North Grenville COVID-19 Assessment Centre transitioning to DIY Collection Centre

DECEMBER 22, 2021 – Effective December 23, 2021, the North Grenville COVID-19 Assessment Centre (NGCAC) is transitioning from a testing centre to a DIY (‘Do It Yourself’) Collection Centre.

Patients requiring testing will still need to make an appointment. On arrival at the NGCAC, they will be screened by a physician to ensure they meet current eligibility for testing before receiving a test kit. After performing the PCR test in their car, patients will drop it off with a nurse and receive post-test instructions.

Eligibility for COVID-19  testing is set out by the province. To summarize, eligible people are those with symptoms, high risk contacts of positive cases (whether they have symptoms or not), people who have tested positive on a rapid test (regardless of symptoms), and people who are household members of a positive case. For details see https://covid-19.ontario.ca/covid-19-test-and-testing-location-information

The decision to make this transition was taken by the management of the NGCAC to keep its staff safe. Medical Director, Dr. Suzanne Rutherford, explained:  “By transitioning to a DIY Collection Centre, we will be minimizing the face-to-face interactions with patients and limit the exposure risk for our team. The safety of our staff is paramount.”

The management of the NGCAC also operate a site in Stittsville, Ontario, which has recently made the same transition from COVID-19 assessment and testing to DIY Collection Centre. “We have been running this system successfully in Stittsville and we are confident the transition will be just as successful in Kemptville,” said Rutherford.

“Now more than ever,” concluded Dr. Rutherford, “it is important that people who are most likely to have COVID-19 (those with symptoms and those with exposure) get a test within a timely manner. As always, we’d like to thank the public for doing their part by washing their hands, wearing a mask, getting vaccinated and isolating and testing when they are sick.”

About the North Grenville COVID-19 Assessment Centre

The North Grenville COVID-19 Assessment Centre is a community-based collaboration of five partners: Rideau Crossing Family Health Centre; the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit; the Municipality of North Grenville; Leeds Grenville Paramedic Service; and Kemptville District Hospital. The Assessment Centre is located at 15 Campus Drive (Bell Hall on the Kemptville Campus) in Kemptville, Ontario. The partners designed the centre to be as efficient as possible, to minimize wait times for patients and families, and to minimize disruption on the Kemptville Campus, which is home to several schools and other organizations. https://ngcac.ca/

To book an appointment: https://portal.healthmyself.net/northgrenvillecovid19assessmentcentre/guest/?fbclid=IwAR02keRlVlP2Lm9r0wcAEvta2uQ1uPZCTfqFUWTis09_89KM0peIiHlGPH8#/1do/book/type

Patients wishing to contact the centre following testing may send an email to ngcac@kdh.on.ca.