It is with great excitement and anticipation that the Listowel Memorial Hospital, the Listowel Memorial Hospital Foundation, the Listowel Medical Centre, John Wilkinson, MPP for Perth-Wellington and the North Perth Family Health Team announce the beginning of construction of the Fisher Family Primary Care Centre. The new centre is being named in honor of the Fisher family and their generous contribution toward the capital construction. Building on a tradition of collaboration and integration, the Listowel Memorial Hospital, Listowel Medical Clinic and the North Perth Family Health Team have worked hard with the Ministry of Health to realize their shared vision of an integrated local health system designed around a one-campus model. The new Fisher Family Primary Care Centre will house all of the health professionals together in a modern facility. It will provide ease of access for all North Perth residents and enhance our ability to provide quality primary care services. We wish to acknowledge the Honorable Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, for the significant financial contribution by the government of Ontario. A special acknowledgement goes to John Wilkinson, MPP, Perth-Wellington who has worked tirelessly to support the vision of a family health centre as part of an integrated and local system of rural health services. The Fisher Family Primary Care Centre represents a strong community partnership. “The Fisher Family Primary Care Centre is a tribute to the many strong local partnerships among our Hospital, Municipality, local physicians, the health care team, the Province and of course, the community of North Perth. We sincerely thank the numerous hard working individuals who have made this possible, and look forward to continuing to provide world class rural primary health care in a new state of the art facility,” said Dr. Rob Annis, Chair, North Perth Family Health Team. “The Listowel Memorial Hospital is excited to see this project begin construction. This facility will further enhance the excellent working relationship between the Hospital, physicians and North Perth Family Health Team. Having the members of the community health care team in close proximity provides additional opportunities to strengthen relationships and share scarce health care resources. Working closely together will help us improve the handoffs between providers and further benefit our patients,” said Kris Dekker, Chair, Listowel Memorial Hospital. “North Perth will soon add the new Fisher Family Primary Care Centre to its impressive list of cutting edge rural health care services”, said MPP John Wilkinson. “When you add in the recent state of the art redevelopment of Listowel Memorial Hospital and our highly successful North Perth Family Health Team you can see how these three investments by the government of Ontario are making North Perth an even better community to recruit and retain much needed health care professionals. On behalf of my constituents I want to publicly thank my Cabinet colleague, the Hon. Deb Matthews, Minister of Health & Long Term Care for personally believing in the dream of our rural community and committing just over $1 million to make it a reality.” Ron Coghlin, Chair, Listowel Memorial Hospital Foundation goes on to state, “The Listowel Memorial Hospital Foundation is extremely grateful for the generous community support that has helped make this facility possible. This facility will be owned and operated by the Listowel Memorial Hospital. We hope that the community finds the new Fisher Family Primary Care Centre an asset that they can be proud of. As a Foundation, we are very pleased to see this project underway.” The Fisher Family Primary Health Care Centre will support the vision of being a leader in the provision of high quality primary health services to our local community. “Our commitment to care and to our community of North Perth has never been stronger,” quotes Mary Atkinson, Executive Director, North Perth Family Health Team. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Friday, January 7, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. at the new site on Inkerman Avenue (adjacent to Shopper’s Drug Mart). Following the groundbreaking ceremony, an open house reception for the family health team was held at the Out Patient building.
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Best wishes to all Ontario’s Family Health Teams
As we draw to the close of 2010, AFHTO salutes the continued progress of the Family Health Teams of Ontario. We are now 200 strong, thanks to your vision, commitment and innovation, proving the value of the FHT model. As you work to meet the health needs of Ontario families, your association works to meet your needs as professional teams. Over the past year AFHTO has made significant progress in our capacity to do this. We received clear direction from the 150 FHT leaders who gathered to renew and refocus our association. We hired our first executive director to take AFHTO to a new level. We’ve built stronger relationships with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and other health organizations. For example, we’ve been working with the Ministry toward improvements in the FHT budget and funding process, and in developing learning modules to support effective governance. You’ll be hearing more from AFHTO in January, and in February we’ll be looking for your input on the strategic priorities to pursue in this election year. For FHTs in Ontario, we sincerely believe the future is getting brighter! All the best to you and yours throughout 2011, From the AFHTO board and staff: Dr. John McDonald, President and Chair: (Lead Physician, PrimaCare Community FHT – Paris) Dr. Ruth Wilson, Vice President (Queen’s FHT) Mr. Brian Gray, Secretary (Executive Director, Harrow FHT) Ms. Keri Selkirk, Treasurer (Executive Director, Thames Valley FHT) Ms. Kavita Mehta, Member at Large: (Executive Director, South East Toronto FHT) Mr. Randy Belair, Director (Executive Director, Sunset Country FHT – Kenora) Dr. Sean Blaine, Director (Lead Physician, STAR FHT – Stratford) Ms. Gwen Devereaux, Director (RN, Physician Recruitment Lead, Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance and Alexandra Marine & General Hospital) Dr. Val Rachlis, Director (Chair of the Board, North York FHT) Dr. George Southey, Director (Lead Physician, Dorval Medical Associates FHT – Oakville) Mr. John Stanczyk, Director (Pharmacist, Delhi FHT) Ms. Durhane Wong-Rieger, Director (President & CEO, Institute for Optimizing Health Outcomes) Ms. Angie Heydon, Executive Director -
Dr. Ruth Wilson is named one of Canada’s Top 100 women.
Dr. Ruth Wilson, a Queens FHT family physician and AFHTO Vice President, was recently named one of Canada’s Top 100 women by the Women’s Executive Network. The Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards recognizes the country’s highest achieving female leaders in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Dr. Wilson was chair of the Queen’s department of Family Medicine from 1991-2001. During her tenure the department established a program to send faculty to help train family doctors in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the war there, and created the Centre for Studies in Primary Care at Queen’s. In March, 2010, Dr. Wilson was one of two physicians from around the world who received the ‘5 Star Doctor’ award – the highest honour given by the World Organization of Family Doctors. She also served as the president of the College of Family Physicians of Canada from 2007-2008. -
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West Queen West FHT: Permanent Family Medicine Practice Opportunity
Overview: The West Queen West Family Health Team (FHT) is a recently approved Wave 5 FHT currently in its physician recruitment and start-up phase. Located in one of the fastest growing neighbourhoods of Toronto, the FHT will service the community at large and incorporate a specialty focus on serving the primary care need of patients with mental health and addiction issues (approximately 25-30% of overall roster). The implementation of the West Queen West FHT is being sponsored by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Location: West Queen West Family Health Team (Queen St. W and Ossington Ave. area), Toronto Central LHIN. Position Description: Family Physicians in the Queen West Family Health Organization (FHO) will provide medical services to the West Queen West FHT and enjoy working in an interprofessional team. The FHT will adopt best practice in the provision of comprehensive primary care and strategically focus on chronic disease management, illness prevention and health promotion. Call Arrangements: Queen West FHO physicians will participate in an on-call rotation (potentially with other FHOs) and enjoy the benefits of a partnership with Telephone Health Advisory Service (THAS). Practice Hours: 9:00am-5:30pm, 3-5 days per week and occasional evenings until 8:00pm Patient Volume: Each FULL TIME family physician is expected to have approximately 1300 patients rostered to them. This is prorated based on full time equivalency. Compensation: Blended, FHO (Queen West FHO). Blended model typical of FHO arrangements. Income stabilization available to eligible physicians. Inpatient opportunities at CAMH available upon interest. Teaching Opportunity: Through an affiliation with the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, residents will have an elective opportunity to rotate through this placement. With a goal of increasing the competency and confidence of medical trainees in working with patients with mental health and addictions the West Queen West FHT will serve an important role in building capacity throughout the system. Research Opportunity: Through a partnership with CAMH and affiliations with multiple institutions of higher education, research opportunities abound. Positions Available: 4 Vacation Details: As per eventual FHO Association Agreement, but typically 6 weeks per year. Successful Applicant must speak: English Contact Information: Cara Vaccarino at: cara_vaccarino@camh.net
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8 Waterloo-Wellington FHTs in project to transform care for diabetes patients
Those with a chronic disease live with their condition every day – and even though they rely on the support of their healthcare team, they can feel isolated and alone. And when their condition pushes outside norms, they can feel confused and frightened. Their healthcare team can also be hampered by a lack of information – on the current medical condition of their chronic disease patient and on their overall medical status – because they see the patient infrequently and because the patient’s medical record is often not available for sharing amongst team members. A recently completed demonstration project in the Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network (WWLHIN) sought to change all that. “Chronic disease management is a growing concern for healthcare providers in Ontario and across the country,” said Glenn Holder, Chief Information Officer, WWLHIN. “That’s why our LHIN undertook HEALTHeCONNECTIONS, a two-year project to demonstrate the effectiveness of an eHealth-enhanced chronic disease management model tailored for patients living with diabetes. “It really was all about the patients – improving their level of care by getting them actively involved in the management of their disease, giving them more control and understanding of their condition, giving them immediate access to their medical record and healthcare team – all through the convenience of their personal computer.” The HEALTHeCONNECTIONS (HeC) Project began March 1, 2008 and ended September 30, 2010. During that period nearly 1,000 patients, and hundreds of healthcare practitioners participated. According to a recently completed Benefits Evaluation Report – and based on interviews with many of the participating patients and members of their healthcare teams – HeC more than achieved its overriding objective of improving patient care. “The key element for me was the Health Portal for patients,” said physician-participant, Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia of the Centre for Family Medicine, Kitchener. “Diabetes is a very difficult disease to live with. It’s easy to let diabetes take control of you and of what you do – and it’s easy to be very overwhelmed.” “The Health Portal is an online e-tool that allows patients to take back control. They are able to enter blood sugar readings and see how their actions allow them to control those readings. They are able to see trends over time. It allows them to learn more about their condition and therefore helps them improve their management and their confidence that they are able to manage this condition. It also improves communication with the healthcare team and that is very positive. I see this as the next logical step in patient care,” said Dr. Alarakhia. “We typically see diabetes patients four times a year,” said Nurse Specialist, Kelley Eves of the Upper Grand River Family Health Team. “The Health Portal allows us to see what’s happening with them over the other 360 days of the year. Patients have a much better understanding of their condition and are much more engaged in managing it. We also see more general, positive lifestyle changes.” In Ontario, more than 900,000 people are living with diabetes. Over the past 10 years, the number of Ontarians with diabetes increased 69 percent and is expected to grow to 1.2 million during 2010. The WWLHIN is a provincial leader in the quality of its diabetes care. The HeC Project was an opportunity for the LHIN to demonstrate further improvements to quality of care and best practices by developing better integrated models of care and adopting eHealth-enabled technology that included a Health Portal for patients and their healthcare team and Clinician/Provider portal that allowed the online sharing of patient medical records. “The Health Portal is really great,” said HeC Project participant Wayne Michalski, a Type 2 diabetes patient. “I am interested in maintaining good health for the rest of my life for my own benefit and for my family’s benefit. So when I started using this tool, I really liked it. It allows me to evaluate and measure my own health and to be responsible for my own health. It means fewer visits to the doctor and less cost for the people of Ontario for my health.” Project Scope HeC was a unique clinical transformation project with the overriding objective of improving patient care. It achieved that objective by: • Establishing 4 Diabetes Care Networks within the WWLHIN boundaries that included 5 Diabetes Specialists, 4 Diabetes Education Centres (DECs), 6 Hospitals/Emergency Departments, 8 Family Health Teams of physicians and other healthcare professionals, and the Waterloo Wellington Community Care Access Centre • Working with the Diabetes Care Networks to implement an eHealth enhanced model for diabetes care • Deploying a Personal Health Record and Patient Portal to support the care model • Enabling the sharing of patient provided data, and primary care provided data with the patient’s care team • Enabling the sharing of acute care data by connecting WWLHIN acute care hospitals and key referral centres in the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant LHIN • Completing a Benefits Evaluation Program that reported on the benefits achieved through the enhanced care model and the use of a Personal Health Record and Health/Patient Portal Project legacy While a demonstration project, HeC’s significant legacy includes: • A group of patients who are better managed and in better control of their diabetes • Experience in creating multi-disciplinary healthcare teams/groups that cross traditional boundaries • A foundation for new, better integrated models of care through the adoption of technology • A foundation for sharing health information electronically across all healthcare providers (regardless of location) and with the patients themselves Eight FHTs participated in the project: Minto Mapleton FHT; Mount Forest FHT; Upper Grand FHT; New Vision FHT (Kitchener-Waterloo); Centre for Family Medicine (Kitchener-Waterloo); Guelph FHT; East Wellington FHT; Two Rivers FHT (Cambridge) Six Hospitals participated in the project: North Wellington Healthcare (includes Palmerston and Louise Marshall Hospital); Groves Memorial Community Hospital (Fergus); Grand River Hospital (Kitchener-Waterloo); St. Mary’s General Hospital (Kitchener-Waterloo); Cambridge Memorial Hospital; Guelph General Hospital Three DECs participated in the project: Wellington Healthcare Alliance Diabetes Education Centre (includes locations at Palmerston, Louise Marshall, and Groves Memorial sites); Grand River Diabetes Education Centre (located within Grand River Hospital); Diabetes Care Guelph (program is located within the Guelph FHT) The HeC Project was a two-year WWLHIN clinical transformation demonstration project sponsored by Canada Health Infoway under its Patient Access to Quality Care (PAQC) program and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC) eHealth Program. In addition: • Practice Solutions (a Canadian Medical Association – CMA – company) provided the mydoctor.ca Health/Patient Portal. • Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation provided the ClinicalConnect component. • SaskTel provided the LifeStat Remote Patient Monitoring system (which allowed a subset of patient participants from the Guelph Family Health Team (FHT) to automatically upload glucometer readings into the Health/Patient Portal. Story posted from Canadian Healthcare Technology eMessenger –December 2, 2010
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Members Only website has been launched
AFHTO has just launched a Members Only feature — click on the Member Login tab to enter. Here you’ll find a wealth of resources to help members in governing, managing and delivering care in their FHTs. Resources on AFHTO’s Members Only website includes 27 presentations from the AFHTO 2010 conference, guides and toolkits prepared specifically for FHTs, convenient links to resources from QIIP and the Quality in Family Practice Project, and Members Only news. The latest post on Members Only news looks at the Ministry’s current “Health Care Options” campaign. You need a username and password to enter the AFHTO’s Members Only website. If your FHT is not a member, please go to http://www.afhto.ca/membership/application/ and follow the instructions. AFHTO’s public website continues to grow as well. Here you’ll find news of interest to people working in FHTs. There’s a link to the Quality in Family Practice project’s just-released Book of Tools, conference and workshop listings, and news from a number of FHTs, including: – The Minister of Health and Long-Term Care’s visits to the Caroline, City of Kawartha Lakes, Wise Elephant and Centre for Family Medicine FHTs – A CBC radio interview on FHTs with Health for All FHT’s Dr. Jane Philpott – A visit by 84 student doctors to the Harrow and Leamington FHTs – A unique fundraising and partnership endeavour by the doctors of Wise Elephant FHT with a group of villages in India.
