Health Unit continues to offer range of services

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Strathmore Public Health Unit has remained open throughout the pandemic, continuing to offer a variety of health services to residents. Located at 650 Westchester Road, it provides numerous services for a range of health issues and demographic groups.

It provides vaccinations for people of all ages. Immunizations are free of charge for infants and children living in Alberta. The routine immunization schedule, which includes vaccines for such diseases as diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, rotavirus and hepatitis B, among others, can be found online (immunizealberta.ca). To book an immunization appointment only, dial 811 Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The office provides the Children’s Rehabilitation Program, which provides support services for children and youth who are not achieving their full abilities, due to an impairment or an environmental limitation. These supports focus on children and youth showing development delay, physical limitations, or have a medical or neurological limitation. The program targets speech and language development, fine and gross motor development, environmental adaptation, help attaining adaptive equipment and support for feeding concerns.

Adults with communication issues or swallowing disorders may seek help at the speech language pathology clinic at the health office. This service provides assessment and treatment for communication, fluency and swallowing disorders, as well as education.

The unit also houses the Growing Opportunities program, which provides prenatal and postpartum support. This program assists and supports at-risk pregnant women in creating healthy lifestyles for themselves and their babies. It provides nutritional supplements, counselling, education, resources and referrals to other community services. New mothers looking for support with breastfeeding can also visit the office for help.

Anyone with concerns about sexually transmitted infections can visit the clinic for STI contact tracing services. The clinic has also provided COVID-19 screening to clients in congregated living facilities.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Public Health Unit implemented extra sanitization, staff wearing personal protective equipment, screening at the point of entry into the facility and prior to visiting client homes, according to AHS spokesperson James Wood. All clients over two years of age coming to the site for services are provided a mask.

Furthermore, AHS strived to minimize the number of clients in the waiting room area and changed some processes so that use of the waiting room area was minimized and social distancing was implemented, he said. Some health concerns were also able to be addressed over the phone, versus in-person appointments.

The office remained open throughout the pandemic. 

“Some of the programs have redeployed their staff, some are working from home and others are providing services virtually (via Zoom),” said Woods, in a statement.

The office has always taken appointments and continues to do so, said Wood. The office is open 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, and remains open until 8 p.m. on alternate Thursdays, the next such date being July 8.