TORONTO—On October 17, 2022 the Association of Family and Health Teams of Ontario, (AFHTO) announced the winners of the eleventh Bright Lights Awards, held at their annual conference, in Toronto.
Winners were recognized for helping to improve access to primary care through leadership and dedication, and in doing so highlighting the importance of the access to health care that these family and health teams offer to their communities.
Each winner was given a $750 education grant donated by Boehringer Ingelheim. In addition, an award was given to a physician leader who not only offered their support to other health care professionals in ill-served communities, but also advocated for more help.
Of the winners announced, two health care groups were from the Northwest region of Ontario.
The North Shore Family Health Team (NSFHT) located in Schreiber Ontario, was a winner in the award category: Mental Health and Addictions. They were recognized for their achievement in: Care coordination for patients who experience mental health struggles.
According to AFHTO “North Shore FHT used an increased approval for a part-time navigator position for intake, assessment and care coordination services for patients who experience mental health and/or socio-economic struggles.”
The NSFHT works in partnership with J.E. Stokes Medical Centre located in Schreiber and the Aguasabon Medical Clinic located in Terrace Bay. They serve the communities of Schreiber, Terrace Bay, Rossport, Jackfish and Pays Plat.
The health team shared that when they received a 0.5 per cent FTE staffing increase, they used a portion of this towards assessment and care services for patients experiencing mental health/socio-economic difficulties.
Other accomplishments achieved by NSFHT included the fact that the North Shore FHT introduced solution to reduce mental health wait times and referral issues, and as result 34 people received care coordination in the first quarter of the year.
The second family health care team who also was a winner of an award was the Wawa Family Health Team, (WFHT). Their award category was the Spotlight Award, and were recognized for an achievement in Quality Patient Navigation Support. They helped to provide medical abortions in other small surrounding communities.
According to AFHTO, “There were no providers delivering medical abortions in the city or surrounding area, so Wawa FHT expanded its medical abortion program to include a virtual program to provide care to this under serviced urban population. It’s the only rural clinic in Ontario to be certified by the National Abortion Federation (NAF).”
In addition, the WFHT worked hard mentoring a variety of learners, including nurses, nurse practitioners and undergraduate and post-graduate medical students. They added a virtual program to their medical abortion clinic, aiming to continue to improve access to medical abortion throughout the rural communities.
The other three recipients of the Bright Lights Awards included:
New Vision Family Health Team
Award Category: It Takes a Team: Collaboration Inside and Out
Achievement: New Vision ICT Geriatric Pilot Project
New Vision FHT put together what AFHTO described as “an integrated care team for older, non-rostered adults in Waterloo, reducing the waitlist for a geriatrician and optimizing patient care.”
Queen Square Family Health Team
Award Category: Health Equity at the Centre
Achievement: Nurse Practitioner-led Gender Clinic
AFHTO indicated that, "With Erin Ziegler’s leadership, Queen Square FHT developed the Nurse Practitioner-led Gender Clinic to provide safe and gender-affirming primary care to transgender and non-binary individuals.”
North York Family Health Team
Award Category: Sustainable Solutions to Primary Care Problems
Achievement: Creating the Colorectal Cancer Survivorship Program (CSP)
Finally, AFHTO shared that, “North York FHT created the Colorectal Cancer Survivorship Program (CSP), which provides continuity of care for people who have been treated for cancer with an interprofessional team.”
