A healthy start
If you are a privately sponsored refugee, the Ottawa Newcomer Clinic can guide you to the providers of health services that fit your needs.
If you are a government-assisted refugee, the Ottawa Newcomer Clinic is the best place to get all the health services you need when you first arrive in the city.
As a refugee, you may have faced physical, mental, and emotional hardship before you arrived in Canada. Now that you are in Canada, you also face many changes as you adjust to a new life.
With so much happening all at once, the well-being of your body and mind can be overlooked. Or maybe you or members of your family have an unexpected illness, injury, or sickness and don’t know where to turn.
The Ottawa Newcomer Clinic can get you started. This medical clinic is specially designed with the needs of refugees in mind. It provides medical exams and tests that can find health problems as early as possible when your chances of treatment and cure are much better.
Services at the Ottawa Newcomer Clinic
The clinic is designed to provide short-term medical services to refugees and immigrants while they look for a permanent family doctor or healthcare team. Where appropriate, the clinic will refer refugees and immigrants to another doctor or healthcare team that can provide necessary follow-up medical care.
The clinic has three fully equipped medical rooms. They are located at 219 Argyle Avenue, in the same building as the Catholic Centre for Immigrants. You will find the clinic next to its client-support services office, where government-assisted refugees receive practical advice for starting new lives in Canada.
The doctors and nurses at the clinic are specially trained to provide:
- Medical services in your own language
- Physical examinations
- Referrals for pregnant women who need prenatal and postnatal care
- Vaccinations against infectious diseases such as malaria, measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, polio and tetanus
- Diagnostic tests and treatment for tuberculosis
- Diagnostic test and treatment for women’s health
- Diagnostic tests and treatment for malnutrition
- Assessment and referrals for emotional trauma and other mental-health issues
- Referrals for dental screening for healthy teeth and gums
- Referrals to eye care for healthy vision
- Referrals to specialists for the management of chronic diseases such as mental illness, asthma, heart disease, diabetes and high-blood pressure
- A culturally sensitive person who knows your language to guide you through the health system
- Referrals to specialized medical services.
For more information, call the Ottawa Newcomer Health Centre: 613-691-0192.
The following information will be requested when you call to schedule a medical appointment:
- Name and date of birth of all refugees or immigrants
- Permanent address and phone number of refugees or immigrants, if available
- Language(s) of the refugees or immigrants
- List of any health concerns
- Whether or not the refugees or immigrants are regular patients of a doctor or nurse practitioner.
Learn more
Ontario’s Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade has an overview of health services, including health insurance, medical care, emergency care and prescription drugs. The information is translated into 27 languages, including Arabic, French, Farsi, Somali, Spanish, Urdu.
