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  • February 6th Update on COVID-19 Vaccination Roll Out

    Dear Members,

    We are writing to provide you with an update from our united Primary Care COVID-19 Vaccination Action Council (*PC-VAC). This week’s key messages that we shared with vaccine decision-makers can be found here.

    We are mindful that the news regarding vaccines is evolving daily, and we will have to continue to be prepared for changes and uncertainties in the coming months as a sector. Along with our partners in primary care, we are committed to sharing regular updates, usually weekly, except on weeks where there are no significant new developments to share.

    New Resources:

    • The Ministry has provided a number of guidance documents describing common side effects following vaccination including an After Care sheet and Guidance for Health Care Workers.
    • We know that vaccine supply issues are an ongoing concern but phase 1 continues to roll out with the intent to accelerate the vaccination of long-term care, high-risk retirement, and First Nations elder care residents. Please click here to read the most up to date COVID-19 Vaccination Technical Briefing.
    • The OCFP has developed a resource for special populations and the recording for their most recent Community of Practice session on New Vaccines, building vaccine confidence and more from February 5, 2021 can be found here.
    • A COVID-19 – Allergy/Immunology BASE™ Managed Specialty Group is now available through Ontario eConsult. Physicians and nurse practitioners can ask COVID-19 vaccine allergy related clinical questions to Allergy and Clinical Immunology specialists electronically and receive a response within days.

    Patient Resources:

    Other Information:

    • The updated prioritization framework for the population is being finalized for approval by the cabinet over the next few weeks and we will share the guidance document once it is received.
    • The COVID-19 Science Table released its lessons learned from Israel’s vaccine rollout, including: “leveraging primary care providers, including family doctors, nurse practitioners and other community-based clinicians who have established relationships with patients is key to promoting vaccine confidence, while increasing human resources required to administer vaccines as quickly as the supply will allow.”
    • The Ontario Hospital Association released a media statement calling for the need to migrate vaccination efforts away from hospitals to public health, primary care, and pharmacies.
    • We continue to work with public health to encourage all the public health units to engage primary care early, are supporting connections with local primary care leaders, and are soon releasing a practical guide to primary care partnership in vaccine rollout. Please ask your PHU for your region’s vaccine rollout strategy if you have not seen it and share with us so we can support best practices across the province.  
    • COVAXON is the provincial system to record COVID vaccination, adverse events and eventually also integrate the approved prioritization sequence.  
      • See ADM Memo to Primary Care – COVID-19 Vaccination and COVAXON, February 1, 2021.
      • The prioritization framework will be integrated into COVAXON and an associated scheduling system is planned that will enable patients to choose their preferred locations and make direct appointment bookings.
      • While it likely won’t be fully integrated into your EMR, we understand COVAXON system will be able to send reports of your vaccinated patients to your EMR.  

    To facilitate coordinated action in primary care, we are seeking to understand beliefs relating to the COVID-19 vaccine and what supports are needed for healthcare professionals in primary care. Please complete this new, very brief survey to help gain a better understanding of your perspectives and experience. Click here to access the survey.

    We look forward to continually updating you on the provincial vaccination strategy. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or ideas.

    Yours in good health,

    The AFHTO Team

    *Ontario Primary Care COVID-19 Vaccination Action Council:

    • Alliance for Healthier Communities
    • Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario
    • Indigenous Primary Health Care Council
    • Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic Association/Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario
    • Ontario College of Family Physicians
    • Ontario Medical Association Section on General and Family Practice
    • Ontario’s Academic Chairs of Family Medicine

  • Joint Letter on Vaccination roll-out and Community Providers

    Wednesday, January 27th, 2021

    Subject: Vaccination roll-out

    Dear Premier Ford and Minister Elliott:

    Our members/staff are engaged community health providers who have been fighting on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic since it began. We are aware that vulnerable and home-bound individuals in the community are slated as the next priority group to receive vaccinations. These people are cared for by our providers.

    While we understand that currently, there is a shortage of vaccines, and that this reality is outside of the province’s control, we are concerned that there is not a transparent plan around how needles are going to get into the arms of people identified to be in Stage 2, namely those that are vulnerable and/or home-bound and the providers that care for them.

    The province must use this delay to engage with us NOW, so that we are ready to deploy our existing vaccine capabilities to reach our patients expeditiously. Waiting will result in damaging delays.Trying to recreate alternative distribution networks when they currently exist will result in further damaging delays and confusion.

    Community health care providers, including primary care nurses, doctors, and pharmacists, as well as home care nurses have demonstrated experience reaching out to our patients to deliver vaccines. Our members/staff are trained in vaccine handling and program delivery. Patients trust their health care providers the most and for the vulnerable, homebound patients, it is imperative that they receive vaccines from the people who know them best. 34 Public Health Units with 34 different approaches – for the most vulnerable there needs to be a consistent approach so that they do not fall through the cracks.

    It has been well-established since November, that the Pfizer vaccine has a shelf-life of five days after freezing. The risk of our members/staff not utilizing the vaccinations within this time frame is non-existent, as collectively SE Health, VON and Bayshore complete over 40,000 home visits per day. Unlike the recent vaccine rollout, we are certain that doses provided to our members/staff will be used on the cohorts for which they were intended. We base this on our experience delivering vaccination programs, on the number of people we serve and our ability to access them quickly.

    Many who can travel to appointments should be vaccinated through their primary care providers and those who are home-bound will require visits from community nurses. Use our expertise as vaccines are our ‘bread and butter’ and we know our patients best.

    Our members/staff need to be ready to mobilize immediately. For this reason, we are asking for more provincial direction to plan this critical effort and need government and public health leadership to engage with us. We are all in this together.

    Sincerely,

    Kavita Mehta, Chief Executive Officer, Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario

    Stuart Cottrelle Chief Executive Officer, Bayshore Healthcare

    Leanne Clarke, Chief Executive Officer, Ontario College of Family Physicians

    Dr. Doris Grinspun RN, MSN, PhD, LLD (hon), Dr (hc), FAAN, FCAN O.ONT, Chief Executive Officer, Registered Nurses Association of Ontario

    Shirlee Sharkey Chief Executive Officer, SE Health

    Jo-Anne Poirier, Chief Executive Officer, VON Canada

    Dr. Cathy Faulds, MD, CCFP, FCFP, CAC (PC), Family Physician Focus Practice in Palliative Care

    Dr. Thuy-Nga (Tia) Pham, MD, MSc, CCFP, FCFP, East Toronto Family Practice Network Physician Lead

    Cc:
    Matthew Anderson, President and CEO – Ontario Health

    Helen Angus, Deputy Minister of Health

    Emily Beduz, Director of Pandemic Response

    Alison Blair, Associate Deputy Minister – Pandemic Response and Recovery

    Steven Del Duca, Ontario Liberal Party Leader

    Colleen Geiger, President and CEO (acting) – Public Health Ontario

    MPP France Gelinas, NDP Health Critic

    Andrea Horwath, NDP Leader

    Joyce Mankarios, Director of Policy

    Mike Schreiner, Leader of the Green Party of Ontario

    Rana Shamoon, Director of Health Policy (Office of the Premier)

    James Wallace, Chief of Staff (to the Premier)

    Heather Watt, Chief of Staff (to the Minister of Health)

    See the pdf version here.

  • January 22nd Update on COVID-19 Vaccination Roll Out

    Dear Members,

    We are writing to provide you with an update from our united Primary Care COVID-19 Vaccination Action Council (*PC-VAC). This week’s key messages that we shared with vaccine decision-makers can be found here.

    There are several updates this week:

    Vaccination Availability:

    • The delays reported from Pfizer seem likely to affect availability of vaccination of community-based primary care providers over the next month, but it remains a goal to ensure all healthcare workers are vaccinated by the end of March.
    • We heard from Public Health that the rate-limiting step is currently vaccine supply, and there are currently no first doses available for healthcare workers.  
    • Second doses are available for those that have had their first doses but may be delayed up to 42 days to prioritize LTC/RH residents.  

    Collaborating with Others:

    • Each public health unit has developed a regional vaccination plan that was sent to the Ministry on January 20th. Some public health units have shared their playbooks with their partners, and we will be requesting that all 34 units share them in their regions. If you have a copy of your region’s vaccination plans, please feel to share with us and we will share with our partners.
    • Each Public Health Unit (PHU) will have different needs that you may have an opportunity to support in the months ahead. We will share approaches and actively help to spread best practices across regions.
    • While we are working collaboratively at the Provincial level with a variety of partners including public health, we have recognized that an instrumental component to enabling an efficient and equitable vaccination process across regions will be establishing relationships and networks at the regional level, inclusive of all healthcare professionals that will be part of the process.
    • We are working with public health to formalize primary care leads in each of the 34 PHUs to enable communication channels and to support public health in their engagement of primary care. Primary care professionals willing to get engaged will be able to work with their PHU.
    • The OHA shared with us that many hospitals are reaching capacity and are concerned about critical care bed occupancy. They are working to determine innovative solutions around transferring people amongst hospitals.
    • The OHA acknowledged that there has been some frustration around who is receiving vaccinations and are committed to working with community physicians/primary care to figure out how to vaccinate efficiently and effectively.  
    • As a reminder, the Guidance for Prioritizing Health Care Workers for COVID-19 Vaccination has been released. The associations have sent a letter requesting further clarity on some elements of the guidance.
    • Watch for a communication about COVAX in the coming days on how to register for this system and the associated guidance.

    Resources

    To facilitate coordinated action in primary care, we are seeking to understand beliefs relating to the COVID-19 vaccine and what supports are needed for healthcare professionals in primary care. Please complete this new, very brief survey to help us better understand your perspectives and experience. Click here to access the survey.

    We look forward to continually updating you on the provincial vaccination strategy. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or ideas.

    Yours in good health,

    The AFHTO Team

    *Ontario Primary Care COVID-19 Vaccination Action Council:

    • Alliance for Healthier Communities
    • Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario
    • Indigenous Primary Health Care Council
    • Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic Association/Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario
    • Ontario College of Family Physicians
    • Ontario Medical Association Section on General and Family Practice
    • Ontario’s Academic Chairs of Family Medicine

  • Joint Letter to release Mental Health and Addiction Funding

    January 19, 2021

    Dear Minister,

    We would like to thank you and your team for your ongoing work in ensuring the people of Ontario stay safe
    as we combat the pandemic. Your tireless efforts are greatly appreciated.

    We are writing about a commitment of funding that was made by your government in the Fall 2020 budget to
    provide interprofessional teams with additional funding to support people in the community struggling with
    mental health and addiction challenges. As your government pointed out in the budget COVID-19 has had
    significant impact on mental health and addictions (MHA) across the province. There has also been a
    disproportionate impact on individuals with existing mental health and addictions challenges.     Prior to COVID,
    MHA was the biggest clinical pain point in primary care with limited support and resources. With the
    pandemic, the crisis has only increased and every primary care provider is now seeing MHA at each visit,
    whether in-person or virtual.

    That is why we were grateful for the $3M that was committed through the budget to help Community Health
    Centres, Family Health Teams, Indigenous Primary Health Care Teams and Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics with
    the increased demand of MHA in their clinics. Though we are grateful for this funding support, Minister, we
    are very concerned that the funding has not yet flowed to the teams. Primary care teams do not carry reserve
    dollars in their budgets and as a result, they cannot roll out clinical or service support without the funds in
    their accounts. We are now in mid January and the funding has not yet flowed and yet, the funding is
    expected to be spent by March 31st. Added to the complexity is that CHCs receive their funding from Ontario
    Health so they have an added layer of approvals which means their funding may take even longer to get to
    the respective CHCs in the province.

    Minister, we are sure you are just as concerned as we are with the MHA crisis that currently exists so we are
    writing to ask your office for help to expedite the approval letters so that the funding can flow to the
    respective interprofessional teams. Given the tight timelines to actually spend the funds, we are also asking
    you to allow those funds to spread into the next fiscal year so that the money can be spent thoughtfully to
    help support those who need it the most.

    We look forward to hearing from you soon and would be happy to answer any questions or address any
    concerns you may have.

