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South Georgian Bay OHT News 

Local Organizations Invited to Add to Activity Calendar for Free


Local organizations are invited to add activities to the South Georgian Bay Recreation and Social Activities Calendar for Older Adults. The calendar connects older adults to local recreation or social activities to enhance social connections in their community.  

 

“What we’re hearing from older adults is that there are so many different organizational websites, each with their activities on them. This makes it overwhelming and difficult for them to figure out what is available in their community,” says Pam Hillier, Executive Director, 211 Community Connection. “We’re asking organizations to come together to make it really easy for older adults to find the activities they’re looking for.” 

 

In a recent survey conducted by 211 Community Connection, to help inform projects across Simcoe County aimed at connecting seniors to resources and supports, almost 80% of survey participants indicated that they are not as socially active as they would like to be. The majority of respondents wanted to see more opportunities for social/entertainment/games (58.7%), education/learning (58.6%), and exercise/sports (52.9%), but 43% felt they didn’t know where to find out about them. 

 

“Posting an activity or resource for older adults on the recreation and social activities calendar is a great way for organizations to get the information out into the community. It’s free, easy to use, and encourages older adults to get involved and active in their community,” says Sherry Teeter, Community Connection Project Lead, Reducing Senior Isolation. “This calendar makes it easy for older adults to find what they’re looking for because they can find a variety of activities happening in their local community both virtually and in-person all in one place.” 

 

 


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Seniors Survey First Step in Project Connecting Seniors to Social and Community Supports

 

Seniors and their caregivers are encouraged to take part in a survey to help inform a project across the county that aims to connect people to resources and supports to combat social isolation and allow them to become or stay involved in their communities in meaningful ways.

 

Community Connection, a Collingwood-based charity, is overseeing a five-year project, aimed at connecting isolated seniors with social activities and/or volunteer opportunities in their community enabling them to become or stay involved in their community in meaningful ways. The project is guided by a cross-sector leadership table of community members and service providers, including the South Georgian Bay Ontario Health Team (SGB OHT).

 

Seniors (55+) or their caregivers can access the survey by going to www.simcoesurvey.ca or by calling 705-444-0040 extension 246 to complete it over the phone. The survey will also be distributed through community organizations.

 

 


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Pop-Up Vaccine Clinics in Collingwood Make COVID-19 Vaccine Accessible to Residents

 

With vaccine coverage increasing and mass-immunization clinics ramping down, partners and supporters of the South Georgian Bay Ontario Health Team (SGB OHT), including the County of Simcoe, South Georgian Bay Community Health Centre, Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, and the Collingwood Fire Department went door-to-door in Collingwood in the past week to make the COVID-19 vaccine as accessible as possible to those not yet vaccinated and those needing their second dose.

 

“We’re all working together to make it as easy as possible for those few remaining unvaccinated people to have access to the vaccine,” says Dr. Harry O’Halloran, SGB OHT Chair. “The COVID vaccines are safe and extremely effective. They are the best way to keep our community safe, especially as children (who can’t yet be vaccinated) return to school.”

 

Fire trucks were parked on County of Simcoe managed properties and the Collingwood Fire department went door-to-door offering the vaccine and providing additional information to those who had questions. The pop-up clinics were possible thanks to the generators on those trucks, which kept the vaccines at the right temperature.

 

 


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A Collaboration between Service Providers in the South Georgian Bay Ontario Health Team Aims to Reduce the Impact of Poverty 

 

Thanks to a 3-year, $233,742 grant from United Way Simcoe Muskoka, the South Georgian Bay Ontario Health Team (SGB OHT) is beginning the work on a collaborative project to expand the community’s ability to more easily connect people who are struggling to meet their basic needs, to the services and supports they need.

 

“In the first year of the project, we are working on developing a shared technology platform to allow physicians, health care providers and also community service organizations to make electronic referrals to 2-1-1 for people who are impacted by the social determinants of health,” says Pamela Hillier, Executive Director of Community Connection.  “Like a physician prescribing medicine, this is social prescribing, a structured way of referring people to the broad range of local, non-clinical services such as food resources, transportation services, income supports or even social activities for those who are alone. With their basic needs supported, people can be more focused on their health and wellbeing. We are so thankful to donors in our communities who support the United Way Simcoe Muskoka, for making this work possible.” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Activity Calendar Connecting Seniors to Local Social Activities and Resources

 

To celebrate Seniors’ Month in Ontario, the South Georgian Bay Recreation and Social Activities Calendar for Older Adults has just launched. The calendar aims to connect older adults and seniors to local recreation or social activities and resources to enhance social connections in our community. COVID-19 restrictions have taken a significant toll on many, and older adults and seniors are particularly vulnerable to isolation during these unprecedented times. This online resource connects older adults and seniors with others in the community to reduce this isolation and promote health and wellness.

 

Cynthia Strandholt, Human Resources and Information Technology Manager at Bay Haven Care Community

 

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Volunteer Opportunities in the Community

Looking for volunteer opportunities in South Georgian Bay?

 

Volunteer opportunities in the community


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Our Development and Approval:

Area health organizations submit application to become Ontario Health team.

 

On Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, the South Georgian Bay Ontario Health Team (SGB OHT) planning table submitted its full application to the Ministry of Health towards becoming an Ontario Health Team.

 

Area health organizations submit application to become Ontario Health team


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‘Greater connectivity for patients’: Collingwood, Wasaga Beach area pegged for Ontario Health Team.

 

 

South Georgian Bay has been selected by the province as a region for one of 13 new Ontario Health Teams announced Nov. 18.

The South Georgian Bay Ontario Health Team is comprised of health and social-service organizations in Collingwood, the Blue Mountains, Wasaga Beach and Clearview Township.

 


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News Release (French and English)

COVID-19

Testing and information

COVID-19 Assessment centres and testing.

 

Simcoe Muskoka District Health Uniti

 


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COVID-19 test and testing location information

 

Ontario.ca

 

 


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COVID-19

vaccines

‘History in the making,’ several mass vaccination clinics open in Simcoe County.

 

March 1, 2021

BARRIE — Up to now, the only location able to deliver the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine was at the clinic on Sperling Drive, but on Monday, that all changed.

The mass vaccination clinic at the Holly Recreation Centre on Mapleton Avenue in Barrie officially opened its doors, one of several clinics now ready to offer the vaccine.

Simcoe Muskoka’s top doctor, Dr. Charles Gardner, calls the opening “a piece of history in the making.”

 


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COVID vaccine clinic opening at Collingwood Legion next week.

 

Feb 25, 2021

The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit is opening up community vaccination clinics starting next week for a limited number of residents and by appointment only. 

 


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Health unit plans launch of community vaccine clinics March 1.

 

Feb 23, 2021

The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit will be opening several clinics to offer the vaccines against COVID-19 to more groups in the community starting March 1. 

 


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COVID-19 vaccine clinics open across Simcoe Muskoka as lockdown takes effect.

 

March 1, 2021

Mass COVID-19 immunization clinics are opening across Simcoe County and Muskoka on Monday as the region locks down for the third time since the start of the pandemic.

 


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About 700 doses of COVID vaccine given in Collingwood this week.

 

Mar 5, 2021 

By end of day tomorrow, Collingwood’s drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinic will have given about 700 doses of vaccine to area residents.

The first 222 of those were given during a snowstorm.

The local clinic, which already operates as a COVID-19 assessment site, started administering vaccines on Monday, March 1 in blizzard conditions.

 


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Ontario Pharmacies and Primary Care Settings to Begin Offering COVID-19 Vaccinations.

 

Mar 10, 2021 

Phased Expansion Continues as the Province Approaches One Million Vaccines Administered

 


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Province sending AstraZeneca to primary care providers in Simcoe Muskoka.

 

Mar 10, 2021 

Simcoe-Muskoka region will be getting some of the province’s 194,500 doses of the AstraZeneca/COVISHEILD vaccine against COVID-19 by Saturday. 

The Ontario government announced today the local region is one of six regions in the province that will be part of a pilot project involving primary care professionals administering the AstraZeneca vaccine. 

 


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Ontario unveils details of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine pharmacy pilot.

 

Mar 10, 2021 

Eligible Ontarians aged 60 to 64 in three public health units will be able to book an appointment for the Astrazeneca COVID-19 vaccine at a pharmacy starting on Friday.

The Ministry of Health says more than 325 pharmacies in Toronto, Windsor-Essex and Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (KFLA) are participating in a pilot program to administer 194,500 doses of the vaccine.

 


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Eligible residents receive first doses of AstraZeneca vaccine in Collingwood.

 

March 12, 2021

Residents between 60 and 64 rolled up in their vehicles and rolled up their sleeves for their shot at the Collingwood Legion drive-thru clinic.

Health Canada authorized the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for people over 18, and Ontario approved the vaccine to be given to residents 60 to 64.

 


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Here’s a video tour of the Collingwood and Wasaga drive-thru vaccine clinics.

 

Mar 14, 2021 

Appointment holders never have to leave their car to get their COVID-19 vaccines at these two local clinic locations

 


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COVID Home Monitoring Program

South Georgian Bay’s COVID -19 Home Monitoring Program Enables Patients to Safely Recover at Home.

Jan 29, 2021

Home Monitoring Program is an important tool to prevent “silent hypoxia” and enable quick medical intervention

To better support residents in South Georgian Bay who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and are recovering at home, the South Georgian Bay Ontario Health Team (SGB OHT) has launched a Home Monitoring Program to care for high-risk patients with suspect or confirmed COVID-19.

 


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New monitoring program keeps close tabs on COVID patients at home.

 

Feb 2, 2021

COLLINGWOOD, ONT. — Health care teams in South Georgian Bay use a new monitoring program to keep close tabs on high-risk COVID-19 patients who have gone home.

The program is a cooperative effort between the Collingwood General and Marine Hospital, the Georgian Bay Family Health Team and the London Health Sciences Centre to prevent the dangers of silent hypoxia in patients who tested positive for the virus.

 


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