Client Feedback
If you receive health services from a doctor or nurse practitioner at our Centre and want to complete our Client Satisfaction Survey, click here. If you have any feedback, concerns or questions about the care you receive from any of our providers, please include these in the survey. For time-sensitive matters, please contact Andra Ashton, Clinical Manager at (705) 422-1888, or email andra.ashton@sgbchc.ca.
Indigenous, Francophone and 2S-LGBTQ+ Services
For a list of local Indigenous services, programs and resources, please contact the Barrie Area Native Advisory Circle (BANAC). *BANAC now covers the areas of Simcoe County, Muskoka, and the northern York Region.
For services available in French, please contact Céleste Lalonde, the North Simcoe Muskoka French Language System Navigator located at Chigamik Community Health Centre. For more information, click here.
The South Georgian Bay Community Health Centre is dedicated to creating an inclusive space for 2S-LGBTQ+ individuals and has taken part in the Safer Spaces program – providing staff with the current knowledge on inclusive environments and accessible programs and services for the 2S-LGBTQ+ community. For more information on the Safer Spaces program, click here. For information about 2S-LGBTQ+ programs and services available in Simcoe County, please visit www.gilbertcentre.ca.
Preparing for a Virtual Visit?
For a list of tips to help you prepare for your upcoming virtual visit, click here.
Primary Care with a Physician
Our physicians provide comprehensive care, diagnosis and management of individuals and families in our community. Some of their duties include:
- Diagnose and treat disease
- Prescribe medications
- Provide hospital duties and home visits
- Provide team expertise
- Review labs/x-rays/ultrasounds/CT scans and consultation notes
- Refer clients to specialists
- ODSP forms/insurance forms
- Medical and legal responsibility for care that involves direction from a MD
Primary Care with a Nurse Practitioners (NP)
Our nurse practitioners (NP) provide one-on-one primary care, prescribe medications (excluding Benzo’s and Narcotics), and offer health promotion advice on good health practices for clients of all ages. Additionally they:
- Present programs to the community, which promote healthy living and preventative care
- Facilitate further referrals
- Order and review labs and diagnostic tests
- Provide primary care to clients
- Communicate with team if client is not in scope of practice.
- Provide acute and chronic disease self-management and disease prevention.
- Refer clients to specialists.
- Perform physicals
- Order tests (labs, bone mineral density)
- Seek consultation/support from physicians, when needed, with regards to practice issues outside the legislated scope of practice
Clinic Appointments with a Nurse
Nurses will see clients for many reasons including: immunizations, injections, blood pressure monitoring, well-woman examination, well-baby examination, preventative testing, education, follow-up appointments, assisting with medical paperwork, etc. They are the primary contact for system navigation and care coordination. They are the liaison with community services to ensure continuity of care. Nurses can give medications but they do not prescribe. They run programs, triage calls and support the doctors and nurse practitioners in appointments.
Wellness Appointments with a Registered Dietitian
Nutrition plays a significant role in many major health issues such as high cholesterol, heart disease, and diabetes. Our registered dietitian works with individuals, groups and families to support healthy eating for a variety of dietary needs such as chronic disease management, healthy weight management, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), and other dietary concerns. Our dietitian provides individualized nutrition assessments and uses science-based information to help clients reach their nutrition and lifestyle goals. Our dietician also connects clients to local food sources and works closely with the medical team at the CHC to ensure clients receive collaborative care. Our dietician is also a certified diabetes educator and supports individuals living with pre-diabetes and diabetes.
Diabetes Education
The South Georgian Bay Community Health Centre has two certified diabetes educators – a registered nurse and a registered dietitian. Our diabetes educators provide counselling, monitoring, education and enable self-management skills to clients regarding diabetes for newly diagnosed clients and those seeking ongoing treatment. The registered nurse can also assess client’s health status and recommend medication changes. The diabetes educators facilitate groups and presentations within the community and at the Centre, that focus on health, wellness, self-management and diabetes education.
Mental Health and System Navigation
Our social workers and psychotherapists provide individual and group counselling, client assessments, and cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), and system navigation. They are the community connection for a variety of health services (referrals to community resources) and consult with providers to ensure the best care plan is provided. Our social workers and psychotherapists also lead health promotion groups in the community including wellness, self-management, anxiety and depression groups.
Smoking Cessasion
The Smoking Treatment for Ontario Patients (STOP) Program provides smoking cessation treatment and counselling support to people across the province who want to quit. Clients at the SGBCHC can access the STOP program through a referral from their doctor or nurse practitioner. Clients work with a Registered Nurse to develop a smoking cessation plan and receive Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). NRTs are the most commonly used family of quit smoking medications as they reduce withdrawal feelings by giving you a small controlled amount of nicotine, but none of the other dangerous chemicals found in cigarettes. This small amount of nicotine helps satisfy your craving for nicotine and reduces the urge to smoke.