Throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for guidance, criteria and the demand for COVID-19 testing continuously evolved. With several organizations contributing to Ottawa’s COVID-19 testing strategy, members of the community — including parents, long-term care home visitors, essential workers and underserved populations — needed a clear and consistent source of information when it came to where to get a COVID-19 test, and who should get tested.
In September 2020, when demand for testing resulted in multiple hour line ups at assessment centres across Ontario, Santis Health was engaged to form and support Ottawa’s COVID-19 Testing Taskforce. The Taskforce — which is made up of Ottawa Public Health, local labs, the City of Ottawa, Community Health Centres, CHEO, The Ottawa Hospital, Queensway Carleton Hospital and Hôpital Montfort — coordinates COVID-19 testing efforts across the city.
Santis first met individually with key partners and players to better understand the existing communications challenges and to identify the best path forward. Working urgently to reduce confusion and frustration among the community, our team implemented the following initiatives:
Over the two-year engagement with Ottawa’s COVID-19 testing partners, Santis Health played an integral role in: