Province opens 14th urgent primary care centre in Okanagan

A new urgent and primary care centre (UPCC) has opened in Kelowna at 1141 Harvey Avenue.
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The centre will provide urgent primary care for Central Okanagan residents by a team of health-care providers, including doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers and office staff.

The B.C. government says the centre will serve two purposes:

– to provide care for people with non-life-threatening conditions who need to see a health-care provider within 12 to 24 hours, but don’t require an emergency department and who do not have or cannot access their family practitioner;

– to help attach patients to a regular primary-care provider.

To facilitate this, the centre will attach patients to health-care providers in the community in collaboration with the Central Okanagan Division of Family Practice. Unattached patients will be provided with ongoing wraparound care on an interim basis, while arranging for patients to be connected to other local practices for their care.

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Net new clinical staffing includes 22 full-time equivalent practitioners, including physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, respiratory therapists and physiotherapists, working together to provide team-based care for patients.

“The Kelowna UPCC will help connect more people in Central Okanagan communities with the health care they need, when they need it,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “Thousands of area residents who currently lack a primary-care provider will benefit from increased access to same-day appointments for urgent needs and ongoing primary care, as well being able to find a doctor or care provider for regular, ongoing primary care.”

The Kelowna UPCC is one of three centres now open in Interior Health, and among 14 in B.C.

Vernon’s UPCC opened in October 2019, and the Kamloops UPCC opened in June 2018.

Since opening, the Vernon UPCC has had 1,274 patient visits and the Kamloops UPCC has had 20,810 patient visits.

Dr. Doug Cochrane, board chair, Interior Health, says the new UPCC will make a big difference in the lives of Kelowna-area residents looking for local access to health-care services.

“By having an expert team of health-care professionals providing same-day care and facilitating attachment to primary-care practices, people will have better support for their immediate and long-term health-care needs.”

Dr. Michael Koss, physician lead, Central Okanagan Divisions of Family Practice says they are proud to be part of the opening of the new facility.

“This centre will strengthen primary care in our community, ensure patients have access to the health-care services they need and enable patients to receive longitudinal care by attaching them to a primary-care provider. We want to thank the Ministry of Health, Interior Health and First Nations partners for their work in bringing this UPCC to our community.”