April 8, 2021 Vol. 21, No. 14
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Vaccination Clinic At Harrowsmith Free Methodist Church For Patients Of Sydenham, Verona Medical Centres By Jeff Green on't say snow,” said Amanda Antoine last Wednesday morning (March 31), “there will be no snow tomorrow.”
“D
Antoine is not a meteorologist. She works at the Verona Medical Centre, and had spent 5 days on the phone, talking to every patient of the clinic who is over 70 about attending a vaccination clinic on Thursday (April 1) at the Harrowsmith Free Methodist Church. (HMFC) People had been receptive to her calls. “Many of the people I talked to, the majority of them, had already been vaccinated or already had made an appointment to be vaccinated. Among those who hadn't, just about all of them were happy to get the vaccine in our own community this week,” she said. Dr. Sabra Gibbens, who heads the Verona Centre, said that the exercise of calling all those patients was worthwhile in itself. “We needed to know where they were at, with the vaccine, and how they were doing, and they appreciated hearing from us as well. But it was a lot of work for Amanda, and of course all of the other work of the clinic had to be carried on at the same time as these calls were being made. People have other medical needs, that never goes away. Fortunately, apart from a lazy flake or two, the predicted snow on Wednesday night into Thursday morning did not come to pass. At 9:30am, the church parking lot was full. Specialists from the Strathcona Centre mass clinic had started arriving, two hours earlier, to prepare almost 300 doses of Pfizer vaccine, and other Strathcona staff, and other public health and paramedic services personnel, arrived steadily over the next two hours, to organise the clinic. Volunteers were still arriving at 9:30 to get their assignments and be ready for when the first patient was set to arrive at 10am. This was the first pop-up mobile clinic that the Strathcona crew had set up, and it took some quick thinking and organising to get everything ready. Safety protocols were in place and patients who arrived for their appointments, no more than 10 minutes early as per instructions, were welcomed into the gym, at the church, for their injections. As people arrived, Dr. Gibbens said, “it is quite something. These are my people, the people I care for, and after a year at home waiting, to see them get a vaccine that will provide them a path back to their normal lives is a really
RN Meredith Prikker, Amanda Antoine, Dr. Sabra Gibbons prior to the vaccination clinic at the Harrowsmith Free Methodist Church. Tamworth Medical Centre as well,” said Prikker. big deal.” Dr. Gibbens said that “my instinct, when I heard that the The clinic was co-sponsored by the Verona and Sydenham Medical Centres. Meredith Prikker, a nurse at the Sydenham vaccine had been approved, was to get some right away Centre, had organised patients from Sydenham, in a pro- and get out to my patients’ homes and give them injections, cess that was similar to the one that took place in Verona. but this vaccine is not like that. There is an adage, if you She also made the arrangements with the Free Methodist want to do something fast, do it yourself, but if you want Church, which the Sydenham Medical Centre used as the to make a difference over a long time, you have to work with others. This is a long-term thing: vaccinating everyone location for flu shots clinics last fall. “It took a lot of coordination, a lot of phone calls, to get in the community. We need to work together, with Public this done. The church is always very supportive and, in the Health doing a lot of coordinating, to make it happen. And end, we were able to offer up the clinic to patients from the it takes time.”
South Frontenac Breaks Ground On New Multiuse Facility Run Down Of Municipal Service Changes As The Result Of New Province-Wide Restrictions
Pic (L>R): Standing, with shovels, Deputy-Mayor Leonard (holding pic of Tim Leprade, Recreation Director), Rep from Wemp & Smith, the construction company, Mayor Vandewal, & Councillor Revill. Flanking them are Stocksport Club members, Paul, Walter and Kevin.
O
n April 1st, a brief ground-breaking ceremony at Harrowsmith Centennial Park celebrated the beginning of construction for a new South Frontenac Multi-use Facility.
Initiated by the SF Stocksport Club, the project will also house the weekly South Frontenac Farmers' Market, and be available for other community events and gatherings. The
current project is expected to be completed in June. Mayor Vandewal, in welcoming this new resource, said the plan was to eventually roof the paved area and add other amenities, as funds become available. Due to Covid and the chill weather, the event was brief, masked and participants were spaced apart as far as possible for their picture. ■
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The Township of North Frontenac has closed facilities to the public, until further notice. This includes the following facilities: municipal office, community halls, Ompah Library. Staff will be working regular scheduled hours and are available via the telephone or email. Also, the municipal office has a mail slot available at the front entrance to the office. The Township of Central Frontenac municipal office will remain closed until the provincial restrictions have been lifted and it is deemed safe to reopen. Township staff will be reporting for work, and will be available via phone 613-279-2935, or by email, to assist with inquiries, garbage bags purchases, permit applications & payments, deliveries and on-site matters. Documents and applications can still be submitted online or by dropping off at the drop box at the municipal office. All in person meeting requests, for staff, will be attempted through a web base format (ZOOM, WebEx). Waste sites will still be open as normal, however. Safe-
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