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Join the Office Practice Redesign Action Group to improve Access and Efficiency
Apply by December 10 to join QIIP’s Office Practice Redesign Action Group. QIIP (Quality Improvement and Innovation Partnership) is a non-profit organization funded by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, focused on advancing improvement in primary healthcare in Ontario. QIIP is looking for approximately 100 motivated primary healthcare organizations including Family Health Teams (FHT), Community Health Centers (CHC), Nurse Practitioner Lead Clinics (NPLC) and solo or group practices to participate in the newest provincial wide quality improvement initiative by joining the Learning Community. This initiative will focus on Office Practice Redesign, a proactive, planned approach to making changes that improve patient access and office efficiencies. By adopting the principles of Office Practice Redesign, including access and efficiency, practices learn to balance provider supply with service demands, so patients can see their own provider on the day of their choosing and improve access to primary healthcare. The Learning Community provides an exciting and interactive opportunity for primary healthcare providers from across the province to learn and apply quality improvement methodologies and make changes that lead to true improvements. For further information, including important dates, go to http://www.qiip.ca/. To apply to QIIP’s Office Practice Redesign Action Group, please complete the online registration form at http://www.surveymonkey.com/http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LCWave2OPR by December 10, 2010. If you have any questions, please e-mail info@qiip.ca . We look forward to your participation in the Learning Community, and being part of the next phase in quality improvement in primary healthcare in Ontario.
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2010-11-23 MOHLTC’s Health Care Options campaign to raise awareness of FHTs
As mentioned in the 2010-11-09 Members Only update, “Health Care Options” ads are now running on TV and radio, following up from Premier’s Nov.1 announcement. The ministry has launched a public education campaign to raise awareness of the many health care options available to Ontarians. Their research has shown there are low levels of awareness of new models of care, so the objective is to increase the level of knowledge and understanding of what Family Health Teams, Nurse Practitioner led Clinics, Urgent Care Centres etc. do. The ministry feels it is getting good results so far, with over 3,000 visits a day to the health care options website. The Health Care Options campaign consists of television, newspaper and online advertising. The television advertising will run until early January and the online advertising will appear until the end of March. The call to action in all of the advertising is to visit the Health Care Options website for more information. The website includes short videos and explanations of each of the health care options. A half-page ad appeared Saturday morning (November 20, 2010) on page A22 of the Globe and Mail. In the ministry’s words: We chose to profile Family Health Teams in a very deliberate manner because our quantitative and qualitative research showed very low levels of awareness of this model of primary care amongst Ontarians; this includes people who are enrolled in Family Health Teams. We felt that it was important to educate people about this and other new models of care so that they could get a sense of how the overall health care system is changing to meet people’s needs in the future. A number of AFHTO members noticed that, while the ad drew attention to the different health care professionals brought together in FHTs, doctors were omitted from the list. The ministry assured AFHTO this was an oversight that is being fixed for future ad insertions which will appear in community newspapers. The ministry also welcomed AFHTO’s offer to provide feedback on future advertising about FHTs.
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Quality in Family Practice project’s book of indicators for quality improvement
The Quality Book of Tools is a comprehensive collection of practice management and clinical care indicators for improving quality in primary care, family practice settings in Ontario. It was initially developed following an international review and modified Delphi process in 2008-2009 and a website launched in 2011 (click here to access). The website allows you to browse our indicators through a navigation tool bar at the top of the page. There is also a Flash version and the web version is accessible on your mobile as a mobile or desktop version. You must register/login as a member to download a free PDF version or purchase a hard copy version through this website. The Quality in Family Practice program team is a collaborative group from McMaster University and the Ontario College of Family Physicians, funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
