A new health team is coming to Hastings and Prince Edward counties.
Health Minister Christine Elliot was in Tweed Friday afternoon to announce eight new Ontario Health Teams, including the Hastings Prince Edward Ontario Health Team.
Elliot says the province is providing about $1.1 million to each team.
Ontario Health Teams include providers and organizations from across health and community sectors, including primary care, hospitals, home and community care, mental health and addictions services, long-term care, and many others.
“In its first year, the Hastings Prince Edward Ontario Health team will focus on enhancing care with people facing mental health and addictions challenges as well as those requiring home and community support. The team has also established a patient partnership action team to help guide them and ensure that they remain patient focused.”
Elliot says the health team model breaks down longstanding barriers and allows providers to deliver better faster, more coordinated care and that has only been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Throughout the pandemic, the province’s 42 Ontario Health teams have set up assessment centres, launched virtual care initiatives and rolled out vaccines, often bringing them directly to peoples’ homes. The Ontario Health team model has proven how a collaborative team can help each other in times of need while still keeping the patient at the centre of care.”
Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith says one of the concerns he hears most often from constituents is that they find it challenging to navigate the health care system and don’t know where to turn for certain types of care.
“These Ontario Health teams are designed to change that by pulling together everyone involved in care around a patient’s individual needs. From family members and volunteers, to those providing the most acute care in our QHC hospitals, from birth to palliation, and from the south shores of Prince Edward County to the highlands in North Hastings. It truly is an innovative model.”
