BARRIE GROUP LATEST TO APPLY FOR ONTARIO HEALTH TEAM
BARRIE — A third group is entering the next stage of application for an Ontario Health Team (OHT).
The Barrie OHT planning group, led by the Barrie and Community Family Health Team, has been given the green light to proceed with a full application to become an Ontario Health Team.
They join groups in Orillia and Muskoka, among 31, across the province given the green light to proceed to full application by the Ministry of Health.
In February, the government introduced the People’s Health Care Act, outlining sweeping changes to the Ontario health-care system.
They say key to these changes is the development of OHTs to “integrate care and enable patients, families, communities and healthcare providers to work together to deliver high-quality, patient-focused care.”
“We have been working with health care partners in this region on a submission to form a Barrie OHT to transform patient care for residents,” says Dr. John McKee, Barrie Family Health Organization and co-chair of the Barrie-area OHT planning group, in a release this week.
“This collaborative effort, led by our agency, has been approved by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to move to the next stage — a full application process.
“This is truly a remarkable achievement as there were over 150 submissions and only 31 were given the go-ahead to proceed with a full submission. I know this speaks volumes to what our team is proposing and will achieve, together.”
The OHT’s goal is for health care agencies, from hospitals to hospices to home care providers, to work collaboratively to deliver better coordinated care that helps patients better navigate the system and to ensure high-quality care across the continuum.
“We are thrilled to be working with such a dynamic group of healthcare partners to enhance the care of our region’s residents,” says Dr. Chris Tebbutt RVH vice president academic and medical affairs and co-chair of the Barrie-area OHT planning group. “We know we’ve got the right partners at the table and all are focused on delivering the best integrated and coordinated care for our patients.”
The full application is due in early October and while a high degree of engagement and consultation with both partners and the public has already occurred, more is planned in the near future.
