Provincial funding support of nearly $1.6 million could translate into access to primary health care for as many as 6,000 Chatham-Kent residents.
That’s the word from officials with the Chatham-Kent Ontario Health Team (CKOHT) following a funding announcement May 21.
Through the Interprofessional Primary Care Team Funding Initiative, CKOHT is set to receive $1.59 million to strengthen team-based primary care. The provincial funding is anticipated to connect nearly 3,200 residents with a family doctor or nurse practitioner.
But Denise Waddick, executive director with the Thamesview Family Health Team, said past evidence indicates the CKOHT can increase that reach.
“We were approved for Round One of funding for 2025-26. The goal was 2,900 patients. We exceeded that,” she said. “We collectively attached around 5,400 patients.”
Furthermore, the period for the 2025-26 round of funding is still underway, and runs to the end of July.
“This funding truly allows us to attach more patients than we’re expected to,” she said.
Dr. Briana Yee-Providence, a local family physician and co-chair of the CKOHT’s primary care network, said health care in Chatham-Kent is “primarily” team based.
“That means our doctors are attached to teams that support them in their practices. So part of that is us being able to access other allied health staff – nurse practitioners, nurses, respiratory therapists, dietitians – they all help to support us so we can take care of our patients,” she said.
The $1.59 million will be utilized to fund more supportive positions, Yee said.
Those jobs – 17.5 full-time equivalents – will include nurse practitioners, nurses, several medical receptionists and a social worker.
“It allows me to provide care and support to my patients. I can do the things I need to do as a physician – making more complex medical decisions, spending more time with patients. It allows me to focus on things that only I can do,” Yee-Providence explained.
CKOHT numbers indicate for every new nurse practitioner hired, about 800 citizens are able to see a primary health-care expert. Each registered nurse translates into access to a health team by about 225 people. For secretarial support, each new addition means 175 people can access primary health care.
Yee-Providence said the funding for the staff does not preclude the need for new physicians in Chatham-Kent. Estimates by CKOHT personnel indicate C-K could use more than 20 new family doctors.
And our current base of physicians is aging.
“Here in Chatham-Kent, and a lot of southwestern Ontario, we have a lot of doctors above the age of 65. We know we are going to have significant primary health care challenges in the next five to 10 years,” Yee-Providence said. “We need to recruit and we also need to support our doctors who are already here to help them to be able to see as many patients and provide as much care as possible.”
Trevor Jones, MPP for Chatham-Kent–Leamington, delivered the funding news.
“This investment will connect more people in our communities to family doctors or nurse practitioners to make sure residents receive the care they need where they need it,” he said. “Primary care truly is the foundation for all of our health-care system. It’s the first place we turn to for support, for guidance, for diagnosis and of course for treatment. Access to a trusted primary health-care provider does lead to better health outcomes, earlier intervention and a stronger continuity for care for patients and their families.”
Joan Hackett, outgoing board chair for the Chatham-Kent Family Health Team, discussed her lived experience of being without a family physician. She said a number of years ago, their family physician retired, leaving her, her husband and her son without a primary health-care provider for several years.
“We were healthy, but it was challenging. For minor prescriptions, we ended up in the ER, and preventative care faded from our routine,” she said. “For those with complex medical conditions, it can be overwhelming as health deteriorates.”
There have been primary care success in recent years, as mentioned, but the aging physicians are another pressure on our health-care system.
Yee-Providence said over the past two years, five new family physicians have relocated to Chatham-Kent. At the same time, we lost four to retirement or relocation.
Currently, there are 21,959 residents in Chatham-Kent who do not have a regular family physician or nurse practitioner. This equates to 16.6 per cent of Chatham-Kent residents.
Residents who do not have a family doctor or nurse practitioner can contact Health Care Connect to register by phone at 1-888-579-6707 Monday to Friday, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.; email at [email protected]; or visiting https://www.ontario.ca/page/find-family-doctor-or-nurse-practitioner.
