Ottawa Doctors will assemble on Parliament Hill on Friday, May 11 at 2:00 p.m. to protest the changes to the Interim Federal Health Program.

OTTAWA, May 10, 2012 – Physicians in major urban centers across Canada are calling on the federal government to preserve critical health care services currently provided to refugees through the Interim Federal Health Program. Doctors and other health professionals at Ottawa’s Community Health Centres are standing in support of their colleagues in opposition to proposed program cuts.

On April 25, 2012, federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced alarming changes to the Interim Federal Health Program, which provides temporary health coverage to refugee applicants without provincial or territorial health insurance. These cuts would prevent thousands of refugees from accessing much-needed basic health care when they arrive in Canada, a move that is unethical and economically misguided, according to doctors across the country.

"It's inconceivable and unethical that we would deprive some of the most vulnerable people coming into this country of basic health care," says Dr. Megan Williams, a physician at Ottawa’s Somerset West Community Health Centre. “We see the needs of immigrants and refugees on a daily basis in our Centre. Taking away primary and preventive health care services for refugees puts them at further risk of serious illness, and actually creates a serious threat to public health for everyone.”

The changes introduced by federal authorities will go into effect on June 30, 2012. After this date, refugee claimants will be denied access to hospital services, doctors and nurses, ambulances and medications or vaccines unless their situation is deemed urgent.  In some cases, refugees will not be treated at all unless their condition poses a risk to public health or safety. This means refugees in Canada will receive no treatment for chronic diseases including heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, and lung disease.

“As dedicated health professionals serving our communities, we are very concerned that the consequences of these policy changes will be devastating,” said Dr. Carol Geller,  a physician at the Centretown Community Health Centre. “We believe that no one should be denied access to the health care they need, and recognize today more than ever that refugees face specific health challenges. Everyone deserves access to treatment.”

“The decision is simple. Rather than taking away the rights of vulnerable people to basic health care, the government should remain committed to providing health care support for refugees,” said Mike Bell, Chair of the Somerset West Community Health Centre board. “We urge federal authorities to preserve Canada’s commitment to health care for all, and to remain leaders in the protection of international refugees."

OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (March 22, 2012) - Community Health Centres (CHCs) from the Champlain region welcome findings from a study released recently by Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) that suggests that the community health centre model is the most effective to keep people out of emergency departments in Ontario.

The report, Comparison of Primary Care Models in Ontario (PDF), examines seven primary care models and found that “CHCs stood out in their care of disadvantaged and sicker populations and had substantially lower ED visit rates than expected.” Locally, Champlain region CHC client visits to emergency departments is 21 per cent less than expected.

“While the report didn’t explore reasons behind these betteroutcomes, we believe that some of our strengths lie with our longstanding commitment to provide comprehensive, appropriate and integrated services not only when people are sick, but also to support people so they stay healthy” says Simone Thibault, Executive Director at the Centretown CHC and Chair of the CHC network in Champlain. “CHCs focus not only on the medical aspects of health care, but also the economic and social factors that influence health and wellness like poverty, isolation, access to affordable and healthy food as well as active-living.”

CHCs are highly present in their communities, striving to break down barriers and connect with vulnerable and isolated populations. These groups tend to experience complex health and wellness issues that, when left untreated, can put much strain on the health care system. 

Similar to other CHCs, primary care outreach nurse at the South-East Ottawa CHC, Patricia Barrett-Robillard, often visits clients at home so they can avoid hospital visits. “I work with a client who lives alone and has cognition problems”, she explains. “She has no family in the area and would go to the emergency room whenever she had concerns about her health and safety. Now, she calls me when in distress, and I can problem solve and reassure her. She no longer turns to the hospital for support when anxious.

Collaboration and partnership building are also key CHC features. In the Champlain region, CHCs have a partnership agreement with The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) to reinforce their shared commitment in keeping children and youth healthy and out of the hospital. 

"At CHEO we're experiencing the busiest emergency department volumes in our nearly 40-year history so it's important to us that people have options other than heading to Emergency” explains Alex Munter, CHEO CEO. “We wish more people had access to CHC's but this report shows there are many things CHC's do that other parts of the primary care system could emulate.”

Among CHCs’ many education and prevention programs, the asthma program has been successful in keeping people out of the hospital. Renée Longpré, lung health educator at the Somerset West Ottawa CHC, recalls supporting a 14 year old client with frequent emergency room visits and hospital admissions for asthma. “When we were referred this client with uncontrolled asthma, she had trouble understanding her symptoms and wasn’t compliant with her medications”, she explains. “At that point, she couldn’t participate in basketball, her favourite sport. Over several visits, we worked together towards understanding and managing her asthma. Through self-management and education, she gained the confidence and tools needed to take control. She’s now back on the basketball court, fully participating in the sport she loves.”

