The Bay could see a Nurse Practitioner Clinic

North Bay Nurse Practitioners
News Release

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Will North Bay get a Nurse Practitioner Clinic?

There are a group of nurse practitioners in North Bay working on submitting a proposal for a nurse practitioner clinic in North Bay. The Ministry of Health and Long Term Care recently announced they would be funding eight Nurse Practitioner Clinics throughout Ontario. It is estimated that 10, 000 residents in the North Bay area cannot access a family doctor or nurse practitioner. “ The nurse practitioner clinic would go a long way to assist these people access a provider”, states Terri MacDougall, the lead NP submitting the application. It is for these “orphan patients” that the group of nurse practitioners is seeking community support in order to make the clinic a reality. Nurse practitioners will work with community physicians, the hospital, the health unit, local agencies and the community care access centre in order to serve the needs of people without a physician.

What can a nurse practitioner do for you?

Nurse practitioners (NPs) are registered nurses with advanced education and legislative authority, who help you keep healthy, diagnose and treat common illnesses and injuries, prescribe medications, and order lab tests, x-rays and other diagnostic tests. In the 11 years the role has been legally recognized in Ontario, nurse practitioners have expanded their reach and work in every sector of the health-care system from hospitals and community clinics to long-term care homes, home care and family health teams.

Nurse practitioners work independently and collaborate with physicians when a patient’s need is beyond the nurse practitioner’s legal scope of practice. Collaboration enables nurse practitioners to provide access to care for those that might not otherwise be able to obtain care.

Local Information:

The City of North Bay has several practising nurse practitioners. The Blue Sky Family Health Team has two full time nurse practitioners, Canadian Forces Base North Bay has two nurse practitioners, the Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) has one full time nurse practitioner and the Victoria Order of Nurses (VON) has a funded position.

Terri MacDougall, NP is funded through the VON. MacDougall mainly works with the Near North Family Health Network at the Northgate Medical Clinic, providing care to patients through booked appointments and through the walk in clinic. As well, her position targets vulnerable women and children. MacDougall registers patients living at the Nipissing Transition House and participants of the Family Enrichment Program that do not have a family physician. “Terri saved my life! She saw me when no one else would” states Stacey, a woman fleeing an abusive relationship and lives at the Nipissing Transition House. Stacey is not her real name. “Terri listened to me and understood the severity of my situation. I will continue to see her when I get my own place to live”.

Nola Tremblay is a nurse practitioner, employed by the North East CCAC who makes house calls providing medical care to elderly patients who find it difficult to leave their homes. Their poor health and numerous chronic medical conditions makes leaving their homes a hardship and subsequently confines them to their home environment. Working with a team of professionals, she makes sure her patient’s medical needs are met, preventing unnecessary emergency visits and hospitalizations.

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