Archive for June, 2009

The Honorable David Caplan, Minster for Health, recently visited Peterborough to see first hand the success of the city’s five Networked Family Health Teams.  Press coverage of the event is included below. 

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Peterborough Family Health Teams Model for Province

Fiona Isaacson, Peterborough Examiner

Health Minister David Caplan said Peterborough’s family health teams are a success and a model to follow as he announced 19 more teams for the province yesterday.

“I wanted to be here today because it has been so successful,” Caplan said at the Medical Centre.

“We’re now going to drive (forward), based upon the model you’ve had here in Peterborough … on to the next wave of the 19 family health teams.”

The 19 teams are part of the Ministry of Health and Long- Term Care’s commitment to create 50 more family health teams in Ontario, Caplan said.

Caplan met with officials from Primary Health Care Services — which oversees Peterborough’s five family health teams — and members of the Central East Local Health Integration Network.

He said he wanted to learn what strategies could be applied to the rest of the province.

Peterborough was part of the first wave of family health-team funding in 2005. Since then, 150 teams have been created in Ontario.

Family health teams connect doctors with other professionals such as dieticians, nurse practitioners and mental health workers, so patients have access to a number of services at one office.

Two years ago, 23,000 people in Peterborough city and county didn’t have a family doctor. Today that number is fewer than 5,000, said Dr. Don Harterre, the physician lead for Primary Health Care Services.

It was Harterre and executive director Bill Casey who first presented the family health-team model to the ministry in February 2004.

“We’re particularly proud of what we’ve done here,” Harterre said.

We think we’ve made a difference in the way primary care is delivered in our community.”

Caplan said the 150 family health teams have helped more than 1.9 million people, including 270,000 who didn’t have a family doctor.

“The new family health teams will not only advance our strategy for all Ontarians but it will also help with chronic disease prevention and management, starting with diabetes,” he said.

Caplan didn’t say how much the 19 new family health teams would cost. He also said he doesn’t currently have any plans to increase funding for the family health teams already in operation.

Casey toldThe Examinerthat the Peterborough family health teams receive just over $8 million a year. That amount has remained the same since 2005, when there were 63 family doctors and 100,000 patients. Now there are 80 doctors with 127,000 patients, he said.

Casey said Primary Health Care Services wants to expand the teams to include specialists such as cardiologists, nephrologists (kidney doctors) and respirologists (asthma and lung disease).

Rather than deal with a problem after the fact, the teams want to do more preventative care, Casey said.

He said Primary Health Care Services didn’t ask Caplan for more funding yesterday.

Applications for the 19 new family health teams are being accepted from community groups and doctors in eight local health integration networks, including Central East, which covers Peterborough.

NOTES:Peterborough MPP Jeff Lealsaid next to the Lift Lock and the Peterborough Petes, the family health teams are the “third iconic symbol,” of Peterborough … Peterborough’s five family health teams have funding for 19 nurse practitioners, 6.5 dietitians, 13.2 social workers/ mental health professionals, 2.7 pharmacists, 26 nurses and 14.5 clerical staff. There are 80 doctors on the teams.

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Minister picks Peterborough to announce Family Health Team expansion

- Recognizes Peterborough’s role in developing the health care model; 19 new health teams will added to the 150 in Ontario

Date: 2009-06-24

By Todd Vandonk

Peterborough This Week

Minister of Health and Long Term Care David Caplan couldn’t have chosen a better place to announce the Province is excepting applications for 19 new Family Health Teams.

Min. Caplan said he choose Peterborough for Monday’s announcement because the Family Health Team model has been so successful here.

There are currently 150 Family Health Teams in Ontario. The additional 19 teams are part of the Ministry’s promise to create 50 more family health teams in the province.

“Peterborough’s family health teams are a success and a model to follow. We’re now going forward based upon the model,” Min. Caplan said.

Min. Caplan discussed primary health care matters with members of the Central East Local Health Integration Network and Primary Health Care Services prior to the announcement.

“We discussed some strategies that could apply to the rest of the province,” explained Min. Caplan.

According to Dr. Don Harterre, physician lead for Primary Health Care Services in Peterborough, having the minister in Peterborough is a feel good situation.

“It means he has recognized that we have played an important role in the success of family health teams,” said Dr. Harterre, adding they’re proud of what they have done with primary health care in Peterborough.

“We think we’ve made a difference in the way primary care is delivered.”

In 2004 Dr. Harterre, along with other health officials in Peterborough, approached the ministry with the family health-team model.

The teams connect doctors with other professionals such as nurse practitioners, mental health workers and dieticians.

Since receiving funding in 2005, the city has grown its number of teams to five, and have placed 18,000 unattached patients with a family doctor. According Dr. Harterre, the number of unattached patients in Peterborough today is fewer than 5,000, and annual emergency room visits have dropped by 10,000.

Applications for Family Health Team will be accepted by …

- Community and physician groups in eight Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs): North West, North East, Erie St. Clair, North Simcoe Muskoka, Central West, Central East, Champlain and South East. These LHINs were selected based on the proportion of residents without a family health care provider, the prevalence of chronic disease, and the existing access to family health services.

- Applicants from across the province who place a priority on teaching future family physicians. This will help to expand the teaching and training capacity for physicians in Ontario and work to increase the supply of physicians

- The six existing ‘Shared Care Pilots’ in Hawkesbury, Brampton, Cochrane, Downsview, London, and Plantagenet. These pilots offer the same team-based patient care services as a FHT, but are based on a different physician payment model. Launched in 2006, this pilot program has funding until December 31, 2009.

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