Tag: Success Stories

Timmins Today article published January 5, 2017. Article in full pasted below. TimminsToday Staff NEWS RELEASE NORTH EAST LHIN ************************* The North East Local Health Integration Network (NE LHIN) has named Jennifer McLeod, Executive Director of the Timmins Family Health Team, a Healthy Change Champion. McLeod has worked in many areas of health care for more than three decades, including acute care, long-term care, public health, primary care in remote Northern communities, and most recently, with the Timmins Family Health Team. “Better health care is provided to patients when health agencies work together to deliver quality health services,” says McLeod. “Services are delivered more efficiently, with minimal duplication, and gaps in service are more easily identified and resolved.” McLeod says that more than ever, it’s important for primary care and home and community care to work together closely so that people get the streamlined care they need right across the system, regardless of where they live. “Jennifer has been instrumental in many patient-focused projects in the Timmins area, including the Health Link, Timmins Palliative Resource Team, the North East Specialized Geriatric Centre Regional Systems Steering Committee, and more.  She is renowned for her collaborative approach,” says Louise Paquette, CEO, NE LHIN. “Jennifer’s leadership is exactly what the system needs as we continue to find ways to work together better so Northerners get a positive health care experience as close to where they live as possible.” McLeod’s family moved to Moosonee from Toronto when she was in her teens. She lived there for the next 20 years where she raised her family. Although she moved south to Timmins in 1994, she maintains close ties to family in Moose Factory. McLeod says Timmins has a very collaborative health care team that includes most of the area’s primary care providers and many specialists. She says together they have been able to achieve significant changes in their delivery of health care. “As a Healthy Change Champion, I simply help to guide this process ensuring that we are moving forward. This is an interesting and rewarding role in Timmins as our accomplishments reflect the accumulation of the efforts and commitment of many,” McLeod added. FACTS:

• Health Links are a model of care across the province that started in 2012 in which several providers in a community – including primary care, hospital, community care – work together to coordinate care plans at the patient level. Health Links are accountable to LHINs. The Timmins Health Link is one of two early adopters in the NE LHIN region and has developed care coordination plans for more than 60 patients with multiple, complex conditions.
• Health Links locations now include Timmins, Temiskaming, Nipissing-East Parry Sound, North Cochrane, Sault Ste. Marie, and Sudbury.
• The Timmins Family Health Team provides primary care to approximately 25,000 patients in Timmins across six clinical sites with 31 physicians, five nurse practitioners, and approximately 35 staff.
• The NE LHIN Healthy Change Champion recognizes people or organizations transforming the health care system so that it becomes more patient/client-focused, integrated, and easier to access. Any Northerner can suggest a Healthy Change Champion. Please tell us in one or two paragraphs why you believe the person or organization deserves this recognition. Send your nomination to engagingwithyou@lhins.on.ca or 555 Oak Street East, Third Floor, North Bay, ON, P1B 8E3.

Click here to access the Timmins Today article

The Manitoulin Expositor article published November 9, 2016. Article in full pasted below. Expositor Staff, The Manitoulin Expositor

MINDEMOYA—Dr. Maurianne Reade, a physician at the Manitoulin Central Family Health Team in Mindemoya, is this year’s Northeast and Northwest Ontario 2016 Regional Physician of the Year as awarded by the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) Awards.

The OCFP’s Annual Awards program celebrates the outstanding skill, knowledge and dedication of family doctors across Ontario, a press release from the association states. The awards recognize excellence in community and medical leadership, outstanding contributions in teaching and exceptional teamwork.

The Regional Family Physician of the Year Award recognizes the outstanding contributions of seven Ontario family doctors who provide exemplary care to their patients and are passionately involved in activities that contribute to excellence in family medicine.

Dr. Reade has practiced as a rural physician in Mindemoya since 2001. She is an associate professor at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, a board member of the Physician Clinical Teachers Association and an executive member of the OMA Academic Medicine Forum and Rural Expert Panel.

Described by peers as someone who views health holistically, her dedication to family medicine shines through in her daily routine where she can be found caring for patients in their homes, in the family health team clinic or First Nations Health Centre, the local emergency room and hospital ward.

“Good for Dr. Reade,” said Dr. Cooper, MHC chief of staff when contacted by The Expositor. “She certainly deserves some credit for all she does. Dr. Reade is an inspiration to her colleagues, a pleasure to work with, a tireless educator and an excellent clinician.”

The awards will be handed out at a gala event later this month at the Fairmont Royal York.

Click here to access The Manitoulin Expositor article 

Congratulations to the Couchiching Family Health Team for being named a 2016 LEADing Practice Initiative. The FHT is being recognized for exemplary use of digital tools to strengthen clinical practice and provider experience. Couchiching FHT’s project integrated a tablet-based system into their EMR to screen patients at risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This also allowed patients to edit demographic information stored in their patient chart in the EMR in real time, without any increase in staff time or resources. Presented at the AFHTO 2015 Conference, benefits of the system included approximately 40% (or 3000) of the total patient population completing smoking screening in a little over 4 months compared to the previous, paper-based COPD screening process in which only 200 patients were screened at baseline. There was also a 33% increase in referral to the smoking cessation program. Couchiching is now expanding the tablet program to further identify and support individuals with other chronic diseases e.g. diabetes, and using such screenings for depression. The LEADing Practice Initiative, a partnership between Canada Health Infoway and Accreditation Canada is part of a larger Clinician Education Campaign, identifying LEADing practices across Canada that demonstrate the clinical benefits of digital health. Their award will be presented at the 2016 Peer Leader Symposium: Building Peer Leader Bridges to Advance Clinical Practice event to be held on March 3-4, 2016 at the Intercontinental Toronto Centre in Toronto. Relevant Links:

• “Couchiching Family Health Team recognized with national honour”, The Orillia Packet & Times, Feb. 23, 2016
• CASE STUDY: How Ocean Transformed the Couchiching Family Health Team’s COPD Program
• LEADing Practice Awards
• Leveraging convergence of healthcare delivery, business dynamics and technology advancements to advance collection and utilization of meaningful COPD patient data– Couchiching FHT’s 2015 conference presentation (members only link)
• Handout – from Couchiching FHT’s 2015 conference presentation