|
6. FAMILY HEALTH TEAMS ÉQUIPES
SANTÉ FAMILIALE |
Committee Recommendation
That Council call on the Provincial
Government to establish one of its 30 new Family Health Teams at Algonquin
College.
Recommandation DU Comité
Que le Conseil demande à la province
de mettre en place l'un de ses 30 nouvelles équipes Santé familiale au Collège
Algonquin.
Documentation
1. Committee Coordinator’s report dated 16
September 2010 (ACS2010-CCS-CPS-0031).
2. Extract
of Draft Minute, 16 September 2010.
Community and Protective Services Committee
Comité des services communautaires et de protection
16 September 2010 / le 16 septebre
2010
Councillor G. Hunter
(613) 580-2479, Gord.Hunter@ottawa.ca
SUBJECT:
|
|
|
|
|
OBJET :
|
That Community and Protective Services Committee recommend Council call
on the Provincial Government to establish one of its 30 new Family Health Teams
at Algonquin College.
Que le Comité des services communautaires et de
protection recommande que le Conseil demande à la province de mettre en place
l'un de ses 30 nouvelles équipes Santé familiale au Collège Algonquin.
Family Health Teams are health care organizations that
include a group of family physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses,
social workers, dietitians, and other professionals who work together to
provide health care for their community.
Family Health Teams provide more service and a wide range of health
options, especially for people who don’t have a doctor. Family Health Teams
operate with more extended hours than does a typical family physician, often including
afternoons and weekends.
Family Health Teams ensure that people receive the
care they need in their communities, as each team is set-up based on local
health and community needs. They focus on chronic disease management, disease
prevention and health promotion, and work with other health care organizations,
such as public health units and Community Care Access Centres, community health
centres and community resource centres.
Since April 2005, 170 teams have been created across
the province. It is expected that the 170 teams will improve access to health
care for more than 2.7 million Ontarians.
The government has
committed to create 30 more teams across Ontario.
Algonquin College submitted a proposal
to the Ontario Government in June in response to the availability of 30 more
teams. The two Councillors’ motion is intended to support this bid.
The College believes the benefits to the community of
a Family Health Team are multi-faceted however the most pressing need is to
ensure that people have a family doctor.
Description of Family Health Teams:
Family Health Teams are made up of physicians and
other health care providers that can include nurses, nurse practitioners,
pharmacists, dietitians, physician specialists, social workers, health educators,
mental health workers and others, depending on the health needs of the
community they serve.
A Family Health Team will:
·
Provide a comprehensive range of health care services
delivered by a team to meet the community’s health care needs.
·
Expand access to health care by providing services on
weekdays, with most offering extended hours weeknights and weekends
·
Provide health information so that patients can make
informed decisions on how to manage their health care needs.
·
Support health promotion and disease prevention
activities as well as the management of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and
asthma.
·
Improve the coordination of health care by better
linking our patients to other parts of the health care system, such as
hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, mental health and
community programs and services.
·
Use information technology more effectively, resulting
in health care providers across the system sharing appropriate, timely and
secure access to patient test results and medical histories.
LEGAL / RISK MANAGEMENT
IMPLICATIONS
There are no legal implications for the City.
RURAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no rural implications.
Staff to take appropriate action as directed by the Committee and Council.
FAMILY HEALTH TEAMS
ÉQUIPES SANTÉ FAMILIALE
ACS2010-CCS-CPS-0031 COLLEGE
/COLLÈGE (8)
Chair Deans welcomed Mr. Doug Wotherspoon,
Executive Director, Advancement, Algonquin College of Applied Arts and
Technology, who in turn introduced Ms. Barbara Foulds, Associate Dean of Health,
Algonquin CAAT. Mr. Wotherspoon thanked
the Committee for having been given the opportunity to speak.
Before speaking to this issue directly, Mr.
Wotherspoon said he had been asked, by Algonquin President Bob Gillett to
extend the College’s gratitude to the City for its support, and he invited
members of Committee and Council to the grand opening of the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence,
to be held on Friday, September 9th, 2011. While proud of this new facility, Mr.
Wotherspoon said Algonquin was equally proud of the partnership it had forged
with the City and its funding partners to help build the below-grade Transitway
extension and pedestrian bridge, which he noted had been a collective effort
between City and College staff, Councillor Chiarelli and City Council.
Ms. Foulds also thanked Councillors Chiarelli
and Hunter for their initial support of this project, and for securing the
support of CPSC and City Council. She
explained that outside of the University of Ottawa, Algonquin College is the
next largest health care educator in Eastern Ontario, which this year will see
3,000 students enrolled in the College’s health programs, ranging from nursing,
dental hygiene and massage therapy, to a new medical radiation technology
program. She said students come to
Algonquin to receive a career-focused, practical education. Ms. Foulds said it was the College’s devotion
to this practical and applied learning style, combined with a commitment to
remain a Community College, that has led the faculty to believe that the securing
of a Family Health Team for the Centrepointe area is the right thing to
do. Ms. Foulds then referenced a
document, earlier distributed to all Committee members (held on file with the
City Clerk) to provide the Committee with background on the concept of Family
Health Teams (FHTs).
Responding to a request from Councillor
Chiarelli for elaboration on the partnerships between the College, in its
teaching function, and the FHT in terms of how it will work with area students,
Mr. Wotherspoon said the College possesses a number of clinics which provide students
with a “hands-on” practical and applied education, of which this new initiative
will serve as an extension. He said the
initiative will also provide students with additional experience through a broader
community access and outreach, i.e., for seniors requiring access to health
care.
Councillor Cullen asked about the criteria involved
in establishing the FHT at Algonquin College, about the involvement of the Local
Health Integration Network (LHIN) with this initiative, and whether the 30
newly-established FHTs were assigned to each LHIN, or to the whole
Province. Ms. Foulds explained that the engagement
of the LHIN is pivotal to this initiative, and that Algonquin has been working
with the Champlain LHIN. She said the LHIN
examines both rural and the urban submissions to ensure an adequate balance,
and she added that of the 30 FHT’s assigned (for the entire Province), the
Champlain LHIN had garnered four successful applications in this most current
round.
Councillor Chiarelli passed on Councillor
Hunter’s regrets at being unable to attend, and lauded Councillor Hunter’s efforts
on this initiative. Councillor Chiarelli
stressed its importance to both his and Councillor Hunter’s wards (College,
Ward 8 and Knoxdale-Merivale, Ward 9, respectively) as they share common
demographics; both wards have a disproportionately high level of both seniors
and young adults. He pointed out that when
establishing FHT’s, a primary goals is to address the needs of people who do not
have a family physician, which includes both of these groups.
In addition to the foregoing, Councillor
Chiarelli said the changes at the Centrepointe Town Centre and Transit Station will
provide an opportunity for seniors to more easily access the College’s Health Care
Services via the new below-grade Transit Station, elevator and pedestrian
bridge, and free of worries related to traffic hindrances, foul weather and
access to the College itself, previously accessible only by crossing Woodroffe
Avenue, at-grade. The Councillor also
thanked the presenters for their efforts in helping to provide opportunities to
help meet an existing need, and he felt an expression of support by CPSC would help
in sending this message to the Province.
There being no further discussion, the
Committee considered the report recommendation.
Moved by Councillor Chiarelli:
That Community and Protective Services
Committee recommend Council call on the Provincial Government to establish one
of its 30 new Family Health Teams at Algonquin College.
CARRIED