The Doctor Is In!

Thanks to the support of our community partners at the IWK Health Centre, the vulnerable youth who live in the HomeBridge Community now have access to a pediatrician, on-site at the Reigh Allen Centre. Dr. Tania Wong started seeing patients one day a week, over the summer and so far the response has been very positive. 

The young people can pre-schedule appointments with Dr. Tania Wong and she is also accepting patients on a walk-in basis when she is on site. We are hoping that this service will impact such outcomes as improved health care, prescription / medication reviews, early diagnosis for sexual health concerns, etc. and have already seen indicators that this is happening. On her very first day, Dr. Wong was able to adjust ADHD medications for a young man who has been without a doctor for 10 months.  He was heard yelling “yahoo” down the hall as he walked out of the appointment. She continues to have a steady stream of patients and was instrumental in making arrangements for a youth who recently came to us in need of medical attention.  The young woman arrived at the Reigh Allen Centre appearing to be severely malnourished and expressed concerns about ongoing health issues as a result of a still birth months before.  After being assessed by Dr. Wong, arrangements were made to have her admitted to the IWK.  This plan also included them setting up a family room so her brother and father could stay there as well and support her while she was treated.  There is no way to know how long this young woman would have waited for treatment had this resource not been in place, but we are extremely grateful to the IWK for this partnership.

When this opportunity was presented, we wanted to have this resource available as quickly as possible so we sourced all of the medical supplies needed and our Maintenance Team made adjustments to an existing office to convert it to a clinical space.  This allowed us to offer services while working on a permanent space.  This plan includes a modular unit being set up on the Reigh Allen Centre property and custom designed to include a clinical space for the doctor to meet with clients.  This new space should be move in ready by the end of September.