The Medical Arts Centre is Nanaimo is going to become an urgent and primary care centre.
It is the second such centre on Vancouver Island and will provide wraparound team-based care that will offer same-day appointments, extended hours of operation, and will provide focused rapid access and co-ordinated services for frail seniors and people in need of mild to moderate mental-health and substance-use treatment.
To that end, Adrian Dix, Minister of Health says it is expected there will be more than 14 new full-time equivalent health-care providers, including four doctors, in addition to registered nurses, mental health and substance-use clinicians, social workers, a pharmacist, and medical office staff.
“The full incremental cost, on top of what’s happening at the centre now, annually will be two point seven million dollars. The intention is to support an additional 25,000 patient visits including three thousand 300 visits for mental health and substance use concerns.”
The centre, on South Terminal Avenue in the Port Place mall, is expected to offer the full range of services in early June.
