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The Temiskaming Speaker article (PDF) published October 16, 2019

TEMAGAMI (Special) — It’s been ten years since the Temagami Family Health Team moved into its new home. 
The Temagami Medical Centre opened its doors on O’Connor Drive in the fall of 2009, at a construction cost of about $2.3 million. 
It’s home to the family health team that has a roster of 1,450 patients. But it provides health care services to some 3,100 patients, including seasonal residents. 
And like many families, it’s grown over the years. 
Ten years ago, it consisted of physician Stephen Goddard, who began serving the com­munity in 1995, as well as a nurse practitioner and a receptionist. 

Goddard, a nurse practitioner and receptionist are still there. 

But they’ve been joined by a registered nurse, a mental health work­er, a registered dietitian-diabetes educator, a respiratory therapist, an occupational therapist, and a pharmacist. 
There are also 4.5 administrative support professionals, including a part-time quality improvement support person and a full-time execu­tive director. 
The team provides a long list of programs and services, including acute care, diabetes-focused visits, nutrition counselling, foot care, smoking cessation, and management of hypertension, COPD and asthma. 
It offers grief support, anger management, and help to people cop­ing with depression, anxiety and stress. 
Other services include falls prevention, foam rolling for chronic pain, custom splints, assistive device authorization, osteoporosis-related education and training, a memory clinic, and medication review with a pharmacist. 
It utilizes telemedicine technology for psychiatry, dermatology and other services. 
It works with the Timiskaming Diabetes Program and Lifelabs medic­al lab services as well as individuals providing massage therapy, chiro­practic care and physiotherapy. 
In a news release, the team described its focus as chronic disease prevention and management, comprehensive primary care services, health and wellness promotion, communication and partnerships. 
It recently established its first patient and family advisory council of six members of the Temagami community. 

The council held its inaugural meeting August 8. 

To view The Temiskaming Speaker article (PDF), click here.

Northumberland News article published October 9, 2019

By John Campbell, Brighton Independent.

TRENT HILLS — Trent Hills Family Health Team (THFHT) has been recognized for its support of families living in rural areas.

In announcing the winner of its Spotlight Award, the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario said nurses at Trent Hills created the Well Baby program after realizing new mothers weren’t receiving the proper support or teaching many of them needed.

Extending beyond the post-partum period to when the children are ready for school, the program enables mothers “to learn the numerous skills that are required to be parents,” and provides them “a safe place to ask their questions.”

Mothers and babies are seen by the same nurse for each visit and for a longer period than they would with a physician, “which allows trust to build and offers mothers a chance to discuss their concerns,” the association said.

It also frees up more time for family physicians and nurse practitioners “to see other patients with acute and chronic conditions.”

The nurses provide breastfeeding support as well, and “work within their full scope of practice.”

“We were very pleased to get that award,” said Carole Robichaud, a nurse practitioner and nursing supervisor at THFHT.

The four-year-old program “is working really well … It’s something that’s really appreciated.”

The program’s three registered nurses — Tammy Haig, Amy Clarke and Jo-Elle Nelson — work out of Campbellford, Warkworth and Colborne, and see their patients usually every two months (less frequently as the children get older).

Visits last about 40 minutes.

Brighton council challenged to take part in…
The families “quite prefer seeing a nurse (because) they get that continuity of care,” and can use us as a resource until they require a doctor, Clark said.

“It’s a very nice interaction that we get to have with families,” Haig said.

“There are so many topics (that) come during a visit (at) different stages (of a child’s development),” Nelson said.

The program has resulted in an uptick in immunization rates and “early recognition of issues, problems, abnormalities,” which leads to referrals to pediatricians and other specialists sooner, Clark said.

“It makes a big difference for a rapidly growing child,” the association said.

Parents “trust the nurse’s opinion, with regards to vaccinations (and their) importance,” based on the relationships that develop, Haig said.

“It’s health insurance that your child will not get that disease and not die from that disease,” Nelson said.

“It’s nice to be recognized for the work that nurses (do) and how much we contribute to the family health team,” Haig said.

Sarah Fields is an enthusiastic supporter of the program, which she says is “fantastic.”

She began using it following the birth of her oldest child, Emma, five years ago, and continued with her next two — Olivia, 3, and Madelynn, two months old.

The program offers “a fountain of information by people who are just so knowledgeable and friendly,” she said. “They just get it.”

It isn’t just about the child, added Fields.

If she’s “struggling with something they have lots of connections to people they can set you up with, to make sure you’re OK as well,” she said.

“Also, if there is anything that requires next level care they are very quick to make it happen, so there’s no delays or waiting.”

THFHT was up for two other awards: For continuous care (it helps patients manage their chronic respiratory disease through each stage of their illness) and comprehensive team-based care (it offers a nutrition program for people to prevent or reverse lifestyle disease).

To read the complete Northumberland news article, click here.

Windsor Star article published October 4, 2019

By Lindsay Charlton, Windsor Star

The Windsor Team Care Centre has received provincial recognition for its work in improving access to interdisciplinary health care.

The Windsor Family Health Team’s Team Care Centre — in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association — recently won the 2019 Bright Lights Award from the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario in the category of Access to Care: Improving Team-Based Care.

“The Team Care Centre is all about creating connections for both people and providers, and building on existing relationships of trust, while nurturing the development of new ones when and where people need them,” Claudia den Boer, CEO of the Windsor Essex County branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, said in a news release.

“When the team is in with the doctor, we know people get the care they need more easily, quicker, and from a team member who is working to their strengths.” 

The Team Care Centre — at 2475 McDougall St. — works to create a streamlined experience for patients to have various medical and social support needs met without having to retell their story and details to each provider.

Since opening its doors in January, the centre has worked with 122 doctors and nurse practitioners, receiving more than  1,800 referrals to team-based health care — with a focus on mental health and addictions.

The team includes a psychiatrist, a nurse practitioner, social workers and counsellors, a respiratory therapist, a registered dietitian, and various other providers.

To read the complete Windsor Star article, click here.