Background Information

Community Health Centres

Community Health Centres are the only primary health care model in Ontario that, under one roof, combines primary health care services with a wide range of other health promotion and community development services, with a focus on the social determinants of health. Not only do interprofessional teams respond to people’s individual health issues, they also create programs and services that reduce social and environmental problems harming health in the communities they serve. All services are carefully tailored to respond to the diverse local needs and strongly value engagement from the community. What’s more, CHCs provide a very integrated model of care by working in partnership with other social service, mental health and addiction agencies as well as other community-based organizations. Increasingly services are also integrated and coordinated with the acute and long-term care system.

Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES)

The Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) is an independent, non-profit organization that produces knowledge to enhance the effectiveness of health care for Ontarians. Internationally recognized for its innovative use of population-based health information, ICES evidence supports health policy development and guides changes to the organization and delivery of health care services. Key to their work their ability to link population based health information, at the patient level, in a way that ensures the privacy and confidentiality of personal health information. Linked databases reflecting 13 million of 33 million Canadians allow us to follow patient populations through diagnosis and treatment and to evaluate outcomes.

Comparison of Primary Care Models in Ontario (PDF)

Contact Information

Émilie Sartoretto
Communications Officer
Centretown Community Health Centre
esartoretto@centretownchc.org
613-868-9788

Graphics by: Leaderline Studios and the Association of Ontario Health Centres

Background information

The Centretown Community Health Centre

Centretown CHC is a nonprofit, multi-service Community Health Centre that has played an active role in the community since 1969. A new study produced by the Institute for Clinical Sciences (ICES) that compares the performance of Ontario’s primary care models shows that Ontario’s Community Health Centres (CHCs) are the most effective model to meet the needs of diverse populations and to keep people out of emergency departments. Programs and services provide an ingrained presence in communities throughout the city so people can access the health and wellness support that they need. The centre offers a full range of community services delivered by a diverse team of professionals. The team includes social workers, counsellors, dietitians, community developers, health promoters, doctors, nurses and outreach workers.

8-80 Cities

8 - 80 Cities is a Canadian based non-profit organization with an international outlook. They strive to contribute to the creation of vibrant cities and healthy communities, where residents live happier and enjoy great public places. 8-80 Cities promotes activities like walking and bicycling as well as urban parks, trails and other public spaces as great places for all. These activities and public spaces improve our environment, advance economic development, boost and complement our transportation systems, make better recreation for all, and enhance our personal and public health.

Contact:

Christina Marchant
Director, Community Health Promotion and Early Years
Centretown Community Health Centre
cmarchant@centretownchc.org
613-233-2317 extension: 2188
 
Émilie Sartoretto
Communications Officer
Centretown Community Health Centre
esartoretto@centretownchc.org
613-868-9788

Where: Royal Canadian Legion, Montgomery Branch | 330 Kent, Ottawa ON
Date: March 7, 2012
Time: 7:00 PM
Speakers:

• Simone Thibault, executive director, Centretown CHC
• Gil Penalosa, executive director, 8-80 Cities

Join us for a public forum about Centretown Community Health Centre’s project to transform Dundonald Park to a great public space that everyone can enjoy.

Dundonald Park is one of the eight parks in Ontario selected by 8-80 Cities as part of the Active Places, Healthy People initiative. This project aims to educate and empower communities across the province to transform parks and public spaces into vibrant and active destinations that promote social interaction, health and well-being for all.

A keynote presentation on the topic of vibrant and healthy cities by Gil Penalosa,  executive director at 8-80 Cities will be followed by a question and answer period.

Stay up-to-date about the forum, join the Facebook event.

About 8-80 Cities:
8 - 80 Cities is a Canadian based non-profit organization with an international outlook. They strive to contribute to the creation of vibrant cities and healthy communities, where residents live happier and enjoy great public places. 8-80 Cities promotes activities like walking and bicycling as well as urban parks, trails and other public spaces as great places for all. These activities and public spaces improve our environment, advance economic development, boost and complement our transportation systems, make better recreation for all, and enhance our personal and public health.

