Better health care sooner for intravenous clients as program launches centralized service in new location
Winnipeg Regional Health Authority
Published Tuesday, December 18, 2019
The Community Intravenous program (CIVP) has consolidated their service at Misericordia Health Centre (MHC). As part of the Healing Our Health System plan, the program relocated and began serving clients on November 28, 2018. The move better supports CIVP to bring together an inter-professional team of infectious disease physicians, nurses, pharmacists and administrative staff to care for clients in one place.
By bringing all areas of the program together, staff can work more collaboratively and efficiently to address clients' needs. The new location also provides on-site diagnostic imaging and lab services that weren't available at their previous sites.
"Centralizing services at Misericordia Health Centre will bring all areas of this valuable service together in one place at the same time, improving the client experience while allowing the program the potential to better accommodate a greater number of clients," said Health, Seniors and Active Living Minister Cameron Friesen. "This move will further enhance the program's effectiveness in reducing the number of scheduled visits to emergency and urgent care departments."
Benefits of the new location include:
- Improved and increased physical space for treatment areas for specialized care needs, including additional private exam rooms and an isolation room
- Access to diagnostic imaging and lab services available at MHC; which may prevent return visits to an emergency department or urgent care
- More accessible to clients while remaining in a central location; increased parking and access to bus routes
- Close to infectious disease clinics where most referrals come from (HSC Winnipeg and St. Boniface Hospital)
"Moving to MHC has enabled the program to move towards a centralized hub model, which is more efficient for staff and clinicians and ultimately will provide better health care sooner for the clients we serve," said Gina Trinidad, chief health operations officer, Continuing Care and Community. "We are actively working with MHC, a provider of specialized ambulatory programs, as it delivers this important Home Care service to the community."
As part of the Home Care program, CIVP helps people who need antibiotics intravenously (by vein) in their home or at an on-site clinic. The program also offers a satellite infusion clinic at ACCESS Transcona.
