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Yahoo News published an article  June 14, 2023

By Darlene Wroe

 Two area doctors are hoping for funding approval for the Temagami Family Health Team to expand to take in the Latchford and Cobalt medical clinics as satellites.

The application to the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, if approved, would expand access to resources for the two clinics.

Currently they are the only two between Temagami and Kirkland Lake that are not part of a Family Health Team.

Dr. Steven Sears, who has a clinic in Cobalt, and Dr. Mathew Scott, who has a clinic in Latchford, are preparing the application with assistance from Temagami Family Health Team executive director Ellen Ibey, in response to a ministry announcement in March that there is additional funding to enhance primary care.

In a telephone interview, Sears related that he and Scott were “initially thinking about putting a proposal in for a Family Health Team just for Cobalt, Coleman and Latchford, but the ministry preferred that we just join up with an existing Family Health Team.”

The application is due at the end of the workday Friday, June 16, but Sears emphasized it will not be known if the application is successful until the fall.

“We did actually put in a proposal to the ministry (about 10 years ago) to be satellite clinics of Temagami to enhance access to primary care but we were denied at that point in time.”

EXPANSION

Ibey also commented by telephone that the Temagami Family Health Team would expand if the application is successful.

Sears emphasized that, if the proposal is successful, the clinic structures would remain the same. However, being part of the Temagami team would enhance the ability of the Latchford and Cobalt clinics to get access for their patients to professionals such as mental health support, psychotherapy, a nurse practitioner, a dietician, an occupational therapist, a respiratory therapist, physiotherapy, and pharmacy support.

Sears noted that at this time the Cobalt and Latchford clinics are the only family practices between Temagami and Kirkland Lake that don’t have access to these professionals.

In preparing for the application, Sears and Scott have requested that residents of Cobalt, Coleman Township and Latchford, who do not have a family doctor, call their municipal office and leave their name.

The goal is to collect this data to add to the application to highlight “that there are still people in the area without family physicians,” said Sears. Speaking for himself, he said he has patients who have “unacceptably long” waiting periods for appointments.

If the application is successful, and the medical clinics can join with Temagami, it “would allow us to look after more people and also provide better care to the people who are already with the clinic.”

Sears said the ministry funding opportunity is “specifically trying to target vulnerable, marginalized and unattached patients.”

“The whole goal is to improve access to, and improve the quality of, primary care,” he said.

The proposal was also discussed at the Cobalt committee-of-the-whole meeting June 6.

Town manager Steven Dalley said at that time that if the proposal is accepted by the ministry it will bring in more resources.

“It does not deteriorate anything here at all. It will only give us more resources, so it will be a win-win situation.”

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Yahoo News published an article  June 11, 2023

CBC News published an article June 20, 2023

Yahoo news By James Matthews

Many Minden Hills residents would like to reopen the recently closed emergency department at the local health facility.

And one resident in particular has what could be a viable idea to reopen the doors that were permanently closed June 1. Minden resident Marina Hodson was to describe her idea during a special meeting of township council June 5.

The council meeting was to take place after The Times’ deadline.

Hodson, the executive director of the Kawartha North Family Health Team (KNFHT), said in a press release that the team sent an expression of interest to Ontario Health to receive funding for an eight-hour a day, seven days a week service at the Minden emergency department.

KNFHT is a community-based family health team serving the residents of the northern parts of the City of Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton County, and Trent Lakes. They have provided access to primary health care by nurse practitioners, physicians, and nursing staff in Fenelon Falls and Bobcaygeon since 2007.

The team has also operated unfunded walk-in clinics, paid for by the generous donations of local residents, since 2012.

As with physicians, nurse practitioners are authorized by the College of Nurses of Ontario to diagnose, order and interpret diagnostic tests, and prescribe medications and other treatments for patients. They can work independently without a supervising physician and can also prescribe all medications including controlled substances.

The KNFHT proposal is for an urgent care clinic at the shuttered former Minden emergency department.

