North East Local Health Integration Network
News Release
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The North East Local Health Integration Network (NE LHIN) welcomes Dr. Paul Preston of North Bay and Dr. Gary Bota of Sudbury appointed to work with regional health care professionals as medical leads for the NE LHIN.
Dr. Preston, a family physician, will serve as Primary Care Lead.
Primary care is the point of entry to the health care system and increasing primary care coordination is a priority of the North East LHIN’s 2013-2016 strategic plan.
Dr. Bota, an emergency physician in Sudbury for the past 31 years, will work as the NE LHIN’s Emergency Department (ED) Lead and will continue to champion improvements in emergency service delivery for Northerners.
“Both Dr. Preston and Dr. Bota have spent their careers working in Northeastern Ontario with patients and professional colleagues, and I am very pleased that they have agreed to help us build a stronger system of patient-focused care here for Northerners,” said Louise Paquette, CEO of the NE LHIN.
He will work closely with the North East LHIN to strengthen and align primary care planning and help build a more accessible system of care for Northerners.
Dr. Preston will work closely with the LHIN to strengthen and align primary care planning and help to build a more accessible system of care for Northerners.
“I am looking forward to working with the NE LHIN to work with systems in primary care and to make real 'on the ground' differences that help providers and patients of our region,” said Dr. Preston.
Dr. Bota currently serves as the Section Chair of Emergency Medicine at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and represents the academic interests of emergency physicians across Northern Ontario.
“My extensive career in emergency medicine here in Northeastern Ontario has given me great insights into various emergency department strategies, wait times, and helpful ways to support system improvements in collaboration with the LHIN and its partners,” said Dr. Bota.
FACTS:
· Dr. Preston and Dr. Bota join North East LHIN Leads: Dr. Derek Manchuk – Critical Care Lead, Dr. Boji Varghese - Endocrinologist Lead for Diabetes, and Barbara Kiely - Primary Care Lead for Diabetes/Chronic Disease Management.
· More about Dr. Preston:
· After graduating from the University of Toronto in 1985, Dr. Preston worked in various Northern Ontario centres and was a hospital emergency physician in North Bay between 1988 and 1995. Since then, he has been a family physician in North Bay and an active member of hospital staff.
· Dr. Preston is chair of the Blue Sky Family Health Team, North Bay. He currently serves as Medical Director and Chief of Primary Care at North Bay Regional Health Centre. He was Chief of the Department of General and Family Practice there in 2012.
· Dr. Preston has served as an assistant professor at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine since 2008. His experience extends to serving as a medical director of Nipissing Manor Nursing Home from 2006 to the present, and as physician for the North Bay jail from1993 to 2014.
More about Dr. Bota:
· Dr. Bota’s early research concentrated on Northern issues – in particular injury prevention on our roads, snowmobile trails and hockey rinks. He was also involved in addressing the issue of domestic violence – both its incidence and prevalence in NE Ontario.
· With the help of several local agencies, he spearheaded the institution of the first ‘Do not resuscitate’ program in Ontario many years before this became common practice in the province.
· Over the past decade, Dr. Bota has been involved in the field of Medical Informatics. His activity has revolved around knowledge translation – using informatics to promote best practice. He has participated in ED informatics projects on three continents.
· In Northeastern Ontario there are: 538 family physicians, 1 Group Health Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, 27 Family Health Teams, 6 Community Health Centres, 6 Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics, and 16 nursing stations.
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