Health-care facilities in Sooke will come together in a centralized location, it was revealed Thursday.
The province announced Thursday that the West Coast Family Medicine Clinic will soon leave the Evergreen Centre and move its operation, as well as several other community services, into a single centralized location at a new development that is underway at 6671 Wadams Way.
The new site will be home to what officials are calling an integrated health-care centre, a facility that will offer everything from primary care to mental health and substance-use services and will work within the Western Community Primary Care network. Health professionals available at the centre will include family doctors, nurse practitioners and registered nurses.
“This new integrated health-care facility will connect people in the community to a range of health-care services, including primary care, urgent care and community health services all under one roof,” said Minister of Health Adrian Dix.
Just a door down from the proposed site is the Sooke Child, Youth & Family Care centre as well as the Sooke Health Unit. The Family Centre acts as a gateway for people in need of counselling, prenatal support and a licensed preschool, as well as other programs that support families.
It isn’t clear when the West Coast Family Medicine Clinic will pack its bags and move to the new location, but a spokesperson from from the municipality says construction is projected on the site is expected to finish by 2025.
The province hopes by offering a range of health-care services from a single location with extended hours, it can meet growing demand in the Sooke region, which already has a high rate of use.
In 2020, an earlier round of funding was given to the town’s medical clinic to expand its services and hire two new doctors and three nurses.
RELATED 2020 ARTICLE: Provincial government announces expanded primary health care facility in Sooke
If you live in Sooke, you might be familiar with the address 6671 Wadams Way, also known as “Lot A.”
It sits directly across from the proposed new integrated health centre.
The 2.1-hectare area is a part of the municipal government’s push to redesign the town’s centre into a bustling, pedestrian-friendly one-stop-shop. Just last year, The Vancouver Island Regional Library opened up a new library in the area.
Roger Collins
