The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), in partnership with RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, has launched a Virtual Urgent Care (VUC) kiosk at the Lawrence Allen Centre in Toronto.
The pilot project aims to help improve equitable access to pediatric urgent care in one of Toronto’s most underserved communities. The kiosk provides high-quality virtual care access, complete with a staffed greeter, internet access, and interpretation in 230+ languages, setting a new benchmark for what mixed-use community space can offer.
Located in a central, high-traffic retail hub, the VUC kiosk:
- Transforms underutilized space into a health-enabling environment to support access to SickKids’ virtual urgent care services.
- Demonstrates how retail real estate can serve as a platform for community well-being and social infrastructure
- Provides a data-informed response to the ‘digital divide,’ which has limited access to virtual care among equity-deserving populations in Toronto
Jennifer Suess, RioCan’s Senior Vice President and General Counsel ESG and Corporate Secretary, said Lawrence Allen Centre is one of the RioCan properties that it’s had in its portfolio for a long time.
“It’s a major market, transit-oriented property situated at the intersection of two highways, as well as a subway station. It has ample parking for those who drive, and it features a strong tenant mix offering grocery, pharmacy, medical services, apparel, and more,” she said.
“The SickKids partnership with RioCan is located on the ground floor of the shopping centre, directly across from Fortinos, which also houses a pharmacy. It’s very close to the exit and parking area. This project is the result of a series of discussions between the hospital and RioCan, as we explored ways to improve healthcare access—especially in communities that struggle to reach downtown hospitals or to use existing virtual platforms from home.
“The area surrounding Lawrence Allen Centre includes some of Toronto’s poorest digital postal codes. Many people live in high-rise towers and may not have adequate WiFi, privacy, or time to access virtual healthcare. They often can’t afford to take time off work or school to go downtown to the SickKids emergency room.
“During COVID, emergency room wait times regularly exceeded 24 hours. So this partnership was about bringing virtual urgent care into communities that either don’t have access to care or can’t use the care as it’s currently provided. It’s a novel, innovative way to ensure equal access to healthcare.”
Suess said the service allows a caregiver to receive an email with a prescription or diagnostic imaging request from the virtual consultation, and then actually fill that prescription or imaging request within the shopping centre itself and take it home.
The unique concept is about 450 square feet and includes a waiting area with a full-time greeter, translation services in over 200 languages for families more comfortable communicating in languages other than English, and a private exam room for the virtual consultation.
The project opened to the public at the beginning of February.
“It’s intended to run for 12 months initially, but of course, we hope it becomes a permanent, sustainable feature. RioCan strongly believes in this model. We think it’s scalable across Canada, and several healthcare institutions—both pediatric and adult—are exploring similar partnerships with us. Our properties are transit-oriented and in major markets, making them ideal for this type of care delivery,” explained Suess.
“We’ve had hundreds of families visit the clinic since it opened, and they’re absolutely delighted to have access to this kind of service. I’m glad we can bring more attention to it.”
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