Healthcare staff had a sneak peek at Richmond’s first ever community health centre, which is due to open later this year.
Cardboard cut-outs of where walls and fixtures may be located were placed around the 27,000-square-feet of space in a refurbished, three-storey building on the corner of Alderbridge Way and Lansdowne Road.
Between 120 and 150 staff turned out last week to get their first look at the new building and give feedback to architects on how best to fit the building out before it goes into operation.
“We’re going to keep moving these walls…and we’ll collate the feedback (from the staff) and adjust the walls again,” Jennifer MacKenzie, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) Richmond’s chief operating officer, told the Richmond News.
MacKenzie added that VCH was considering other potential sites last year, but the one they chose was the best option due to its City Centre location.
Richmond is one of the few Lower Mainland communities without a CHC (community health centre).
When fitted out, it will complement the new home of the Richmond Adult and Older Adult Mental Health Teams and the Anne Vogel Clinic, both of which opened last summer (The Anne Vogel Clinic provides assessment/treatment and primary care for people dealing with opiate dependence).
However, given the restricted space, it’s unlikely Richmond’s CHC will be in a position to deliver as wide a range of healthcare services that other such facilities offer across the region.
VCH Richmond said last year it received dedicated project funding and approval of $16 million — plus operating costs — for the new CHC, although the extra costs, say VCH, are largely transferable via the shifting of services from one location to another.
Other community health centres in the region host primary care and are often a one-stop shop for health providers, including social workers, physios, OTs (occupational therapists), home and community care workers.
The building in Richmond, however, doesn’t have the capacity to provide all of that.
The new CHC, added MacKenzie last year, will increase VCH Richmond’s ability to bring complimentary programs and services together under one roof.
Although many services will remain at VCH Richmond’s headquarters at 8100 Granville Avenue, the new CHC will provide a second service hub; allowing Richmond to develop community-based services, with the hope of taking some pressure off the likes of hospitals, doctors’ offices and medical clinics.
According to VCH, the services at the new CHC will also focus on the care required by vulnerable populations.
With a file from Alan Campbell/Richmond News