    Yours sincerely,

    Sarah Hobbs, Chief Executive Officer, Alliance for Healthier Communities
    Kavita Mehta, Chief Executive Officer, Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario
    Jennifer Clement, Past Chair, Nurse Practitioner Led Clinics Association

    Cc:
    Helen Angus, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Health
    Joyce Mankarios, Director of Policy, Minister’s Office
    Laurel Brazill, Director of Stakeholder Relations, Minister’s Office
    Nadia Surani, Director of Primary Health Care, Ministry of Health
    Caroline Lidstone-Jones, CEO, Indigenous Primary Health Care Council

    See the pdf version here.

  • January 15th Update on COVID-19 Vaccination Roll Out

    Dear Members,

    We are writing to provide you with an update from our united Primary Care COVID-19 Vaccination Action Council (*PC-VAC). Each week, we advocate for a shared set of bottom-line messages to vaccine decision-makers. You can read the bottom lines for this week here.

    We are also committed to sharing with you weekly news on the work underway, and have several key updates for this week:

    1. Ontario has released a technical briefing with further details of its vaccination plan. The plan outlines priority populations in each phase, as well as anticipated vaccine delivery timelines.

    • See the figure at the bottom of this email, which indicates that all primary care providers and their staff will be immunized in Phase 1, vaccine dependent.

    2. Primary care is ready to support vaccine efforts, and each community is at different stages of deployment and primary care partnership.

    • Thank you to the 3,000+ primary care professionals who raised their hands to support vaccine efforts during our recent call out for LTC. We continue to share these lists with the public health units.
    • Ontario has a forthcoming Public Health Playbook for the COVID-19 Vaccination Program, which emphasizes early partnerships with primary care.
    • In the meantime, we are working with provincial public health leaders to assess individual public health unit needs and emphasize the willingness of our primary care community to support vaccine efforts. We anticipate that each region will have different needs that you may have an opportunity to support in the months ahead. We will share successes and actively help to spread best practices across regions.
    • We are also working with provincial public health leaders to develop a package for primary care that will include direction around consent, medical directives and other relevant resources and tools.

    3. As we await broader vaccine rollout, there are ways we can make a difference.

    4. We continue to advocate on your behalf to the Ministry of Health and other decision-makers.

    • We are asking for regular, transparent communications from the Ministry of Health, Public Health, and the COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Task Force to the broader primary care community.
    • The Ministry of Health released healthcare worker prioritization guidance on January 8th. We are now advocating for specific details regarding when and how our physicians and primary care providers will be immunized, which we expect to happen over the coming weeks.
    • The Ministry of Health also released updated guidance on H-codes. To support the provincial vaccination strategy, the ministry is expanding the criteria used to designate COVID-19 Assessment Centres to include any sites where a Hospital or Public Health Unit (PHU) coordinates COVID-19 vaccination delivery. The Ministry will release an INFOBulletin on this update shortly.
    • We also understand that the Ministry of Health is working on a provincial training rollout for COVAX, as well as EMR integration for future primary care vaccination settings.
    • Note that the Ministry’s new Ontario matching portal for vaccination support is not intended for vaccinators.
    • Finally, we are advocating for a multi-pronged approach, which includes the following elements:
    • Mass vaccination hubs – offered in partnership with public health and hospitals and staffed by primary care and community health professionals.
    • Mobile vaccination teams – to deploy to congregate settings, high rise apartments, homebound older adults, and other people who have challenges going to a vaccine hub.
    • Community based, equity-focused vaccination efforts for communities that face barriers otherwise accessing vaccination clinics.
    • Regular flu vaccine model — office-based, opportunistic vaccinations out of primary care practices and in collaboration with pharmacy partners.

    5. To facilitate coordinated action in primary care, we are seeking to understand beliefs relating to the COVID-19 vaccine and what supports are needed for healthcare professionals in primary care. Please complete this new, very brief survey to help us better understand your perspectives and experience. Click here to access the survey.

    As a friendly reminder, the Primary Care COVID-19 Vaccination Action Council (PC-VAC) is not a decision-making body. Rather, we are respectfully emphasizing to decision-makers that primary care must play a central role in current and future vaccination efforts.

    Please let us know if you have any questions or ideas.

