June 17, 2004

BRANDON—Brandon’s new Seventh Street Health Access Centre, which provides expanded access to enhanced health and social services, was officially opened today by Healthy Living Minister Jim Rondeau.

“This innovative centre offers a one-stop centre for co-ordination and provision of medical care, public health and social services because they are now under one roof,” Rondeau said. “The Seventh Street Health Access Centre offers evening and weekend hours in a downtown location providing an under-serviced patient base access to care and taking pressure off the city’s emergency room.”

Located in downtown Brandon, the Seventh Street Health Access Centre is open from noon to 8 p.m.

Medical services will be fully operational Aug. 3 when a recruited family doctor begins practicing from the access centre. In addition, the facility also offers a wide range of other programs which include:

·         mental health services;

·         child and family services;

·         addictions counselling;

·         public health services;

·         travel health;

·         sexually transmitted infections/hepatitis C/HIV program;

·         Healthy Beginnings, a Healthy Baby program;

·         the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program; and

·         public access computers, telephones and voice mail.

“This is an opportunity for us to demonstrate the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary team setting, a concept that is not entirely new to us, but for the first time in Brandon,” said Carmel Olson, chief executive officer of the Brandon Regional Health Authority. “This team, including family practice physician services, as well as professionals from other organizations such as the Addictions Foundation and Child and Family Services, highlights our long-standing partnerships with these organizations.”

Primary health care extends beyond the traditional health sector and includes all services that play a part in addressing all factors that affect health such as social services, housing and education.

“Brandon residents can get access to a variety of services from critical supports for families and children in crisis, to help preparing income tax returns,” said Family Services and Housing Minister Christine Melnick. “Services are being delivered with the patient and client in mind and the people who designed this access centre should be congratulated for developing this cutting-edge model of care.”

The Seventh Street Health Access Centre was developed through a partnership among the Brandon Regional Health Authority, Manitoba Health, Manitoba Family Services and Housing, Child and Family Services of Western Manitoba and the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba.

The cost of developing and operating the centre over the first three years is $1.36 million and is funded by the federal government through the Primary Health Care Transition Fund.

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