They’re a new approach to health care in the province, bringing together health care providers as one collaborative team, known as an Ontario Health Team (OHT).
And on Friday, the province approved the application of the Elgin Ontario Health Team, representing about 25 healthcare organizations in St. Thomas and Elgin.
Judith Wiley, a member of the team’s steering and coordinating committees, says they submitted their application in December of last year.
The OHTs are to provide a new method of organizing and delivering health care more connected to residents in their local communities.
The teams will co-ordinate health-care services by linking hospitals, primary care, home care and other services. Wiley explains the funding model for the Elgin Ontario Health Team.
Wiley stresses the importance of having an OHT to serve St. Thomas and Elgin as opposed to being part of a team based in London and serving a far more extensive catchment area.
“The establishment of the Elgin OHT will improve the patient experience and better coordinate care in the context of rural communities where access and connectivity is often a barrier,” adds Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP Jeff Yurek.
A top priority for the Elgin OHT, says Wiley, will be respiratory disease, which has a higher prevalence in Elgin than elsewhere in the province.
