Size matters: sneak peek of Dynacare ‘super sites’

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This article was published 10/01/2020 (2403 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The first of Winnipeg’s new Dynacare laboratory “super sites” will open to patients seeking blood tests Monday, amid the controversial closure of 25 smaller facilities.

The lab at 1-515 Sterling Lyon Pkwy. will offer in-house services including blood collection and urinalysis. It will also accept throat swabs and stool samples, which will be sent to the company’s main lab on King Edward Street.

Leading up to its public opening, Dynacare provided members of the media a tour of its new state-of-the-art facility, equipped with 10 roomy collection stations and accessible washrooms.

“When we talk about patient care, we normally focus on the clinical elements of health care, but specifically, for the consolidation, it’s about improving the patient experience,” said Dr. Jenisa Naidoo, chief scientific officer, vice-president of clinical development and Dynacare’s Manitoba-based medical director.

That means spacious “super sites” with higher staffing levels to reduce wait times, extended hours to accommodate drop-ins and free parking for patients, Naidoo said.

Late last year, the Brampton, Ont.,-based private health-care company announced it was consolidating 25 of its Winnipeg labs to four larger sites, reducing the city’s total Dynacare roster to 31 labs.

The north, south and west regions of the city — areas where Naidoo said some sites were so close they were sharing parking lots while others were only 500 metres apart — are losing labs. Nothing has yet to be announced for the eastern area.

In response, critics raised concerns about the new sites being busier and more difficult to access for public transit users; the new sites will open within five kilometres of those that are expected to shutter.

Dynacare hasn’t wavered from its decision, touting the “super sites” for their ability to provide an “enhanced experience” for patients in the future. Naidoo said some patients have had to wait more than an hour for tests at the smaller sites. The goal, she added, is for the consolidated sites to shrink wait times to 20 minutes.

While the smaller sites currently house a minimum of one collection station, the “super sites” are home to at least eight. At the Sterling Lyon Parkway location, there are 11 stations.

During a media tour Friday, Dynacare contrasted the new site with older, smaller ones dispersed throughout the city. The photos of the smaller sites showed crammed waiting rooms and collection stations with aging furniture — a stark contrast to the bright, accessible facility in Seasons of Tuxedo.

Tour guide Marilee Kyle, manager of laboratory health services at Dynacare, said the new locations will also ensure staff have break rooms so they don’t have to take lunch in their cars.

The Tuxedo site will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, and 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturdays.

The other three sites, which are slated to open in Unicity, Garden City and St. Vital, will open in the coming weeks. The Winnipeg Clinic will also replace some of lab services lost by the Dynacare closures.

The opening dates are staggered with the closures of the smaller sites currently in operation.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie