Primary care is coming to an area near you.
The Windsor-Essex Community Health Centre has celebrated its 10-year anniversary with the launch of a mobile unit.
It's a 38-foot bus equipped staffed by nurse practitioners, social workers, and equipped with a full examination room.
The goal is to provide primary care to people in downtown Windsor and Essex County.
Health Centre Executive Director Rita Taillefer says the bus has been on the road for two weeks and hopes it will grant access to care for people who face barriers.
"The first two weeks were just getting out to the community to talk to people to see what they need, where they need it, we already had an ideas and we found out that what we had in mind was pretty close to what was needed but it was also the staff who are going to work on the unit to get used to the unit, to get used to the area," says Taillefer.
She says the unit also allows for privacy for its clients.
"At the front of the mobile unit is a private secure room where you can speak to a counsellor, you can speak to a navigator, someone who will tell you what services are available or refer to community partners," says Taillerfer.
There is also a full examination room, which Taillefer says can be accessed right on the bus, "Where a nurse practitioner or physician can provide the services that you need right then, right there so there will be no need for people to go somewhere else to get their care."
Taillefer says the mobile unit is unique in southwestern Ontario and it was funded through the Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) at a cost of $250,000.
— With files from AM800's Rob Hindi