Paramedics Launch COVID-19 Home Assessment Mobile Unit
Special to WC Online
LANARK COUNTY – Lanark County Paramedic Service (LCPS) Paramedics are teaming up with the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit to conduct in-home assessments and COVID-19 testing.
This mobile unit is dispatched to individuals living in long-term care facilities and retirement residences, as well as to those individuals who are isolated and have mobility challenges.
This service is available by contacting the Leeds, Grenville, & Lanark District Health Unit at 1-800-660-5853.
The goal is to help provide better access to testing and assessments for those high-risk individuals including seniors, the immunocompromised, people with underlying health conditions, and those with mobility issues. This service helps to reduce pressures on our 911 system as well as our local emergency departments.
“By assessing and testing these individuals in their home, we also help to reduce the spread of the virus within the community and help protect healthcare workers and other patients from unnecessary contact,” LCPS Chief Travis Mellema said.
This is just one example of how LCPS is working in collaboration with local healthcare partners to help manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Paramedics are also joining medical professionals from Almonte General Hospital and Carleton Place and District Memorial Hospital at the recently opened COVID-19 Assessment Centre at 75 Spring St. in Almonte. It includes a drive-thru swabbing centre for individuals who have been referred by their primary care physician or the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit.
“We are very proud that our Paramedics are able to provide these services to our community and work alongside our health care partners as we continue to meet the challenges ahead,” Mellema said.
“These initiatives are wonderful examples of how health care providers are coming together to support our local communities during this pandemic,” hospital president Mary Wilson Trider said.
As a reminder, if you are concerned about possible symptoms of COVID-19, please complete the online self-assessment tool at https://covid-19.ontario.ca/self-assessment/#q0 and follow the guidance provided. If further clinical assessment is advised, call your health care provider or the Health Unit. If you are having severe difficulty breathing or experiencing other severe symptoms, call 911 immediately.
