Ottawa,September 21, 2020 - As the next step in the regional response to COVID-19, Hôpital Montfort will soon open a COVID-19 Care Clinic in Orléans. Its services will be similar to those available at the COVID-19 Care Clinic on Heron Road, which is also managed by Montfort.

The clinic will be located in one of the skating rinks of the Ray Friel Recreation Complex, 1585 Tenth Line Road.

This location was chosen after evaluating several sites in Orléans based on a number of criteria, such as the need for a safe environment, the size of the available space, the accessibility of the site for people with reduced mobility, the proximity of public transit services, free parking, the scope of the redevelopment work required, rental costs, etc.

A new door will be added to the Ray-Friel Recreation Complex to allow people who come to the clinic to enter and leave without any contact with people using the other services of the recreation complex, which will remain open. The access to the rest of the complex will be blocked off for patients of the clinic. The ventilation system for this skating rink will be independent and completely separate from the rest of the complex. 

The new care clinic should open by mid-October at the latest, as the ice of the skating rink must first be allowed to melt before work inside the Ray-Friel Complex can begin. The clinic's operating hours and the possibility of making an appointment at a specific time, if possible, will be confirmed later.

The clinic’s function will be to provide COVID-19 testing and respiratory assessments for people with symptoms of respiratory illness – cough, fever and cold-like symptoms – that can’t be managed at home. Adults and children as young as six months of age will be able to receive care and be tested for COVID-19.

Offering services in English and French, this clinic will be equipped to do basic diagnostic tests, such as COVID-19 swabbing, chest X-rays and lab tests. It will help Ottawa-area patients get the care they need. It will also serve to divert patient volumes from hospital Emergency Departments – helping to keep the Emergency Department for emergencies.

The site will be operated by staff and physicians from Montfort, as well as primary care physicians.

Ottawa residents can also get tested at the COVID-19 Assessment Centre, located in the Brewer Arena, or at the COVID-19 Drive-Through Assessment Centre on Coventry Road. In addition to the COVID-19 Care Clinic on Heron Road, there is also another COVID-19 Care Clinic in the West side, on Moodie Drive.