As the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Ottawa in March 2020, key members from The Ottawa Hospital, CHEO, Ottawa Public Health and the City of Ottawa were given just 48 hours to open a testing centre. This is the story of how the Brewer Assessment Centre came to be, as told by the team who made it all happen.

When COVID-19 first arrived in Ottawa, The Ottawa Hospital was ready to respond. Explore the COVID-19 timeline to learn how care teams, researchers and the community have come together over the past year.

Although Inuit patients from Nunavut typically come to The Ottawa Hospital for cancer care, they can now receive more care close to home. It’s part of an ongoing partnership between The Ottawa Hospital and Qikiqtani General Hospital.

Respiratory Therapists from The Ottawa Hospital received applause from residents in local long-term care homes for their part in swabbing more than 1,700 residents and staff for COVID-19 in a single weekend. Their efforts are part of a region-wide collaboration to protect some of the most vulnerable people in our community.

From a working public arena covered in ice, to a fully-functioning medical facility in just three-and-a-half days, the COVID-19 Assessment Centre at Brewer Park Arena is the latest example of extraordinary teamwork and the ability to quickly meet the urgent and changing needs of the community.

Canada and Israel stand more than 8,000 kilometers apart, but when it comes to health care, their approaches are about to move a lot closer together.