NiagaraThisWeek Article: New home for Community Health Centre

The countdown to moving day can now officially begin for the Niagara Falls Community Health Centre.

The centre announced $3.35 million in funding from the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care which will help the health care organization make the move from its current Queen Street home to its new permanent location in the former Canadian Tire store at 4790 Victoria Ave.

?It will be about three or four times the amount of useable space,? said Henri-Louis St-Martin, executive director for the Niagara Falls CHC. ?It?s about 17,000 square feet.?

But most important, St-Martin said, is that the new space will be completely accessible, adding it is something missing from the current space.

?Our programming space here is on the second floor. If someone uses a wheelchair, they can?t get here.?

The move has been on the books for about two years, St-Martin said, ever since the CHC signed an intent to lease agreement for the Canadian Tire property, now owned by Keefer Developments. But before the centre could make the move, they had to wait for Ministry approval. That approval finally came last week, St-Martin said.

?Sometimes the government can move a little slow,? St-Martin said with a smile.

With the funding, CHC can now move ahead with planning for the new facility, including things such as building design.

?It will be about two years, the early spring of 2015,? St-Martin said. ?It won?t be any longer than that.?

The CHC will lease the property for 15 years with an option to sign on for another 10.

The Niagara Falls announcement came alongside announcements by the province to fund a number of other CHCs across Ontario.

Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor called the announcement ?good news for Niagara Falls? and example of the government?s commitment to improving health care locally and across Ontario. By establishing a permanent site, the centre will be able to attract more health care professionals, he added.

?It means more people will be able to have access to health care services,? Craitor said.

In terms of the city, Craitor said the permanent home for the centre will be a nice bookend to the Niagara Health System?s new dialysis centre at the other end of the street.

?Then right in the centre you have the Family Health Team with a group of doctors,? Craitor said. ?None of this was here when I was first elected as an MP. It shows you how far the government has gone to provide health care services in Niagara Falls.?

St-Martin, meanwhile, agreed with Craitor, and said once in operation the new centre will be a magnet for new health care professionals, including two new doctors.

?We?ll be able to serve another 2,000 clients right there,? St-Martin said.

Currently, the Niagara Falls CHC boasts a staff of 23 and provides access to four doctors, two nurse practitioners, nurses, dieticians, social workers and a health promotion team.

Besides primary health care services, the centre also offers a wide range of programs, including support groups, diabetic foot care, fitness, nutrition and food preparation classes, smoking cessation workshops, community outreach programs for seniors and youth as well as mental health programs.

Information on programs offered at the centre is available on the centre?s website at www.nfchc.ca or by calling 905-356-4222.

Source: http://www.niagarathisweek.com/news/news/article/1600051

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