Your Weekly News & Updates
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IPAC strategies to ensure a safe environment in primary care clinics Apr. 14
In partnership with the members of the Primary Care Collaborative, Public Health Ontario (PHO) will provide infection prevention and control (IPAC) information to those working in clinical office settings.
In this webinar, practical IPAC strategies for ensuring a safe environment for patients, clinicians, and staff will be reviewed and evidence-based resources will be introduced to support the ongoing development of a complete IPAC program for this practice setting.
The information presented in this webinar will be of interest to clinicians as well as those designated to lead IPAC activities in the clinical office setting.
We need you. Provincial election campaign training with Enterprise Canada, tomorrow, Apr. 6, 2022
The provincial election is just over two months away. Now is the time for local candidates to hear from you. Anyone on the team can join and we highly encourage you to do so! It’s going to take all of us to make an impact across Ontario.
If you have any questions or need support, please email advocacy@afhto.ca.
Welcome to Raveen Bahniwal
We’re happy to introduce Raveen Bahniwal, our new Quality and Knowledge Translation Specialist.
Ravninder (Raveen) completed her bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology at McMaster University where she has experience in quantitative research, mainly running randomized controlled trials with the Exercise Metabolism Research Group. She received her master’s in public health from Western University where she worked on a research project within the Department of Family Medicine investigating the connection between artificial intelligence and primary care challenges.
During the pandemic, Ravninder has been working as a Community Health Ambassador to provide wraparound COVID-19 supports to high-risk neighbourhoods and support community members in getting vaccinated for COVID-19. Welcome to the team!
Member stories
Parry Sound FHT– ‘It’s unbelievable’: Parry Sound FHT uses virtual reality to help seniors to explore the world
Peninsula FHT– Physician buy-in a prescription for high vaccination rates
Ontario Health and Primary Care, MHA CoE, and HCNS slides and video available
On Friday, April 1 we had an update and conversation with Ontario Health on its role in supporting primary care, the work being led through the Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence (MHA CoE), and the vision for OH’s Healthcare Navigation Service (HCNS). Slides and video are now available.
Strategies for an equitable recovery and the latest on 4th doses, immunity and more
Recent updates include:
- Strategies for an equitable recovery and the latest on 4th doses, immunity and more – Next in OCFP and University of Toronto’s COVID CoP on April 8. Panelists:
- Dr. Frances Garwe, Chief Executive Officer, Carea Community Health Centre, Ajax, ON
- Dr. Isaac Bogoch, Infectious Diseases Specialist and General Internist, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, ON
- Dr. David Kaplan, Family Physician, North York Family Health Team and Vice President, Quality, Ontario Health, Toronto, ON
- Clinical Practice Guideline Summary: Recommended Drugs and Biologics in Adult Patients with COVID-19– Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, updated Apr. 1, 2022
We continue to update several pages on our site with resources and news:
- Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates– the original page, with news and Ministry situation reports (please note that the Ministry Situation Reports on COVID-19 are posted daily so review them to better understand the provincial response)
- COVID-19 Vaccination Information
- COVID-19 assessment centres in Ontario
- COVID-19 information for Patients, Caregivers and the Public
- Infection control resources and tools for primary care
- Management and operations, human resources and COVID-19
- Mental health and wellness during COVID-19
- Providing Comprehensive Care During COVID-19
- Resources for Re-opening
- Virtual Care, Digital Health and COVID-19
Change to Ontario Cervical Screening Program (OCSP)’s guidelines
There will be a change to Ontario Cervical Screening Program (OCSP)’s Guidelines, specifically pertaining to recommendations for repeating cytology after an abnormal result. The OCSP now formally recommends that people with the following cervical screening results repeat their cytology test in 12 months instead of in 6 months:
- A first time low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) or atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) result
- An LSIL or ASCUS result followed by a normal result
The OCSP originally released these evidence-based recommendations to support the gradual resumption of cervical screening services during COVID-19. Ontario Health is now formalizing the change to their screening recommendations. Please see the fulsome screening recommendation summary that can be found here. For evidence to support this recommendation, please see here.
Ontario Health is working with Ontario labs that provide cervical screening testing to update the relevant cytology result reports, so they reflect this recommendation change.
Please reach out to cancerinfo@ontariohealth.ca, if you have any questions.
The 3R’s – Relief, Recovery & Renewal: A Prescription for Self-Care, Apr. 6, 2022
Hosted by Instincts at Work.Find out more here.
Diabetes Care: Tools and Resources to Support Mental Health Needs, Apr. 8, 2022
Hosted by Ontario Health and moderated by Dr. David Kaplan. Find out more here.
ECHO Care of the Elderly: Long-Term Care, starting Apr. 12, 2022
Hosted by Baycrest, in collaboration with North East Specialized Geriatric Centre and the Ontario Centres for Learning, Research and Innovation in Long-Term Care (CLRI), this free series runs on Tuesdays from April 12 – July 12, 2022. Apply here.
QI Innovations: Better Data, Better Decisions, Better Outcomes, Apr. 12, 2022
Free conference hosted by Excellence through Quality Improvement Project (E-QIP). Learn more here.
IPAC Central West: IPAC Primary Care CoP, Apr. 20, 2022
Hosted by Public Health Ontario, IPAC Implementation and Support Team. Register here.
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