The Valley now has a Family Health Team.
Issued by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care of Ontario, the Madawaska Valley Family Health Team is now available to treat a limited amount of patients. Executive Director, Susan Farrar, says the team is small right now but it will be growing in the next few months. She says they opened on December 20th and as of now, their funding allowed them to hire two nurse practitioners. They are currently looking to employ a physiotherapist, a dietitian and a social worker.
Farrar says that for now, patients are primarily those already enrolled with one of the team’s 6 physicians. She does add that starting this week, nurse practitioners will be offering a limited number of urgent care appointments for patients who don’t have a family doctor. These appointments will be for patients suffering from minor injuries, coughs and colds as well as sick children. Physicians have collectively enrolled 1000 patients in the last 6 months she says. Farrar says that the Ministry of Health hasn’t issued a family health team in quite some time and that we are lucky to have one here in the Valley.
She says that they’re located behind the St Francis Memorial Hospital and look to reduce the load off the hospital’s emergency department. Click here to visit their website.