Fort Erie residents will be shuttled free to Port Colborne Urgent Care Centre

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Published January 19, 2022 at 3:27 pm

After seeing their own Urgent Care Centre temporarily shut down by Niagara Region Health on January 6, Fort Erie residents can now be shuttled to the Port Colborne Urgent Care Centre.

The Fort Erie Urgent Care Centre was temporarily shuttered to redeploy emergency-trained physicians and nurses to Emergency Departments that are seriously short-staffed due to the damage being done by the Omicron variant, which is seeing patients pile up and staffers off on sick leave.

But since most could access the Fort Erie using local transit, the region is setting the option of using a taxi service to travel free to and from the Port Colborne Urgent Care Centre.

Effective today (January 19), riders can call Niagara Region Transit at 905-980-6000 ext. 3550 to book their trip. These call lines will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

When a booking is made through Niagara Region the cost of the taxi ride to and from Fort Erie to the Port Colborne Urgent Care Centre will be covered by Niagara Region but only if it’s booked through the region.

Niagara Health notes urgent care centres are for minor health issues, examples include:

  • Minor abdominal pain (nausea, vomiting, flu)
  • Coughs, colds, fever
  • Ear, nose, throat and eye problems
  • Cuts that may need stitches
  • Sprains, strains, sports injuries
  • Minor asthma attacks or allergic reactions.
This service will remain in effect as long as the Fort Erie Urgent Care Centre remains closed. But if a Fort Erie resident’s situation is more dire than those listed above, call 9-1-1.
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