    Yours in good health,

    The AFHTO Team

    *Ontario Primary Care COVID-19 Vaccination Action Council:

    • Alliance for Healthier Communities
    • Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario
    • Indigenous Primary Health Care Council
    • Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic Association/Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario
    • Ontario College of Family Physicians
    • Ontario Medical Association Section on General and Family Practice
    • Ontario’s Academic Chairs of Family Medicine

  • Joint Letter on Paid Sick Leave

    January 14, 2021

    Sent via email

    Premier of Ontario
    Legislative Building
    Queen’s Park
    Toronto ON M7A 1A1

    Dear Premier Ford,

    Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the evidence has become clear: paid sick leave is essential to protecting our province from the catastrophic impacts of unchecked virus transmission, and its toll on marginalized populations.

    We are a coalition of healthcare and social service providers writing to express our urgent appeal for the immediate implementation of paid sick days for Ontario workers, including temporary and precariously employed workers, as a central measure to improve population health and stop the spread of COVID-19. Our request is in addition to the benefit provided by the federal government through The Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit.

    We request that the Government of Ontario require all employers to provide a minimum of five annual paid sick days, and that the 2021 provincial budget fund and support employers to increase this to ten annual sick days during a declared infectious disease emergency like COVID-19.

    This week’s modelling shows the situation is dire and requires a swift and immediate response to prevent our health systems from becoming further overwhelmed. Employers, workers, and their communities cannot wait any longer. Due to the urgency of this matter, we are requesting your immediate response.

    Signed

    Allan O’Dette, Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Medical Association
    Sarah Hobbs, Chief Executive Officer, Alliance for Healthier Communities
    Dr. Doris Grinspun, RN, MSN, PhD, LLD(hon), Dr(hc), FAAN, FCAN, O.ONT, Chief Executive Officer, Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO)
    Kavita Mehta, Chief Executive Officer, Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario
    Leanne Clarke, Chief Executive Officer, Ontario College of Family Physicians
    Dana Cooper MBA, CAE, Chief Executive Officer, Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario
    Jennifer Clement, Past Chair, Nurse Practitioner Led Clinics Association
    Deborah Simon, Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Community Support Association
    Caroline Lidstone-Jones, Chief Executive Officer,Indigenous Primary Health Care Council

    Cc:
    Hon. Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health
    Hon. Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour
    Dr. David Williams, Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health

    See the pdf version here.

  • January 8th Update on COVID-19 Vaccination Roll Out

    Dear Members,

    As you are aware, the COVID-19 response is changing rapidly.

    As mentioned earlier this week, the Primary Care COVID-19 Vaccination Action Council* is very active in provincial advocacy efforts. We are meeting regularly with many partners including the Ontario Hospital Association, Public Health, Ontario Medical Association, Ministry of Health staff and Vaccine Task Force representatives.  

    Thank you very much for your quick response to our survey from Monday. As of yesterday, 2000+ primary care professionals across the province responded to indicate interest and availability to support rapid vaccination in long term care and retirement homes, should we be called on in the weeks or months ahead.

     
    We also had 20 Indigenous Primary Health Care Council members and associates respond with their readiness to participate with vaccination supports. We are working closely with Public Health Units across the province who will have access to this data and supporting PHUs to partner with their local primary care leaders.

    There is a lot of confusion and concern in primary care about a variety of things including the lack of information, who is making decisions about primary care’s role in vaccination, when primary care will get vaccinated and who is leading the efforts.  

    The following information is what we know so far, but keep in mind that the plan continues to evolve:

