Archive for May, 2010

Innovative program in Peterborough tackles vascular disease.  Peterborough’s Primary Health Care Services launch a proactive program focused on early detection, prevention and management.  Read More

In 2002, primary health care faced a crisis in Peterborough. One in four residents didn’t have a family doctor, the local hospital’s emergency room was one of the busiest in the province and the growing seniors population was creating a new set of demands on the health care system. Dr. Don Harterre and a small group of colleagues decided a team-based model could be the answer. Over the next few years, they worked hard to bring everyone onside. The idea met the challenge. Today, over 97% of Peterborough’s residents have five teams serving their health care needs. ER visits have significantly dropped and the area is attracting new, young family practitioners to join the teams.

Click to watch video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7UXCOBWTWE

Premier Dalton McGuinty was in Peterborough on April 6, 2010, to sing the praises of Peterborough’s family health teams, crediting the medical network with the success people are having in accessing primary care physicians.

Through Peterborough’snetwork of five family health teams, “more than 17,000 people have found family doctors. This means a lot of peace of mind for a lot of people,” McGuinty said.

The premier held a news conference at the Peterborough Clinic after touring the facility and visiting with patients.  Accompanying Premier McGuinty on his tour were Dr. Judith Armstrong, Chairperson Peterborough Clinic Executive, and Dr. Don Harterre, Physician Lead, Primary Health Care Services of Peterborough.

McGuinty, who said there are 30 more family health teams on the way in Ontario, and indicated that more than 900,000 more Ontarians now have family doctors than in 2003. New measures, such as family health teams and clinics run by nurse practitioners, will become more important as the baby boomers start retiring, he said.

“We’re going to increase funding for health care, no doubt about that,” McGuinty said. “We have to be sure that as we put more money in the system, we do it in such a way that there are no service cuts. There are ways to do that, like this family health team.”