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The facility will “mitigate the potential impact” on people with limited access to primary care.
Published on May 30, 2024 • Last updated 50 minutes ago • 3 minute read
The exterior of Group Health Centers headquarters at 240 McNabb St. on Tuesday afternoon. (Kyle Darbyson/The Salt Star) jpg, SM, apsmc
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Sioux Area Hospital is calling Wednesday's announcement of the opening of a new outpatient clinic to provide primary health care to hospitalized patients at Group Health Center “good news.”
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The Great Lakes Clinic and Access Care Clinic will help “mitigate the potential impact” on people with limited access to primary care services, Brandi Sharp Young, public affairs manager for SAH, told The Salt Star on Thursday.
“It's important to recognize that this support alone will not fully address the complexities of the health care environment,” Sharpe-Young said, “but improving access to primary care is one step toward a comprehensive solution to address health system challenges.”
“Sioux Area Hospital reiterates our commitment to supporting our local healthcare partners. Together, we will overcome these challenges.”
Demand for SAH primary care services was expected to increase as 10,000 patients were expected to lose access to providers and same-day care services through GHC on Friday.
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Deregistration will continue, but these patients will be able to continue receiving primary care thanks to a new outpatient clinic funded by the Ministry of Health.
This late-stage, $2.8 million infusion, announced Wednesday by Sault Ste. Marie MP Ross Romano, will allow GHC to operate a new outpatient clinic capable of serving 11,200 patients.
The facility will be nurse-run and provide primary care services including acute care, episodic care, chronic disease symptom management and prescription management.
It also facilitates ongoing referrals and ensures uninterrupted access to GHC programs and services.
GHC officials said the feared significant reduction in access to care was due to a state and national shortage of primary care providers, leaving the facility “unable to replace providers who have closed their practices over the past few years.”
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The Ontario Health Coalition led a protest against health care privatization on Wednesday, blasting the clinic as little more than a “Band-Aid” for an underfunded public system.
While the new outpatient clinic is only a temporary solution to an ongoing problem, Romano said it's a positive development for patients who, as of Friday, were worried about being cut off completely from primary care services.
“These people will not have to lose their medical records; they will be kept by Group Medical Center and will continue to be treated as patients of Group Medical Center,” Romano said Wednesday.
SAH President and CEO Ira Watson said the fear of an oversupply of orphan patients would have had a “significant” impact on Sault Regional Hospital's emergency department, overall operations and wait times, not to mention the affected patients and the community at large.
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Sharpe Young said the hospital will continue to monitor the impact on access to primary care.
“(SAH) intends to take a proactive approach within our resource capabilities to minimize the impact to hospital operations and patient care,” she added.
SAH's financial resource capacity became a top priority Monday as officials learned that funding uncertainty continues to plague the facility, one of several major challenges for the region's leading medical center. Watson told the hospital's board and senior management that inflation, supply chain issues and compensation costs have left SAH's expenses “significantly different,” and funding for the current fiscal year is still unknown.
There is a clear possibility of a deficit in fiscal year 24/25.
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“And at this point we don't know how big that deficit will be,” Watson said.
“It's not unusual this far into the fiscal year to not know what this year's budget will be, but hospitals across the state are seeing a widening gap between their budgets and spending.”
SAH's 2024/25 operating plan outlines plans to maintain services and respond to additional demand “subject to local circumstances”.
But the government is “working closely” with the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) and hospital partners to ensure all facilities have the “tools” they need to continue providing “the quality care our patients deserve,” Ministry of Health spokesperson Hannah Jensen told The Salt Star.
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“This includes communicating to OHA and hospital corporations across the state that the government will provide financial assistance to hospitals facing financial difficulties to ensure there is no change in the level of care provided,” she added.
Jensen said the Ministry of Health has held numerous meetings and webinars with hospital corporations and OHA to determine each hospital's “unique” needs and the financial support they need to stay open.
“The needs of each hospital are being met by the government and we will continue to work with our partners to ensure Ontarians can get the care they need close to home,” she said, adding that this includes a “record investment” of $85 billion in health care through Budget 2024 and a four per cent increase to the hospital sector.
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