It’s been one year since the Renfrew County Virtual Triage and Assessment Centre (RCVTAC) launched as a pandemic healthcare service. The service allows residents who do not have a family physician or cannot access their family physician to book a virtual physician assessment (for COVID-19 or non-COVID-19 concerns).
It also provides in-home assessments by a community paramedic when needed and operates COVID-19 drive-thru testing clinics across the County.
The Renfrew County Virtual Triage and Assessment Centre (VTAC) provides primary care and COVID-19 support for all residents and has helped reduce the demand in hospital emergency departments and through 911.
In the first year of operation, VTAC administered 42,000 COVID-19 tests, completed over 20,000 virtual family physician assessments and provided roughly 4,700 in home assessments by community paramedics.
VTAC launched on March 27, 2020 through a collaboration between Renfrew County Primary Care teams, the County of Renfrew Paramedic Service, Renfrew County Hospitals, and the Renfrew County and District Health Unit, with the support of Ontario Health East.
Dr. Jonathan Fitzsimon, the Medical Lead of VTAC and Chief of Medicine at Arnprior Regional Health says when VTAC was launched there was a great deal of uncertainty about the longer-term impact of the pandemic and where it would lead us, but our team knew we had to focus on ensuring residents had immediate access to care for urgent health concerns that are both related and unrelated to COVID-19.
Fitzsimon says as we work towards the end of the pandemic, we continue to support our communities’ healthcare needs and help ensure that emergency departments are reserved for genuine emergencies.
In the earlier days of VTAC, Melinda Ritza, Team Leader, Renfrew County Mobile Geriatric Day Hospital, shared how VTAC has impacted healthcare in the region.
“Since VTAC launched, I have referred numerous patients (including myself),” explained Melinda. “One patient I referred had just returned from outside of the country and was under quarantine when his foot became infected. Since he doesn’t have a family doctor, he connected with VTAC and the doctor easily assessed and treated his concern by phone. It’s an amazing and efficient service—perfect for non-urgent issues.”
In VTAC’s first year of operation, the team has:
- Administered almost 42,000 COVID-19 tests.
- Completed more than 20,000 virtual family physician assessments for patients without a family physician or for those who couldn’t reach their family physicians.
- Provided approximately 4,700 in-home assessments by community paramedics.
“As the pandemic has evolved, VTAC has scaled its COVID-19 services to respond to the local needs, such as the introduction of the drive-thru testing clinics led by the County of Renfrew Paramedic Service,” said Karen Simpson, Administrative Lead, VTAC and Executive Director, Arnprior & District Family Health Team. “Each of our partner organizations plays a critical role in VTAC’s success and we are guided by the shared goal of keeping residents safe and healthy.”
The VTAC organizations who actively support delivery of services include: Arnprior & District Family Health Team, Arnprior Regional Health, The County of Renfrew, The County of Renfrew Paramedic Service, Deep River and District Hospital, Madawaska Valley Family Health Team, Renfrew County and District Health Unit, St. Francis Memorial Hospital and Whitewater Bromley Community Health Centre.
Learn more at www.rcvtac.ca.
