New community health centre opening this week in Greater Victoria

Luther Court is seen in this photo from the Luther Court Society website. (luthercourt.org)

A new community health centre will open this week in Greater Victoria, before its ongoing renovation and expansion is complete.

The provincial government announced Saturday that services would begin being offered at Luther Court Community Health Centre on Wednesday, March 16.

Work is ongoing at the facility to create 260 square metres of "purpose-built clinical space" at Luther Court on Cedar Hill Cross Road. The community health centre is expected to open in June and be running at full capacity by 2024-25, according to the province.

Starting this week, the CHC team will include a physician and three nurses who will be offering virtual appointments. In-person care will be available for those who need it at a temporary space off-site, according to the Ministry of Health.

“We are thrilled that Luther Court Society is already starting the work to connect people in Victoria with health-care services they need in preparation for the completion of the community health centre’s renovation,” said Adrian Dix, B.C.'s Minister of Health, in a news release.

“As the society adds a community health centre to its existing services, residents will have one more place to go to get the everyday health care they need closer to home.”

The ministry says it will recruit "approximately nine full-time equivalent clinical health-care providers" to join Luther Court's existing staff, as well as "approximately six full-time equivalent support staff."

B.C. says it will provide $2.2 million toward the centre's operating budget once the facility reaches full capacity. The province already provided a one-time payment of $2.1 million for the renovation costs.

The news of the opening of the new CHC comes as people throughout B.C.'s capital region struggle to find family doctors amid a worsening shortage of health-care providers.