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Team approach to health care announced for the Near North

'All the organizations in the community that provide all the health care will be connected. That way you can make sure threre is no redundant care, that there's no gaps in care' Dr. Paul Preston

The Near North Health and Wellness Ontario Health Team was launched in North Bay over the weekend.

In making the announcement, Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli told a group of health care professionals and area mayors that “care providers from every stage of a patient’s health care journey are coming together as a single team to provide truly patient-centred care.”

The team includes physicians, and more than 30 partners including primary care, hospital care, long-term care, mental health and addictions and home and community care.

Near North team is one of the first 24 Ontario Health Teams in the province to implement this new model of care.

Fedeli said this team approach is a big step towards ending hallway health care.

“We all know our health care system is facing capacity pressures and patients and families are getting lost in the health care system. They’re falling through the cracks, waiting too long to get the care they need,” said Fedeli.

“We see all of the partners working together so you have sort of a one stop shop and a continuum of care. This is what the doctor’s, the EMS people, all of the nurse practitioners, all of the mental health and addiction people, all of the partners have asked for this for year. We’re delivering today,” said Fedeli.

Four thousand hours of volunteer work by local health care professionals went into formulating a plan of action to repair what appears to be a disconnect between health care services and patients in the Near North.   

“All the organizations in the community that provide all the health care will be connected, and eventually all part of one organization. That is the way you can make sure all the care is connected, that there is no redundant care, that there’s no gaps in the care, and people don’t feel abandoned,” stated Dr. Paul Preston who went on to say the formation of Ontario Health Teams is a voluntary measure.

“This isn’t at this point mandated by the government. This isn’t just some politician’s crazy idea. The idea resonates with all of us.”

Jaymie-Lynn Blanchard is the clinic director with the North Bay Nurse Practitioner Led Clinic.

“Most of my patients are not just entering one door in the health care system. They are involved in different sectors of the health care system because it is required for their care. So, when we work together as a team to support patients, we’ll be better able to provide them with the best services. And, working together as a team, we share those accountabilities and those requirements to give those patients the best outcome,” said Blanchard.

“The idea is people will have less delays in getting the treatment they need or the services they need. There will be less barriers to accessing services in our community, and there is a plan for patients. When they are discharged from hospital, there will be a plan on how to connect them to the home services they need or to a primary health care provider they may not already have. When we work together like that, we’ll be better able to support them with whatever they need.”

The Near North Health and Wellness Ontario Health Team will work to meet individual health care needs of residents across the entire region.

That includes Francophone, First Nations, Inuit and Metis populations and residents living in rural and remote areas.

Kimberly Lalonde is the director of health services for Nipissing First Nation.

As a First Nations health care provider, she says culture plays an important role in the work they are doing.

“Ultimately we’re striving to improve health outcomes so that each and everyone of the people we serve in this local area can have a better quality of life and a really good health status that is comparable to many Ontarians,” said Lalonde.

“So, in the spirit of this journey I acknowledge the trust that is being cultivated among us and the support to keep Indigenous health in Indigenous hands.”

Dr Preston says there is still plenty of work ahead.

“It has never been done before in Canada. It has taken this long to get to the point where we are approved, so now we can start to officially plan. So how long it takes to get to the next step we don’t know for sure.”