Saugeen Shores Council has approved leases of Town owned property for the Kincardine Family Health Team.
The goal is to increase local access to primary care and support existing physicians.
The provincial government is working to expand access through its Primary Care Action Plan with the goal of attaching everyone in Ontario to a publicly funded primary care clinician or team by 2029.
The Kincardine Family Health Team would provide primary care services within each of the Town-owned medical clinic locations– the Dr. Earl Clinic in Port Elgin and the Southampton medical building.
A Town staff report says the model does not alter physician independence or existing lease arrangements, rather, it leverages existing offices and infrastructure to maximize capacity. For example, at its other sites in Kincardine and Ripley, the family health team has access to a kinesiologist, registered dietitian, respiratory therapist, occupational therapist, social worker, registered nurse, nurse practitioner and a midwife.
Mayor Luke Charbonneau says it’s also a great feature for physician recruitment, “If they can work in an environment that works well for them, work in a team that supports all of the things they need to do, that makes the environment here in our community better for them and that means better healthcare services for the people of our community.”
He adds, “It’s something we have not had in Saugeen Shores, these family health teams and something we’ve identified for a long time that we really needed to have. So it’s great to see the Province and the physicians and everybody working together to expand the Kincardine Family Health Team into Saugeen Shores.”