LifeLabs officially opened its new lab in the Rizzardo Health & Wellness Centre on Tuesday, bringing laboratory and diagnostic services to Innisfil.
“We’re very pleased to be joining as one of the services in what is still a very new health facility,” said Chris Carson, senior vice president of partner relations.
He noted that the new LifeLabs office is the seventh in the Barrie-Innisfil area, and will help handle a share of the area’s nearly quarter-million patient visits last year.
“We saw a lot of growth in the Innisfil area, and for some time have been looking for an opportunity to expand our services here,” Carson said. “It reduces wait times for the whole area, as we have more and more access points.”
LifeLabs coast-to-coast performed more than 112 million laboratory tests in 2017, including blood, heart-monitoring, genetic and other testing, connecting with physicians and patients digitally.
“It can be a real one-stop shop for patients,” said Carson, as he welcomed Barrie-Innisfil MPP Andrea Khanjin, Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin and members of local council to the ribbon-cutting. “This is a very, very exciting day for us…. It is about integrating health care into the community.”
“Our community has been excited about this for quite some time,” said Dollin, adding that since the Rizzardo centre opened in the spring, one of the top questions of residents has been when the lab services would open.
“We knew the demand for LifeLabs services was going to be high,” Dollin said. “It’s so nice to be a place, and not in between places… You’ll hear the relief and the gratitude our friends and our families will have, having access right here in Innisfil.”
Carson said the new LifeLabs facility has taken steps to tailor its services to the needs of the community. Lifelabs will be open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Fridays, but will stay open until 6 p.m. on Wednesdays to accommodate commuters.
Residents will not only be able to book an appointment online, the new 'Save My Place' app will make it easier to sign in and reserve a place in line, when on the way to the lab.
Khanjin spoke of partnerships between all levels of government and the lab to serve the Innisfil community.
“We really want health care at our fingertips in the community,” she said. “We want an integrated system… to get people out of the hospitals, and allow them to access health care in their communities.”
“We have a very strong partner in the province,” replied Carson, committed to both reducing wait times and increasing online access to services and results.
LifeLabs in the Rizzardo centre, in the short time that it has been open, has already seen more than 900 patients, bringing health care close to home and “partnering to improve the integration of health care,” said Dollin.
