The new location of the clinic in the city center will allow staff to see more patients, the organization says

Street Health, a Windsor health clinic serving vulnerable people, has a new location and staff say the new space could have a big impact on the clients they serve.

The clinic, formerly located at 711 Pelissier St., will open Monday as part of the medical center at 1200 University Avenue West.

“We have outgrown our center. So it gives us more space, it gives us bigger exam rooms and more exam rooms,” said executive director Nancy Brokenshire of Windsor-Essex Community Health Center, which operates the clinic and others.

The center no longer uses the Street Health name, but will serve the same clientele as before: like other provincially funded community health clinics, it serves low-income and vulnerable Windsor residents, including newcomers and people experiencing homelessness.

But now they will have much more space, Brokenshire said. This means more viewing rooms and space to add new services and more clients. She also says that although they moved just a short distance away, it is more accessible due to better access to the bus route.

The clinic offers primary care services, mental health counseling and support, and specialty care such as services for people with hepatitis C and diabetes.

The Avenue West University Clinic is further away from downtown and other services such as the Downtown Mission.

But Brokenshire says they’ve received a lot of positive feedback from customers – some saying it’s actually closer to them, she said, while others are happy it’s on a bus route.

Some of their teams also travel out of the building to other service providers, she added.

“We’ve outgrown that and now we have room to grow, so we’re excited to bring in more customers,” she said. “You don’t have to have an OHIP card to come here.

“Our staff is still seeing all of our clients and we are only five minutes away and still serving the same clients as before, but we have more space and we can keep them.”

Jessica Mazzara is a nurse practitioner who has worked at a community health center for over ten years. She says they have about 1,200 patients on their roster and with the new location they will be able to add more and get more services without an appointment.

“I think we’re all very excited. We are excited that our patients will have a beautiful, new, clean space to provide them with more services and access to the things they are looking for,” she said.

She says customers are also happy to have on-site parking and says the pharmacy, located in the same building, is “wonderful.”

Ditching the old name and branding will also help, she said.

“I think sometimes people were nervous about coming to our center because they assumed people thought they were homeless or at risk of homelessness and might just be one of our other vulnerable populations,” she said.

“I think there’s a bit of a stigma associated with the word street health, and this will allow people to come in and get primary care without feeling stigmatized by the name.”