Walk-in clinic transforms into COVID-19 testing site

Clinic transforms into testing site From CTV Kitchener's Nicole Lampa: A Waterloo clinic was able to transform into a COVID-19 testing site at the start of the pandemic.

KITCHENER — Quick thinking and a passion to give back to the community helped turn a Waterloo walk-in clinic into a COVID-19 testing site in just a few days.

Rex Mohamed, team lead at the KW4 COVID Assessment Centre, knew at the start of the pandemic he had to help out.

"I've seen my parents have acted and worked hard during SARS time and I've seen how they set up assessment centres in Markham and Scarborough area and I said 'We can do this,'" he explained.

"It became obvious that the Centre for Family Medicine could help collaborate with Rex and his Westmount clinic," said Dr. Joseph Lee, the lead physician at the assessment centre.

Dr. Heather Dixon, operational lead at the centre, said it was a crazy time back at the start of the pandemic.

"Many of us came together on short notice and we worked together as a team to open the KW4 COVID Assessment Centre," she said.

The centre was set up in a week and soon offered free transportation for patients who needed a COVID-19 test. That service was available for people who didn't have their own vehicles or felt their symptoms prevented them from taking a taxi or public transport.

"We decided, why not? This is the perfect chance to give back to the community and we came up with the transport idea," driver Afreen Mohamed said.

The transportation is now available at all of Waterloo Region's COVID-19 assessment sites.

The collaborative team effort at KW4 made all staff feel stronger while working together.

"There's no hierarchy of any kind," nurse lead Jennifer Lawrence said. "We're all in this together, we all have a common goal."

Last month, KW4 and public health partnered to provide a remote monitoring service to help COVID-19 patients recovering in their own homes.