WINDSOR, ONT. -- The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, local primary care partners and hospitals are launching a new navigator tool to help residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 Population Health Navigator will be live on Tuesday, April 21.
“This tool is a welcomed innovation for Windsor-Essex and responsive to the needs of our community. To be able to walk through the self-assessment and quickly link to a local primary care provider is not only convenient but can relieve some stress for individuals during a traumatic time,” says Dr. Wajid Ahmed, Windsor-Essex medical officer of health.
Health unit officials say they continue to get calls and emails from residents looking for consultation regarding their symptoms and seeking access to healthcare.
The eHealth Windsor Essex website provides a one-stop shop for local residents to connect with a healthcare provider, attend a virtual walk-in clinic and/or check their symptoms for COVID-19.
The online tool will ask a series of questions about an individual’s symptoms, travel history and exposure, building from the COVID-19 case definition.
If a medical assessment is indicated based on the responses provided, individuals will be linked to a triage portal to arrange a same-day virtual medical assessment with a local primary care provider.
Dr. Jennifer Bondy, clinical lead for Erie-St. Clair COVID-19 Population Health Navigator will join Ahmed Tuesday during the WECHU’s Facebook live session to provide an overview and walk through of the new tool.
“One of the aims was for the Navigator to be a user-friendly tool that can help connect users with medical professionals for virtual visits on an as-needed basis,” said Bondy. “Ultimately, we hope that the expansion of the project will lead to a reduction in the volume of unnecessary visits to the emergency department and assessment centres, while at the same time, helping to streamline the delivery of care for members of our community.”
Cases in Windsor-Essex increased by 20 on Monday for a total of 482. Of those cases, 80 have recovered and 27 have died.
