Vaccination Centre Changes
18-6-2021
Windsor Regional Hospital (WRH) will officially return the University of Windsor’s Windsor Hall location back to the school today, as the hospital gets ready to open its new COVID-19 vaccination centre at Devonshire Mall.
“We are grateful to our tremendous partners at the University of Windsor for their generosity and charity in allowing us to use the Windsor Hall facility for thousands of vaccinations over the past 13 weeks,” said WRH President and CEO David Musyj. “Amid all of the challenges and heartbreaking moments through this COVID-19 pandemic, we hope that historians will look back at this period of time and remember how local public partners worked together in such a collaborative way for the good of our community. We are proud of what we have accomplished together.”
“The University of Windsor was proud to be a community partner, in the fight to help residents of Windsor-Essex address the impact of COVID-19,” said University President and Vice-Chancellor, Robert Gordon. “Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is a momentous occasion and one that signifies a hopeful end to the pandemic and eventual return to normalcy. We are delighted that Windsor-Essex residents experienced this sense of safety, security and optimism as they entered and exited our doors. We want to thank the staff of Windsor Regional Hospital, The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit and the City of Windsor for their tremendous efforts in supporting Windsor-Essex residents.”
Windsor Hall was converted into a vaccination clinic for its first patients on March 22nd, 2021. More than 31,000 individuals will have received inoculations by the end of today’s appointments. It is staffed by both WRH and City of Windsor employees who will once again partner together at the new, mass vaccination centre set to open on Monday, June 21, 2021.
The Devonshire Mall location itself is located in a provincially designated COVID-19 “hot spot” under the N8X postal code.
WATCH instructional video tour of the Devonshire Mall vaccination clinic hosted by WRH Chief Nursing Executive and Chief Operating Officer Karen Riddell.
Thank you to the City of Windsor communications department for the production of the video.
All other Windsor/Essex vaccination centres will remain open until further notice.
To date, more than 137,000 doses have been administered at the two sites primarily operated by Windsor Regional Hospital in partnership with WECHU and the City of Windsor - with approximately 105,000 as first doses and 32,000 as second doses.
WRH has already been vaccinating Windsor-Essex residents for six months since its first vaccinations in December, and it was hoped that by this time, there may not have been a need to identify a new site for mass vaccinations. “We would not have needed the vaccination site at Devonshire Mall if it weren’t for the fact we will probably need a mass vaccination centre for approximately four more months,” Musyj said. “We need to continue to access as much supply of vaccines as possible so that we can inoculate our public more quickly with both first and second doses.”
About Windsor Hall
This iconic building opened in 2018 as the University of Windsor’s School of Social Work and is an integral component of the University’s downtown campus presence and a contributor to a vibrant downtown core. This is the former Windsor Star newspaper building, which opened in 1927 and retains the original facades of the former Star building and received a heritage designation plaque from the City of Windsor for preserving the Pitt-Ferry site.
About the Devonshire Mall COVID-19 Vaccination Centre
The Devonshire Mall Vaccination Centre (located at the former Sears location at the north end of the mall) will be opened on Monday, June 21, 2021. Vaccinations remain available by appointment only and no walk-ins are permitted. This site is available for booking online at WEVax.ca.
The new site was selected for ongoing vaccination needs as we decant the vaccination centres at the University of Windsor’s Windsor Hall (the former Windsor Star building downtown) and the St. Clair College Sportsplex to allow both of those locations to return to their respective educational and athletic purposes in time for the fall 2021 semester.
WRH, City of Windsor and WECHU also want to thank Chris Savard, Associate Director, his team at Cushman & Wakefield Asset Services Canada, and Devonshire Mall and its owners, the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), for agreeing to allow us to use the former Sears facility for the operation of a vaccination centre for a sum of $1. This is yet another great example of the dedication of our local partners in continuing to ensure the health and safety of our community as we move forward in vaccinating our region against the COVID-19 virus.
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