    • Public Health will be taking the lead role in local vaccination distribution. They have acknowledged that their leadership in vaccination needs to happen in partnership with others including primary care. The 34 Public Health Units are identifying primary care vaccination leads in each of their regions. We are sharing our vaccinator volunteer list with each local PHU to facilitate connections.
    • Decisions about vaccine distribution are ultimately made by the Ministry of Health. As you know, the COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Task Force, led by retired General Rick Hillier, is making recommendations to the Ministry and Premier. There are several other tables that also provide input, but ultimately, the decisions are made by the Minister of Health.
    • An approach to prioritizing Health Care Workers for vaccination has been developed and it is anticipated that guidance documents will be available on Friday or Monday. Health Care Workers and staff, depending on the setting, the population served, and their risk factors will be vaccinated in Phase 1 (now until March) or in Phase 2 (after March). Vaccine supply will dictate how quickly each group can be offered the vaccine. We are hearing that there has been an inconsistent approach by hospitals regarding vaccination of hospital staff and community clinicians. We have raised this as a concern, and once the guidance documents are released this issue should be resolved.  
    • It is anticipated that Primary Care will not have access to vaccines until after Phase 1. With the exception of those participating in outreach teams for high-risk individuals in congregate settings, the main role of primary care for now is to communicate with patients about the vaccine. Numerous webinars and practice tools are planned to support you.
    • The database being used for vaccination documentation is called COVAX. Plans are starting to get all Primary Care Physicians, Nurse Practitioners and Pharmacists registered and trained on how to use the database. Health cards are not required to enter patient information into the database and the Ministry has indicated additional fields are continuing to be added, including those that address SDOH.
    • Hospitals, Public Health, and the Ministry are working, together with the Primary Care COVID-19 Vaccination Action Council, to develop protocols for rapidly getting the vaccine into ALL long-term care and retirement homes.
    • There has been a commitment made for Federal and Provincial bodies to work together on vaccination efforts for Indigenous, First Nations, Metis, and Inuit communities to reduce the amount of confusion and mixed messages. A separate sub-table was created by Indigenous Affairs Ontario for this purpose and the Indigenous Primary Health Care Council participates on the table.
    • There has been some confusion about who can administer the vaccine. It has been confirmed that all primary care clinicians, including Physicians, Nurses, Nurse Practitioners and Pharmacists will be providing vaccinations. It was also confirmed that only regulated health providers will be administering the vaccine unless they are already able to vaccinate as per their scope of practice (e.g., EMS, PAs).  
    • Updated clinical guidance for special populations was released this morning. In short, benefits of the vaccine are felt to outweigh risks for most people that are pregnant, or that have auto-immune conditions or compromised immune systems.

    This week we are seeking the following:

    • Role clarity between hospitals, public health, and primary care, with emphasis on primary care partnership in PHU vaccine plan.
    • Weekly communication that is clear, transparent, and consistent to health organizations with specifics around forthcoming vaccine supply and distribution at provincial and regional levels.
    • A standardized approach, while taking into account local rollout, PHUs need transparent and consistent approaches across the province using a health equity framework.

    Resources:

    The primary care associations are committed to communicating with you on a weekly basis to keep you informed. If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know.

    Yours in good health,

    The AFHTO Team

    *Ontario Primary Care COVID-19 Vaccination Action Council:

    • Alliance for Healthier Communities
    • Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario
    • Indigenous Primary Health Care Council
    • Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic Association/Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario
    • Ontario College of Family Physicians
    • Ontario Medical Association Section on General and Family Practice
    • Ontario’s Academic Chairs of Family Medicine
  • Year End Message from AFHTO’s President and Board Chair

    Year End Message from AFHTO’s President and Board Chair

    Hi everyone,

    Allan Grill

    Well, it’s been only 2 months since I became AFHTO President, so I thought this was a good time to provide an update on what I’ve been up to as this year comes to a close.

    For starters, I get invited to a lot of meetings, which is to be expected considering we are in a global pandemic. Aside from taking advantage of the opportunity to keep our members informed of the latest happenings in primary care, I am excited to say that some great collaboration has been happening along the way.

    When there seemed to be some misinformation about family physician offices not being accessible to patients, both in-person and virtually, AFHTO got together with the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) and the Ontario Medical Association’s Section of General & Family Practice (SGFP) to produce a 1 page document entitled “We’re Your Family Doctors – we’re here to care for you – whether by phone, video or in person”. This was shared widely with all our organizations as well as on social media and remains an ongoing advocacy tool to highlight the important role primary care played during the pandemic.

    I’ve also been invited to participate on a committee representing primary care to help advise the COVID-19 vaccination roll-out in Ontario. The goals are to share up-to-date scientific information about these new vaccines, promote vaccine uptake and prevent vaccine hesitancy. It’s still early days, but hopefully in the next few months, primary care will be playing a huge roll in getting patients across Ontario to roll up their sleeves.

    Our partners include the Alliance for Healthier Communities, Indigenous Primary Health Care Council, Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario, Ontario College of Pharmacists, Ontario’s Academic Chairs of Family Medicine, the OCFP and the SGFP, and it’s going to take this kind of organization and collaboration to get the job done!

