$321,000 for Primary Care in Nipissing

April 19, 2024

NIPISSING– Vic Fedeli, MPP for Nipissing announced that the Ontario government is investing over $321,000 to the Powassan and Area Family Health Team to expand their services to connect more people to interdisciplinary primary care. It is estimated that more than 2300 patients will benefit from the funding for this expansion.

“Our government continues to make strategic investments that contribute to a supportive and connected health care system in Nipissing,” said MPP Vic Fedeli. “Locally this funding will support a full-time RPN and mental health clinician to service Bonfield and South River, and in addition, provide additional access to physiotherapy services in the area.”

“We are thrilled to receive this funding, enabling us to provide access to our Family Health Team programs and services to the patients of the Bonfield and South River/Machar medical centers. Work is well underway to start offering the first of these services in the coming months.” Anna Gibson, Executive Director, Powassan & Area Family Health Team.

Interprofessional primary care teams connect people to a range of health professionals that work together under one roof, including doctors, nurse practitioners, registered and practical nurses, physiotherapists, social workers and dietitians, among others. Timely access to primary care helps people stay healthier for longer with faster diagnosis and treatment, as well as more consistent support managing their day-to-day health while relieving pressures on emergency departments and walk-in clinics.

This funding is part of Ontario’s $110 million investment to connect up to 328,000 people to primary care teams, bringing the province one step closer to connecting everyone in Ontario to primary care.

In addition to other historic investments to expand medical school spots and efforts to break down barriers so highly-skilled internationally-trained doctors can care for people in Ontario, Ministry of Health modelling shows that these initiatives will help connect up to 98 per cent of people in Ontario to primary care in the next several years.

Since the launch of Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care one year ago, the government has been making steady progress to ensure the health care system has become better equipped to respond to the needs of patients and provide them with the right care in the right place, faster access to services and access to an expanded health care workforce.

Quick Facts:

As a next step to close the gap for the 1.3 million people not connected to primary care in the province, the government is making a record investment of $90 million to add over 400 new primary care providers as part of 78 new and expanded interprofessional primary care teams. The new and expanded teams will include Family Health Teams, Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics, Community Health Centres and Indigenous Primary Health Care Organizations.
Ontario’s investment of $90 million dollars triples the original $30 million dollars earmarked to expand interprofessional primary care teams and will deliver over four times as many initiatives as outlined in our Your Health Plan almost a year ago.
The new and expanded teams are the result of a province-wide call for proposals that took place in 2023. All proposals were thoroughly reviewed by Ontario Health based on criteria prioritizing areas of greatest need, to connect a greater number of people currently without a regular primary care provider with these services closer to home.
Ontario is the first province to have a publicly funded Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic program. This is in addition to the new Practice Ready Ontario Program that will add 50 new physicians this year.
Ontario leads the country in how many people benefit from a long-term, stable relationship with a family doctor or primary care provider. Since 2018 the province has added over 80,000 new nurses and 10,300 new physicians to the health care system.
Ontario invests over $1 billion in interprofessional primary care teams annually.

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