The province is making a major investment in Powassan and Area Family Health Team

The Ontario government is investing $321,000 in the Powassan and Area Family Health Team. Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli made the announcement on April 19, noting that the funds will help expand health team services “to connect more people to interdisciplinary primary care.”

The government expects that this additional funding will directly impact more than 2,300 patients.

“Our government continues to make strategic investments that contribute to a supportive and connected health care system in Nipissing,” Fedeli said, specifying that “this funding will support a full-time RPN and mental health physician” who will serve Bonfield and South River.

Additionally, the funding will “provide additional access to physical therapy services in the area.”

Fedeli’s office also clarified that this funding is part of Ontario’s $110 million investment to connect up to 328,000 people with primary care teams, “bringing the province one step closer to connecting everyone in Ontario to primary care.”

The government has increased funding to achieve this goal and others, Fedeli noted. “The province’s health care funding has increased from $50 billion when we were elected to $80 billion today, but there is still more to do.”

He said there is a new medical school underway in Brampton, as well as one in Scarborough, “and in the budget we just announced a new medical school at York University” in Toronto. “This is part of the program to graduate more doctors,” Fedeli said.

Anna Gibson, executive director of the Powassan and Area Family Health Team, said she and her team are “very pleased with this funding.” The funds will allow the team to offer their services and programs to patients at the Bonfield and South River/Machar medical centers.

“Work is underway to deliver the first of these services in the coming months,” Gibson said.

David Briggs is a reporter for the Local Journalism Initiative working for BayToday, a Village Media publication. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.