BROWN ANNOUNCES NEW FAMILY HEALTH TEAMS
Mike Brown, M.P.P.
Algoma-Manitoulin
For Immediate Release
August 24, 2010
Ontario Government Helping Provide Better Care Closer To Home
Mike Brown, MPP, Algoma-Manitoulin and the Hon. Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
BATCHEWANA – Mike Brown, MPP, Algoma-Manitoulin, is pleased to announce that there will be new Family Health Teams at Batchewana and Blind River serving Algoma-Manitoulin. Ontario is creating 30 new Family Health Teams across the province to provide better access to family health care.
“I am pleased that Algoma-Manitoulin has received two more Family Health Teams, in addition to those previously approved in Wawa, Elliot Lake, Chapleau, Manitowaning, Espanola, Mindemoya, Manitouwadge and Little Current,” said Brown.
Family Health Teams provide care closer to home by bringing together health care professionals such as physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, social workers and dieticians. Working together, they offer quality team-based care while also attaching more patients who don’t have a regular family doctor to one in their community. They also help reduce demand on hospital emergency departments by providing non-emergency care.
The addition of 30 new teams meets Ontario’s commitment to create 200 Family Health Teams. These teams are currently providing care to over 2.3 million Ontarians and serving over 393,000 previously unattached patients.
Today’s announcement is a key part of the government’s Open Ontario Plan to provide more access to health care services while improving quality and accountability for patients.
QUICK FACTS
- More than 900,000 Ontarians have been attached to a family doctor, since 2003
- It is expected that once all 200 teams are operational, they will provide access to primary care for nearly 2.7 million Ontarians
- As of 2009, there were 2,886 more doctors providing services to Ontario patients than in 2003
- Ontarians without a family health care provider can register with Health Care Connect, a program that helps people find a family doctor or nurse practitioner in their community
- Ontario has also announced 25 Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics which are expected to care for more than 40,000 people.
