North East LHIN announces $1.9M towards primary health care for under served populations

Under served populations in northeastern Ontario will soon be able to access primary health care, with help from the North East Local Health Integration Network (NELHIN).

The North East LHIN announced on Wednesday almost $2 million in funding for the Sudbury District Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic (NPLC) and the Noojmowin-Teg Aboriginal Health Access Centre (AHAC.)

The Sudbury District NPLC is receiving $1.1 million to open a clinic for vulnerable populations in the city's downtown core.

The clinic will be located at 200 Larch Street, and will work alongside the existing emergency shelter and addiction services to cater to homeless and marginalized people.

"I think it's going to give them continuity," Jennifer Clement, the executive director of the Sudbury District NPLC, said.

"They're going to have providers that they're going to know, they can trust. They know that they can come in and speak with them, everything's confidential."

Patients will be able to connect with a variety of health care professionals including nurses and nurse practitioner, pharmacists, social workers and dietitians for everything from mental health to disease management.

The Noojmowin-Teg AHAC, which currently serves Indigenous people across Manitoulin, is also receiving $810 thousand to expand its services to Espanola and Massey.

A nurse practitioner will provide clinical services for Indigenous people at the Espanola Family Health Team.

There will also be an Indigenous mental health and addiction counsellor and cultural support worker at the Centre Place in Espanola, along with dedicated spaces for counselling, traditional services, workshops and cultural safety training.

Jeremy Stevenson, the CEO for the North East LHIN, said the AHAC's expanded services will help to address the unique health care challenges and needs of the community.

"The biggest challenge is making sure that we're supporting the Indigenous population that want to provide care, the way they want it, the way it should be provided," Stevenson said.

"How do you mesh that together with the health system and the traditional way that they offer care? So I think that's possible and this part of the way of how we do it."

Stephenson added that the two projects highlight the importance of offering primary health care that's accessible and serves a variety of health care needs.