Nurse Practitioner Committe thrilled clinic will be a reality

Ruth Woodward, Nurse Practitioner
News Release

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The organising committee is ecstatic to be able to share the news that the North Bay Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic will become a reality!

The MOHLTC announced on Monday August 23rd that North Bay will indeed be provided with funding to start an NP-Led clinic to serve a large number of unattached patients so that more North Bay and area residents have access to the primary health care services they need.

We are very thankful to the ministry and Monique Smith for recognising that our community is in great need of the services that nurse practitioners can provide. The Proposal for the NP-Led clinic was submitted in June by NPs Pat Anglehart and Ruth Woodward to obtain funding as set out by the MOHLTC for one of the last 14 of 25 NP-Led clinics across the province.

We will target unattached patients, that is, those without a family doctor, to provide Primary Health Care, especially for young families as well as those with chronic diseases such as diabetes, chronic lung disease, and heart disease including hypertension, for example.

This NP-Led clinic will help reduce the impact of chronic disease, improve accessibility to primary health care, facilitate routine screening for disease and promote healthy living initiatives to our fellow residents of this community who do not otherwise have access to a primary care provider.

Our clinic will be an inter-professional group that receives referrals from and also refers to agencies including the North Bay General Hospital, CCAC, BestStart, One Kids Place and other partnering agencies in the city.

The next phase of development will be concentrating on choosing a site, and determining the operational details. We hope to be up and running early in the New Year.

The North Bay Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic will offer high quality medical care to many individuals in and around the City of North Bay thereby improving the health of many while decreasing the burden of disease not only on this population, but on the health care system as well. It takes a great deal of effort from many community members to get this clinic functional and we thank all of you for the great support in helping to make this NP-Led clinic a reality!

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