The physicians and nurse practitioners at Open Health Niverville are primary care providers who can diagnose, treat, and manage your mental and physical health concerns. Your clinicians are also trained and equipped to perform minor procedures in the clinic, such as (but not limited to): skin/tissue biopsies, laceration repairs, removal of stitches/staples, IUD insertions, foot care, and more. Appointments for these procedures are made with prior arrangement with your clinician as a longer appointment time is required.
When a medical issue requires a referral to a specialist, your clinician will complete the consultation request and send it to one of our vast resources within the Eastman region or in the Winnipeg area.
Open Health Niverville is equipped to look after individuals of all ages from newborn to the elderly and everyone in between. The care at Open Health also focuses on health promotion and disease prevention.
Our clinic is a collaborative centre with many different Southern Health-Santé Sud professionals. We are happy to share that we have community mental health workers (for both children and adults), a Chronic Disease Education Team (registered dietitians and a registered nurse), and a team for our Child and Youth Services.
These services can be referred to by your primary care provider. You can also visit the links below for more information as you may be able to self-refer for these services in our region.
Mental Health Information: https://www.southernhealth.ca/en/finding-care/find-a-service/mental-health/ or call 1-888-310-4593.
Living with Chronic Disease: https://www.southernhealth.ca/en/finding-care/health-info-for-you/living-with-a-chronic-disease/
Rehabilitation Services: https://www.southernhealth.ca/en/finding-care/find-a-service/rehabilitation-services/
In addition to this, we have a full-time primary care nurse who can provide care without a referral for such services as suture removals, flu shots and other injections, ABI tests, wound care, and foot care (including wart treatments), among other services. You do not need to be a registered patient of the clinic to be able to access care from our primary care nurse; please call the clinic for an appointment.
At this time, Manitoba Public Health nurses have been delegated for COVID-19 efforts including contact tracing, vaccinations, and education. Baby and child immunizations are available through your registered clinician at Open Health Niverville.
Baby & Child Care
Our practitioners are happy to care for individuals of any age, including babies and children. We do use referral services from pediatricians for complicated cases, however for the day-to-day care of children, we are well-suited and trained. Childhood vaccinations can now be carried out by your registered provider since Public Health has been designated to COVID-19 efforts. Recommended vaccinations for babies and children can be found below and would also correspond with a check-up at each visit. Please call at least 1 month ahead to schedule your well-baby checks and vaccinations with your clinician.
https://www.gov.mb.ca/health/publichealth/cdc/div/schedules.html
There are many resources and services offered in our region, whether it be education to new parents, emotional support services, community support programs, and access to programs or services for your baby / child / adolescent. You can see a list of these services and more at https://www.southernhealth.ca/en/finding-care/care-by-topic/parents-parents-to-be/
Diagnostic Services
Diagnostic Services Manitoba operates a lab inside Open Health Niverville four mornings per week. We are happy to be able to have this service for our area.
Please note that the lab is run by appointment only to assist with social distancing procedures. Please call the clinic at 1-204-388-6626 to book. The lab is open Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 8:30 AM -11:30 AM. Allow approximately one week for your appointment date. When you call, indicate the type of lab work you require, as this may require a longer appointment.
Please bring your requisition with you. If your family provider is at Open Health, we can print your requisition upon request. Alternately, you can have your provider at another clinic fax your requisition to our clinic. Please plan ahead if your lab work requires fasting.
We are always looking for ways to improve and strive to find ways in which we can make positive changes to healthcare for our patients. We welcome public feedback on services that you feel are lacking in our province and whether accessibility to these services in our area would be useful.
Living with a Chronic Disease
This topic is something that our clinicians are heavily involved in. This includes looking after diseases such as diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, and obesity and heart disease. We are lucky to have a team approach, with many providers in the same building. We have a chronic disease nurse and a registered dietitian at the clinic who are trained in prevention of complications, lifestyle modification, and general health education to make a quality plan with the patient to best manage the illness.
Services offered by the Chronic Disease and Education Team at Open Health can be accessed through a referral, whether through your clinician or by self-referral. You can find more information here: https://www.southernhealth.ca/en/finding-care/health-info-for-you/living-with-a-chronic-disease/
Mental Health
Your primary care provider can diagnose, treat, and manage your mental health concerns, however if additional or concurrent help is required, your clinician can also facilitate a referral request or provide direction on mental health services in our area.
There are two mental health workers employed by Southern Health-Santé Sud who work out of Open Health Niverville: a child and adolescent mental health worker, and an adult mental health worker. These services require a referral by your provider. In some cases, self-referral is also possible. Visit the Southern Health-Santé Sud website for more information on self-referral and wait times.
https://www.southernhealth.ca/en/finding-care/find-a-service/mental-health/
If you or someone else is struggling with mental health difficulties, please click here for a list of resources available to you within the Southern Health-Santé Sud region.
If you or someone you know is going through a mental health crisis and/or thinking of suicide, call:
9-1-1 if it is an emergency situation, or call
Crisis Services at 1-888-617-7715, or call
Manitoba Suicide Line at 1-877-435-7170
Primary Health Care
“Family doctors provide primary care, but it can also include nurses, nurse practitioners, dietitians, mental health workers, therapists, etc. This includes times when you receive a diagnosis, treatment or help with a health problem, or even when your provider talks with you about staying healthy and preventing illness.
This is especially true when health care is delivered by teams of providers which support long-term doctor/patient relationships and provides faster, more focused access to primary care”. – source: https://www.gov.mb.ca/health/primarycare/index.html
This is what Open Health Niverville strives to offer to our area and surrounding communities in the Southern Manitoba region in collaboration with Southern Health-Santé Sud partners.
Public Health
There are two Manitoba Public Health nurses that work at Open Health Niverville. Currently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their efforts have been redirected and they are now responsible for COVID-19 contact tracing, education, and vaccination efforts.
Previously, Public Health nurses have provided postnatal education, newborn assessments, well-baby checks and vaccinations, and breastfeeding advice, among other services.
Your registered provider at Open Health can provide baby and child check-ups as well as vaccinations. Please call the clinic approximately 1 month ahead to arrange these appointments, as extra time is required. If you do not have a provider, we do have limited “same day/next day” care available and these doctors can also offer well-baby/child checks and vaccinations.
Travel Health
Planning to Travel? Whether it is for personal or business, it is important to protect yourself from diseases of that country’s origin.
During a Travel Health Consultation Dr. Chris Burnett will be discussing what potential illnesses you may be exposed to and how your current and past medical history affects your trip.
Once your consultation is booked our Clinic will send you a questionnaire that will help Dr. Burnett personalize his advice specifically to your needs. During the consultation Dr. Burnett will discuss what vaccines are recommended and if they are mandatory for the location you are traveling to. He will also discuss how to identify and reduce potential health risks while away.
For more information or to book an appointment please call the Clinic at 204-388-6626.
Women’s Health
Your provider is trained to diagnose, treat, and manage health conditions and issues related to women’s health. For complicated cases in which a referral is required, this can be facilitated by your provider for additional gynecological or obstetrical care.
There are currently no providers that can perform intrapartum care (meaning the delivery of your baby). Your provider will work with you to find the best solution, whether that be a midwife, a physician at Bethesda Hospital or Winnipeg Hospitals, or an OB-GYN referral.
Other women’s health issues and topics that can be discussed or managed with your provider at Open Health:
Gynecological conditions and concerns, pap smear tests, pelvic examinations
Family planning – including birth control options, IUD counseling and insertion
Pregnancy tests
Prenatal and postnatal care
Breast health
Menopause symptoms and management
Reproductive & sexual health