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One-stop medical shop
Post office sale nears completion

By Herb Mathisen
Northern News Services
Published Tuesday March 24, 2009

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Where you could once get a movie and a haircut, you will soon be able to get an x-ray and a flu shot, as Yellowknife's new consolidated clinic will be housed in the lower level of the former Panda II Mall.

The clinic is slated to open in January 2010.

From flicks to flu shots: the former Panda II Mall will become the home of Yellowknife's downtown consolidated clinic, scheduled to open in January 2010. The new super-clinic will mean the Gibson Medical Clinic, the Family Medical Clinic and the Great Slave Community Health Clinic will shut down. - Herb Mathisen/NNSL photo

Les Harrison, director of social programs with the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority, said the clinic space will be on the entire first floor of the building – where long-time Yellowknife businesses like Shoppers Drug Mart and Choice Video used to be located – with the intention of speeding up community access to health services.

"Our goal for this clinic is we will have a defined walk-in period, probably the afternoon and the evening, but we are also looking at same-day access," he said, meaning patients could call in the morning for an appointment and get into the clinic later that day.

The clinic will be open some evenings and also for specific times on Saturdays, he said.

Not only will hours be extended, but the clinic will house diagnostic imaging services such as X-ray, ultrasound, bone densitomitry; an electro-cardiograph machine and a lab.

Many of these services are currently offered exclusively at Stanton Territorial Hospital.

"Now we'll have that service at Stanton and that service downtown," Harrison said, adding Stanton staff will still be providing the service.

As well, family counselling services will be moved into the clinic, along with some home care services. There will also be room made for dietitians.

The new super-clinic will mean the closure of the three downtown clinics – Gibson Medical Clinic, Great Slave Community Health Clinic and the Family Medical Clinic. Staff and services will move over to the consolidated clinic.

The Frame Lake Clinic will remain open.

"All of our services will be provided out of Frame Lake Clinic and this primary health care clinic downtown."

Harrison said because the transitional phase in the move from three clinics to one will require them to meet the deadlines they have in place, he could not say if the three downtown clinics would close in January 2010.

He said, however, the health authority is looking to expand services at the Frame Lake Clinic to better serve clients in that area.

Harrison said some home care and mental health services could be offered out of the Frame Lake clinic.

Health officials are also hoping the new clinic will decrease stresses put on Stanton's emergency services.

"One of the goals behind this project is to decant some of the service demand at emergency," he said.

"If we can provide more access to people in the community, we can help reduce the pressure of the emergency room at the hospital."

The Department of Public Works and Services put out a tender for building space last fall and the government will be leasing the downtown property from Northern Property REIT.

Presently, the clinic is in its design phase, said Harrison.

"That is expected to end sometime in May or June," he said, adding construction would then begin, with its opening set for January 2010.

Harrison did not say what the new clinic will cost.