“We are aware that, ideally, the site would continue to operate as an emergency department and we still hold out hope that this will be the case in the future,” Hodson said. “Unfortunately, this is not a service we are able to apply for or deliver.

“In light of this, we felt strongly that the option of an urgent care clinic would provide the best opportunity to continue to have health care services locally for the residents of Minden Hills.”

Urgent care services are for people who have unexpected but non-life-threatening health concerns that usually require same-day treatment.

“Additionally, we are proposing some primary care for patients who do not currently have a primary care provider,” Hodson said.

She dismissed the notion that the proposal could be a step toward privatized health care services.

“Absolutely not,” she said. “KNFHT is a charitable non-profit agency receiving it’s funding for daily operations from the Ministry of Health.”

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The Wellington Advisor published an article  June 9, 2023 

By Patrick Raftis

MINTO – The Town of Minto will provide a letter of support for the Minto-Mapleton Family Health Team’s (MMFHT) application to the province for funding to expand staffing to allow more local residents to access primary care providers.

In a letter to council, the local family health team explained the government recently announced the availability of new funding to expand existing inter-professional primary care teams (such as Family Health Teams) “in communities with greatest need.

“The Minto-Mapleton Family Health Team is in the process of developing an application to increase the number of nurse practitioners at the FHT,” states the letter, signed by MMFHT executive director Shirley Borges.

The health team is looking for funding to add two nurse practitioners, one registered practical nurse and one receptionist “for the purpose of attaching orphan patients living in Minto and surrounding area with a primary care provider,” Borges explains in the letter.

The letter states each new nurse practitioner will service 700 to 800 patients currently without a family doctor or nurse practitioner, for a total of 1,400 to 1,600 patients. 

“Given the departure of Dr. (Doyin) Okoye [last June], physician recruitment challenges across the province, and the increasing population growth in Minto, we are experiencing a significant increase in the number of unattached patients in our community,” the letter points out.

“These unattached patients are seeking treatment at our local emergency department.”

If successful, the health team is planning to locate the new staff at existing MMFHT facilities in Clifford and Palmerston.

A letter of support from the local municipality is required for the application.

“I do know that our Minto Mapleton health team is really pushing hard for this,” said Mayor Dave Turton, noting the addition of nurse practitioners to the local roster would be helpful,

“We have not had much luck in recruiting a doctor.”

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Blackburn News published an article  June 8, 2023 

By Janice MacKay

The Kincardine Family Health Team (KFHT) is considering the Ripley Medical Center’s future use, along with the expansion of primary care services to that community.

The KFHT and Huron-Kinloss employees met to explore the requirements of the neighbourhood and a potential full-time presence at the Ripley Medical Clinic.

The Kincardine Family Health Team staff and services would be rotated across that location according to funding. Council heard that many Huron-Kinloss residents would benefit from access to health care that was closer to where they lived.

However, Huron-Kinloss staff told council the Ripley Medical Centre will need to undergo a variety of improvements and repairs before it can resume offering medical services. The services offered by the Family Health Team would be very beneficial to Huron-Kinloss citizens, especially those who don’t have a family doctor or have other barriers to accessing healthcare services in other communities.

“Our team is  recommending a full review and floor plan design that will create a space that is functional, clean, safe and accessible for the long-term. If we are already replacing the carpet with flooring that is easier to clean, removing drywall to increase sound-proofing, and widening hallways to make the building accessible; it makes sense to review the floor plan to ensure we are using every square inch of the Center in the best way possible,” Mary Rose Walden, Chief Administrative Officer, said in a report to council.

The Kincardine Family Health Team is requesting financing from Ontario Health in collaboration with the Ministry of Health so they may offer more services in the area. The entire Township of Huron-Kinloss and the entire Municipality of Kincardine fall under the boundaries of the Kincardine Family Health Team, but services are currently predominantly provided in Kincardine.

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