Group Health Centre Advances Efforts to Connect Patients with Care

Group Health Centre (GHC) has reported significant progress in its initiative to connect patients from the Access Care Clinic (ACC) with primary care providers. Ashlee Gerard, GHC’s manager of communications, planning, and risk, stated that the rostering process is proceeding effectively, indicating that the organization is on track to meet the targets set in the fall of 2024.

GHC’s initiative aims to address the needs of approximately 14,000 ACC patients, ensuring they have access to a primary care provider. “We remain deeply committed to ensuring every community member has access to primary care,” Gerard emphasized.

As of late last week, around 5,800 ACC patients have successfully been matched with primary care providers. GHC is currently in the process of rostering an additional 2,200 patients. In addition, as registered nurses graduate from the Grow Your Own Nurse Practitioner Program, GHC anticipates that about 6,000 more ACC patients will soon be connected with primary care.

GHC serves a total of approximately 55,000 primary care and ACC patients. Since June 2024, the centre has welcomed five new family physicians and three primary care nurse practitioners, enhancing its primary care capacity. The Grow Your Own Nurse Practitioner Program, initiated last summer, is progressing well and aims to expand the future primary care workforce.

The urgency of this initiative stems from the challenges faced by GHC in recent years. In 2024, the centre experienced profound disruptions, attributed to a wave of physician retirements that left about 10,000 patients—roughly one-sixth of its roster—without access to primary care services.

In response to the crisis, the Ontario government intervened, allocating over $2.8 million over two years to establish the ACC, which is designed to support up to 11,200 patients. Despite this effort, critics, including the Ontario Health Coalition, have labeled the ACC a temporary fix to a much broader issue.

GHC’s president and CEO, Lil Silvano, remarked, “The ACC was not meant to be a long-term solution; however, it is a bridge to rebuild capacity within our organization.” Silvano added that officials will continue advocating for ongoing funding for the ACC beyond March 2025, highlighting the need for more time to develop primary care resources within the community.

Currently, one in five individuals in Ontario lacks a family doctor, a statistic projected to worsen to one in four if no remedial measures are taken, according to the Ontario Medical Association. It is estimated that approximately 30,000 residents in the Algoma region are without a primary care provider.

Recent announcements from the Ontario government have brought hope, as they revealed plans to construct and expand 16 teaching clinics aimed at connecting an additional 300,000 people to primary care. The $8 million project includes funding for Sault Ste. Marie, which will receive up to $500,000 to support planning efforts in collaboration with NOSM University. These clinics are expected to open between 2027 and 2028.

The specific location for the new clinic will depend on the designation of a lead agency, with potential sites including Sault Area Hospital, Group Health Centre, and Algoma University.

As for the process of connecting patients to primary care, GHC employs a random selection method from the ACC roster. “We are fully committed to ensuring that all Access Care Clinic patients are connected to primary care,” Gerard stated. She expressed appreciation for the patience of patients as the organization diligently works towards this goal.