    The AFHTO Board has also met a few times since our virtual Annual General Meeting to discuss our strategic plan and where we want to be in the next few years. We are also starting to discuss the pre-election platform issues that need further attention to support team-based care, and there will be a town hall to get input from members in early 2021 – so please stay tuned.

    Finally, I have tried to promote good news stories about team-based primary care via my own Twitter handle – @Allan_k_grillMD. One of the biggest topics that received some attention was our efforts in giving flu shots, be it in our own offices, drive through clinics in parking lots, or collaborations with local public health partners.

    We often spend all our time focused on the work itself, but self-promotion needs to remain a priority. Not only does it educate others about the power of primary care, but a little friendly competition between us never hurt anyone. So, I encourage you to tell your stories and use #PrimaryCareAlwaysThere to share the great work your teams are doing in your community.

    It’s been a difficult and challenging year. Primary care continues to pivot during this pandemic to meet our patients’ needs, and colleagues are exhausted.  We need a break, and the holiday season couldn’t have come more quickly. I hope everyone takes some time off over the next 2 weeks to recharge and reconnect with loved ones, even if it has to be virtual. It’s still a time of year to be thankful for what we have, and we can’t let the pandemic take even that away from us.

    Being of the Jewish faith, I recently celebrated the holiday of Chanukah, where candles are lit on the menorah (or chanukiah) each night for 8 nights, adding 1 extra candle each time. The miracle connected to Chanukkah has to do with the small amount of oil needed to light the menorah. When the Maccabees (a group of Jewish warriors) reclaimed the Temple of Jerusalem in the 2nd century BCE after its destruction, only a small amount of oil was found. Despite the very low supply, it lasted 8 whole days.

    To me, the holiday of Chanukkah represents hope. A hope that we should all have lives full of light and warmth. As we bring in 2021, I wish nothing more for all of you along with your friends and families. It is also fitting that we welcomed in another potential miracle and source of hope recently as Health Canada approved the first available COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, with more to follow. Although most Canadians won’t get full access to a COVID-19 vaccine until probably Spring or Summer of 2021, there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel.

    Thank you for your continued tireless efforts to support AFHTO, your patients and each other.

     

    Dr. Allan Grill
    President and Board Chair
    Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario

  • Sending warm wishes and cheer

    Sending warm wishes and cheer

    Season's greetings to you and yours! HOLIDAY HOURS The AFHTO Office will be open December 21-24, 2020, but with significantly reduced staff.The office will be closed December 25, 2020 - January 1, 2021, then fully open again on January 4, 2021. There's light at the end of this particularly dark tunnel. Please stay safe until then.

  • Thirteen New Ontario Health Teams Announced

    Congratulations to the thirteen new Ontario Health Teams and to our member teams that are engaged and participating in the development of OHTs. This list may be updated as more information becomes available.

    Ontario Health Team

    		 AFHTO Members
     Brantford Brant OHT PrimaCare FHT
    Downtown East Toronto OHT

    Inner City FHT

    Sherbourne Health Centre FHT

    St. Michael’s Hospital Academic FHT
    Frontenac, Lennox & Addington OHT

    Kingston FHT
    Lakelands FHT
    Loyalist FHT
    Maple FHT
    Queen’s FHT
    Sharbot Lake FHT
    Kawartha Lakes OHT

    City of Kawartha Lakes FHT
    Kawartha North FHT
    Kitchener, Waterloo, Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich OHT

    Centre for Family Medicine FHT
    New Vision FHT
    Lanark, Leeds and Grenville OHT Leeds & Grenville Community FHT
    Mid-West Toronto OHT

    Inner City FHT
    Mount Sinai Academic FHT
    Taddle Creek FHT

    Toronto Western FHT

    Women’s College Academic FHT
    Oxford and Area OHT

    Ingersoll NPLC

    Thames Valley FHT
    Rainy River OHT

    Atikokan FHT

    Fort Frances FHT
    Sarnia Lambton OHT

    Central Lambton FHT
    Rapids FHT
    Scarborough OHT

    Carefirst FHT

    Inner City FHT

    Scarborough Academic FHT
    South Georgian Bay OHT Georgian Bay FHT
    West Toronto OHT

    Crosstown FHT
    Village FHT

    Relevant Link: