Community-based women’s wellness services now available

Island women can now make appointments for community-based women’s wellness services in Charlottetown and Summerside.

On May 1, Health PEI began offering several community-based services as part of the Women’s Wellness Program at the Polyclinic in Charlottetown and Habrouside Health Centre in Summerside, including:

•    post-partum mental health support;
•    pregnancy loss support;
•    prenatal care for women without a primary care provider; and
•    sexual health services for all genders.  

Islanders can access the services without referral by calling the Women’s Wellness Program toll-free at 1-844-365-8258.

“We are pleased that the services currently being offered are responding to the needs of Island women,” says Women’s Wellness Program Manager Rachelle Pike. “As we continue to expand services across the province we will continue to work closely with primary, public health, and mental health care providers, as well as specialists such as obstetricians and gynecologists, to ensure Islanders can receive the same care regardless of provider or location.”

While many of the services offered as part the Women’s Wellness Program are specific to women, the sexual health services are available to all Islanders. Within this service, Islanders can access:

•    sexual health education and counselling;
•    pregnancy testing and options counselling;
•    contraception counselling and prescribing (including IUD insertions); and
•    sexually transmitted blood borne infection screening, testing, treatment and follow-up.

“The Women’s Wellness Program provides person-centered care for Island women in need of specialized reproductive and sexual health services,” Health and Wellness Minister Robert Henderson said. “In January we were happy to announce that the direct clinical care to Island women was beginning at Prince County Hospital, and now we are seeing the population-based services for women being rolled out at the community level.”

Government’s balanced 2017-18 operating budget allocates $1 million for the roll out of the Women’s Wellness Program across the province.

Additional community-based services will be introduced over the coming months, including menopause care and infertility support (information, navigation and coordination of fertility services). Plans are also underway to expand services other communities across the province.

For more information, visit Women’s Wellness Program.  

Media contact:

Amanda Hamel
Senior Communications Officer
Health PEI
(902) 368-6135
ajhamel@gov.pe.ca