Three more nurse practitioner (NP) clinics and seven new family health teams (FHTs) have been approved for Northern Ontario. The three new NP clinics are slated for North Bay, Thessalon and Capreol. The new family health teams will serve patients in Blind River, Sault Ste. Marie, New Liskeard, Sturgeon Falls, Powassan and Thunder Bay.
Two of the new FHTs - Huron Shores and Baawaating - were approved for Sault Ste. Marie.
In all, eight nurse practitioner clinics have now been approved for Northern Ontario, including the original clinic in Sudbury which began operating in the summer of 2007. Of the remaining four approved clinics, two are slated for Thunder Bay, one for Sault Ste. Marie and one for French River.
"After seeing the success of the first nurse practitioner-led clinics in Sudbury, the addition of three more clinics for northeastern Ontario is welcome news for patients," said Nina Hoyt, director of the Sudbury District Nurse Practitioner Clinics, which recently opened a second clinic in Lively, and also serves patients in Chapleau.
Following the success of the Sudbury clinic in 2007, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care announced plans to establish 25 more clinics across the province.
Only two of the 25 - Belleville and Belle River - are currently in operation, though one of the Thunder Bay clinics may be up and running before the end of the year, said Jane Sanders, executive director of the Nurse Practitioners Association of Ontario.
Applications came from a variety of sources, including groups of nurse practitioners, community mental health associations, the Victoria Order of Nurses, community colleges and hospitals.
There are currently 1,670 nurse practitioners in Ontario and between 150 and 175 new NPs qualifying every year.
Nurse practitioners must first qualify as a registered nurse and practice as an RN for a minimum of two years. Nine universities in Ontario offer a nurse practitioner program, including Lakehead and Laurentian.
"It's a unique approach," said Sanders. "All of the universities collaborated on the curriculum, so you could be registered as a student at Laurentian, but the course is delivered online by a professor at Queen's. To the best of my knowledge, it's the only program like this."
Nurse practitioners provide family health care services to patients who do not have a family physician. The clinics adhere to a collaborative practice approach that includes registered nurses, registered practical nurses, collaborating family physicians and other health care professionals.
Nurse practitioners are able to treat common illnesses and injuries, and order lab tests, X-rays and other diagnostic tests.
According to Sanders, the 25 clinics will employ approximately 85 nurse practitioners when they are all up and running and provide primary health care to approximately 68,000 Ontarians.
The seven new family health teams approved for Northern Ontario in August are among 30 new family health teams announced by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for the province as a whole.
Family health teams bring together health care professionals such as physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, social workers and dietitians to provide team-based care. The teams are currently providing care to more than 2.3 million Ontarians and serving more than 393,000 previously unattached patients. It is expected that once all 200 teams are operational, they will provide access to primary care for more than three million Ontarians.
