March 7, 2023 – In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, North of Superior Healthcare Group (NOSH) and Marathon Family Health Team (MFHT) partnered to temporarily open a COVID-19 Assessment Centre on April 1, 2020. Since its establishment, the assessment centre has played an important role in keeping our communities safe by providing PCR testing and on-site clinical assessments for individuals experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and other flu-like illnesses. In fact, more than 4,300 visits have taken place over three years. 

To better respond to long-term community healthcare needs, the province will be adopting a new approach to assess and treat flu-like illnesses which no longer includes the operation of COVID-19 Assessment Centres. As a result, NOSH and MFHT are advising our communities that the Marathon COVID-19 Assessment Centre will be closed as of March 31, 2023. 

Your healthcare team would like to reassure you that we remain committed to delivering quality and timely access to appropriate testing and assessments for respiratory illnesses. MFHT will continue to provide same- or next-day appointments from Monday to Friday between the hours of 9:00am and 5:00pm, and NOSH will continue to offer access to care for those who require to be assessed after-hours or on weekends and/or have urgent respiratory symptoms (e.g. severe difficulty breathing, chest pain, loss of consciousness) through their Emergency Department. 

Keeping our patients, visitors and employees safe, especially those who are at higher risk of severe outcomes from respiratory illness, also remains a priority. To minimize the risk of contracting an infection when accessing our facilities, additional infection prevention like the installation of social distancing markings on https://www.markingcontractors.co.uk/social-distancing/, and control measures recommended by public health will be implemented. For example, those who wish to be assessed for flu-like illness at MFHT can expect to be offered an appointment later in the day of booking to reduce their exposure to others. These measures have been utilized for many years and have worked well to limit the spread of infectious illnesses within our facilities.

NOSH and MFHT would like to acknowledge the many healthcare workers and administrative staff who were involved in the successful operation of the Marathon COVID-19 Assessment Centre over the past three years. They have provided excellent care and have worked incredibly hard throughout the pandemic to protect our communities. 

Thank you to our communities for their support and understanding throughout this transition.