Ontario Government Funds Primary Health Care In Niagara Falls

Submitted by Henri-Louis St-Martin, Executive Director of the Niagara Falls Community Health Centre

Niagara Falls, Ontario – April 3, 2013 –  A  Wednesday, April 3  announcement from Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor that the  provincial government  will invest  $3,357,000  means that 2,400 more people living in Niagara Falls  will have access to a primary health care model that improves population health, reduces health disparities and eases the pressures on the rest of the our health system.

Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor announces provincial funding for Community Health Ccentre.

“Niagara Falls Community Health Centre promotes the best possible health and wellbeing for those it serves,” said Joyce Morocco, Board Chair of  Niagara Falls Community Health Centre. “So the investment being made today will yield a very high return for tomorrow — preventing larger amounts of money being spent on sickness treatment and care.”

Ms Morocco also noted that because Niagara Falls Community Health Centre focuses on those who normally face numerous barriers to access to proper health care and whose health is most at risk, “this is also an investment in the fairer society Premier Wynne has promised us.”

Niagara Falls Community Health Centre is one of 12 CHCs and four Aboriginal Health Access Centres (AHACs) throughout the province that together have received a total of $71 million dollars to upgrade and expand their facilities. 

CHCs and AHACs stand out from other models of primary care because medical services are delivered under the same roof as health promotion and community development services.  And because they address the social determinants of health, CHCs and AHACs are especially effective serving populations which have traditionally faced barriers accessing health services.

“One of the great things of being part of the CHC is the many different programs that are offered to not just clients of the Centre, but in many cases to members of the Niagara Falls community at no cost to the participants”, says Mary Drolet, an early client of the Centre. “What sets us apart is that all clients are accepted to receive care regardless of their health status or personal circumstances”, says Henri-Louis St-Martin, Executive Director of the Niagara Falls Community Health Centre.

 “Both AHACs and CHCs can play a huge role enabling the province’s new action plan to make Ontario the healthiest place to grow up and grow old,” said Ms Morocco. “We hope this is just the start of a series of steps to expand access to community-governed models that do such a good job promoting health and wellbeing.”

Ontario’s Communicy Health Care Centres – Just The Facts 

• Ontario’s Community Health Centres (CHCs) are the only primary health care model in the province funded to deliver primary healthcare services in combination with a wide range of health promotion and community development services regardless of their health status or personal circumstances. In other words, we do not turn anybody away.
• CHCs focus on keeping people – and the communities where they live – in good health. If health problems are caused by social and environmental issues, health teams work with community members and develop programs to reduce them.
• A total of 75 CHCs serve approximately 500,000 people with 250, 000 of these accessing primary care services.
• Governed by community members, CHCs give people a voice and a choice about the health services they receive. CHCs are also key connectors: interprofessional health teams partner with other health and social service agencies.
• CHCs’ comprehensive approach produces a superior quality of care. According to the Élisabeth Bruyère Institute, compared to other models, CHCs deliver superior health promotion services and chronic disease prevention and management. They also do a better job orienting services to community needs.
• CHCs direct services to those with complex needs.  And a new study from the Institute of Clinical Evaluative Studies shows that even though CHCs serve people with more complex needs, they do a better job than other primary care models keeping people out of hospital emergency departments.
• CHCs are key contributors to the sustainability of our healthcare system. By creating community-based hubs where a wide range of services are integrated under one roof, they provide excellent value for money.
• The average capital cost to build one CHC as a hub with several services under one roof is $6M. To build over 100 hubs across the province would cost less than the wing of a mid-sized hospital.
• CHCs ease pressures on the costly acute and long-term care system because they focus on health promotion and prevention, keeping people out of emergency departments and hospital beds.
• Despite their effectiveness, only 4% of people living in Ontario have access to Community Health Centres.   The Association of Ontario Health Centres is calling for equity and population  needs based primary health care planning to strengthen their role.

There are now four Community Health Centres in Niagara, Ontario, including ones in St. Catharines, Fort Erie and Welland, along with this new facility in Niagara Falls. For more information on community health care centres in Ontario visit: www.ontariochc.ca  or www.nfchc.ca  .

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