MUSKOKA DOES GET OHT BID APPROVAL, WITH ORILLIA
ORILLIA — Orillia may not be the only Ontario Health Team (OHT) in the area, it turns out.
An application from a Muskoka group has also been approved to apply for an OHT, Janine van den Heuvel, who represents the the group, said Monday morning, four days after the provincial annoucement.
More later.
Meanwhile Orillia, too, will be at the forefront of Ontario’s health system transformation as the local group seeking to establish an Ontario Health Team (OHT) has been selected among the first wave of applicants to proceed to officially applying for an OHT.
However, an application regarding a Muskoka group did not appear to be part of a government announcement, at least until now. No official word from the province was sent out last week or word from the local Muskoka and Area group that also successfully applied.
The province announced Thursday, July 19, that 31 groups have been selected to begin creation of an OHT in their areas to provide a new way of organizing and delivering care that is more connected to patients in their local communities.
Under OHTs, health care providers including hospitals, doctors and home and community care providers will work as one coordinated team – no matter where they provide care.
“We’re thrilled to be included in the initial group of OHTs and want to thank the Ministry of Health for having the confidence in our application to allow us to move forward with next steps,” said Lynne Davies, executive Director of the Couchiching Family Health Team, the lead organization who made the local submission on behalf of the Couchiching OHT.
As part of sweeping changes to the Ontario health care system prompted by the new People’s Health Care Act, local health organizations across the province were asked to come together to submit proposals illustrating how they can provide services under the structure of a local OHT.
The Couchiching Regional Planning Table engaged more than 20 community agencies to complete the self assessment pre-requisite that was part of the OHT application. It includes a formal alliance with The Couchiching Family Health Team, County of Simcoe, Huronia Nurse Practitioner Led Clinic, Helping Hands, Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital, ProResp and Care Partners.
