The Ontario government is expanding services at the new health centre to help more people in the Bay of Quinte connect to care closer to home. /Todd Smith/X photo
The province says it’s expanding services at the Belleville and Quinte West Community Health Centre to help more people in the region connect to quality care closer to home.
Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Sylvia Jones echoed this message in a recent press release about the expansion, saying Ontario is continuing to make record investments to achieve this.
“This investment will expand services offered by the community health hub and is just one of the many steps our government is taking to connect families in the Bay of Quinte region to the care they need in their own community now and for years to come,” said Jones.
As part of this, according to Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith, the government will provide up to $5.9 million to support co-location of additional health-care services in the one-stop hub on Catherine Street in Trenton. Smith announced funding during an annual meeting in Quinte West.
The latest round of provincial support means the second phase of the Trenton satellite project will expand the health centre and enable more services, including allied health services, immunization services, health education, mental health and addictions support, and home and community care services, according to the province.
“Being able to finally complete the Trenton Community Health Hub is incredibly exciting,” said Sheila Braidek, executive director of the Belleville and Quinte West Community Health Centre.
“It means we are finally able to co-locate (the) VON (Victorian Order of Nurses’) adult day program, public health, and Canadian Mental Health Association with (the) Belleville and Quinte West Community Health Centre at 69 Catherine St. in Trenton.
“With that, we can turn our attention (to) more creative ways to service our community as a whole. We are delighted with this investment.”
As part of the first phase of the project, the province reports investing $14 million in 2020 to support construction of the 17,000 square-foot health hub, which is aimed at offering a broad range of services under one roof.
Advocates say with community-based partners all in one site, the hope is this will ensure a more convenient and connected continuum of care to meet patients’ evolving needs.
The MPP noted VON, public health and CMHA partners will join the CHC on the building’s lower level.
“Co-locating health-care providers centrally at the Belleville (and) Quinte West Community Health Centre’s hub in Trenton ensures more convenient access to care for Quinte West residents, and it allows more patient-centered collaboration among those providers,” said Smith, in the province’s release. “Coupled with our recent investments in Trenton Memorial Hospital next door, our government is delivering the expanded capacity this community needs.”
More information on the province’s Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care is available online.
Braidek called this announcement an important investment in infrastructure and leveraging resources to have the biggest impact on the community.
The health centre is described as a not-for-profit, community-based primary health organization that provides a wide range of programs and services to improve the health and wellbeing of residents.
(Written by: Sarah Hyatt)
