L-R: Pamela Loughlean, Peninsula Family Health Team; Dr. Debra Dyke, Owen Sound Family Health Team; Lindsay Johnston, Grey Bruce Ontario Health Team; Paul Vickers, MPP; Dr. Lizbeth Cox, Owen Sound Family Health Team; Dr. Elisa Levi, Noongwa Gamig Inc. (provided image)
The provincial government is investing more than $4.2 million to help get residents of the region attached to a primary care physician or nurse practitioner.
Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Paul Vickers made the announcement along with Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson on Thursday.
In an interview with Bayshore News, Vickers said that the funding announcement will help address concerns from residents.
“During the last year, I’ve heard a lot from the constituents of Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound about the concern of not having primary caregivers,” he explained. “This announcement will help attach close to 9,000 patients in Bruce and Grey Counties to get to that primary caregiver.”
The $4.2 million will be dispersed between six local health teams: Hanover Family Health Team, Kincardine Family Health Team, Noongwa Gamig Incorporated, Owen Sound Family Health Team, Peninsula Family Health Team, and Southeast Grey Community Health Centre.
The hope is that the money will help to add an additional 17 interdisciplinary healthcare professionals across the communities of Grey Highlands, Owen Sound, Saugeen Shores, South Bruce Peninsula, and the Town of the Blue Mountains.
While the Ontario government is providing a financial contribution, Vickers said that it’s still up to each health team to recruit healthcare professionals, including doctors and nurse practitioners.
In terms of securing the funding from the Province, he shared that both he and Thompson were able to secure such an important contribution.
“Lisa [Thompson] and I are very aligned in this issue. The issues that are happening in Bruce-Grey are also happening [in Huron-Bruce]. It is important to make sure we have the proper supports that we need up here for healthcare.”