run 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (seven days a week).
Individuals with general questions must not call the Espanola COVID -19 Assessment Centre. Instead, please visit Public Health Sudbury and Districts website, call your Primary Care Provider / Family Doctor or call Telehealth to be screened.
Individuals must meet the following criteria for an Assessment Centre appointment:
1. Symptoms: Fever (over 38 degrees Celsius) and/or cough (new or worsening)
2. Exposure history within the last 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms:
- Travel outside of Canada
- Had close interactions with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19
- Had close interactions with someone who has symptoms of COVID-19 who recently travelled outside of Canada.
There are two steps to be followed to receive an appointment at the Espanola COVID-19 Assessment Centre:
- Patients need to complete an assessment by telephone and will be triaged by a nurse from ERHHC.
- Patients triaged by the ERHHC nurse will be referred to the COVID-19 Paramedic Response Team who will contact them for an in-home assessment.