Contact:
Christina Marchant
Director, Community Health Promotion and Early Years
Centretown Community Health Centre
cmarchant@centretownchc.org
613-233-2317 extension: 2188

Émilie Sartoretto
Communications Officer
Centretown Community Health Centre
esartoretto@centretownchc.org
613-868-9788

Four sites were chosen around the province including Thunder Bay, Windsor, St. Catharines and Ottawa.  Centretown CHC was chosen as the host site because we are already serving the LGBT communities and have a strong interest in supporting efforts to build capacity within the Champlain LHIN.  The stated goal of this project is “to build a community of practice across the province providing timely and competent primary health care options for trans communities close to home”. 

The first two sessions were held in Ottawa on November 17 and 18 with 75 counsellors and physicians in attendance.  Jordan Zaitzow, Trans Health Connection Coordinator and Hershel Russell, private practice psychotherapist since 1989 were the trainers.  Jordan and Hershel provided informative and engaging training. Participants left the sessions with new knowledge and an expanded understanding of the barriers that trans clients experience when trying to access care in Ottawa.

Two more sessions will be held before March 31st which will focus on primary care physicians and nurse practitioners, helping to train these clinicians in providing hormone therapy and post-operative care for those who seek sex re-assignment surgery. 

Centretown CHC is working with other partners in exploring how we can create a model of care in Ottawa that meets the needs of the trans community.  This initial training helped to start that dialogue.

For the second year in a row, Centretown Community Health Centre has received a ‘Paint it Up!” grant from Crime Prevention Ottawa in order to work with youth at risk in the community to produce a neighbourhood beautification project. We partnered with Operation Come Home, who recruited the youth and Ottawa Urban Arts, which supplied artists Cassandra Dickie and Mike Davis.

We looked at many different locations throughout the neighbourhood and finally settled on a wall on Cooper and Bank (409 Cooper St.). We worked with 20 individual youth, 10 of whom were regulars at our drop-in design sessions and painting sessions.

The mural has imagery from many different cultures including an Aboriginal depiction of a killer whale, a Celtic knot for luck, South Asian mehndi imagery and more.

By representing artistic traditions form different cultures, the youth wanted to communicate that all cultures are welcome in the diversity of Centretown.

All of these images appear in a splatter of paint that is being “thrown” by a mischievous looking character. This plays on the idea of graffiti. Ironically, our mural was created to discourage graffiti and protect a wall that has been the victim of tagging innumerable times. Sound intriguing? You’ll just have to check it out for yourself.

---
Our medical clinic is now accepting new patients.

To be eligible you must:

• be a resident of Centretown
• currently not have a family physician or nurse practitioner
• live between the Rideau Canal and Bronson Avenue and north of the Queensway (Highway 417)

If that's you, please call Lynne at 613-233-4697 ext 2116 to register.

Don't forget: Information provided by potential clients must be factual or access may be denied.

The Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA), a community partner of ours, is among the groups receiving funds. Their work will focus on developing resources for healthcare providers and people at high-risk of diabetes.

As a partner of the CDA, we will directly benefit from their project. Our Community Diabetes Education Program of Ottawa has worked locally for the past 13 years to deliver diabetes education to thousands of individuals and their families. Such resources, as the ones being developed by the Canadian Diabetes Association, have proven very useful for our staff and those we serve.

“Our ability to support people with diabetes and their families couldn’t happen without our many partnerships, including the Canadian Diabetes Association”, says Simone Thibault, Executive Director at our Centre. “It’s great to see them and other community groups receive this investment that will strengthen our collaborative efforts to address this growing problem.”

Seeing all levels of government, from the federal to the provincial, working collaboratively in our local communities, is necessary to make a difference for those who have diabetes or at risk of diabetes. 

Visit the Community Diabetes Education Program for more information on the diabetes focused programs and services at the Centretown Community Health Centre.

As a leader in GLBTTQ health and wellness, we are well aware of the complexities and stigma attached to mental health, GLBTTQ identities, and bullying. Jaimie’s story has touched many staff and Board Members.

That's why our Centre is resolved to continue this important work. We reaffirm our commitment to work with youths, families, schools, and other service providers to build more caring and inclusive communities. Especially at this time, our Centre encourages everyone to take good care of themselves and one another.

If you are a youth or a youth you know needs urgent help, contact:

Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa
613-260-2360 or 1-877-377-7775

OR

Kids Help Phone
1-800-6686868

For non-urgent matters, visit our GLBTTQ section to learn more about what our Centre has to offer.

GLBTTQ youths, their families, and their friends are not alone. There are many available resources in Ottawa: Ottawa GLBTTQ Youth Resource List (PDF) updated on January 26, 2012.