Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Kawartha Lakes Community Care Health Centre?

The Kawartha Lakes Community Care Health Centre is a non-profit, community governed health care and support service centre. It will serve residents in the City of Kawartha Lakes who lack access to primary care* as well as clients who need its support and wellness promotion services. It will be unique in that the organization will offer the existing community support services provided by Community Care City of Kawartha Lakes with primary care services.

Who runs the Kawartha Lakes Community Care Health Centre?

The centre will be governed by a board of directors made up of individuals from the community. Currently, 12 directors have been elected and are responsible for its development and operation.

Will the centre be a walk in clinic?

It is anticipated that the centre will not provide emergency care. Primary care and support services will be given to clients registered with the CHC. Depending on community resources and need, this may change over time but currently, the Centre will focus on providing service to residents within the City of Kawartha Lakes who lack access to primary care.

How can I become a client?

The Kawartha Lakes Community Care Health Centre is available for people living in the City of Kawartha Lakes who do not have a primary care provider or any person who may need the community support services. It will be necessary to register with the centre. More information on this will become available as we move forward.

What types of health professionals and other staff will provide service?

The team at the Community Care Health Centre may be comprised of family physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, social workers, mental health and addictions therapists, dietician educator, chiropodist, health educator, community worker and rehabilitation therapists in addition to the community care staff. These will be salaried employees.

Do I have to pay to receive services?

There will not be any fees for the primary care services. Fees for the Community Support Services, such as Meals on Wheels, Transportation, Footcare etc. will remain.

Where will the Community Care Health Centre be located?

This seems to be the question on everyone’s mind. As indicated earlier, the main site for the Health Centre will be located in Lindsay, with satellite offices within the City of Kawartha Lakes. There are also plans for a mobile unit, that will travel within the City providing services. At this time, Community Care is unable to make a definitive commitment to a piece of property until such time that the Ministry has approved the service plan, the staffing complement and functional space allocation. It is our hope that in early 2009 we will be officially announcing the location of the Kawartha Lakes Community Care Health Centre.

What is the difference between a Community Health Centre (CHC) and a Family Health Team(FHT)

There are many similarities between community based Family Health Teams (FHTs) and Community Health Centres(CHCs). Typically, however, CHCs have provided more focus on programs and services that address the social determinants of health (income level, access to education, marginalization, etc), in addition to comprehensive primary medical care. Most CHCs have focused on specific target groups of the population that have lacked access to primary care, such as inner city families, youth, individuals with mental health issues, and so on. (Our CHC, however, is a little different from the typical model in that it will not be focused on a particular target population; rather its focus will be individuals and families who do not have access to a primary health care.) Funding for the two models comes from different sources, and each model has a different accountability mechanism. Family Health Teams report to and are funded by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care; Community Health Centres report to and are funded by the Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs). All staff, including physicians, are on salary in a Community Health Centre. While this is also true in some Family Health Teams, physicians in some FHTs are paid by the Ministry of Health on a capitated model of payment. (ie. Based on the number of patients who are registered rather than a fee for service model) Rehabilitation specialists (eg. Physical therapists, occupational therapists) can be funded in a CHC model, if there has been approval for the positions based on the health needs and demographics of the population to be served. Typically, rehabilitation therapists are not funded in Family Health Teams. These are some of the main differences between the two models. However, both are similar in their team-based, collaborative approach to the provision of primary health care.

What protocols will be used for service eligibility?

We know that there are many more patients who require primary medical care throughout the City of Kawartha Lakes than this CHC will have the capacity to serve. All efforts will be made to offer as many services as possible, as quickly as possible, to as many will be made to offer as many services as possible, as quickly as possible, to as many clients and patients as possible. The Community Care Board of Directors will need to establish some priorities for eligibility, particularly in the start-up phase. The first priority will be those individuals and families who currently do not have access to a primary care provider. Other eligibility criteria will be established to ensure that all residents of the City of Kawartha Lakes who require care will be treated fairly in their search for a primary care provider.

Will the building be the attraction for the CHC team – is the idea, if we build it, they will come?

Certainly having a state-of-the-art medical facility will be an attraction to health care providers. Another attraction will be the opportunity to practice team-based care, with access to a wide variety of on-site and community based health care and social supports and services.

Can a client who has a primary physician access the ancillary services of CHC?

The CHC will offer many services that the community can access, such as seminars and education sessions. Other programs (health care) will be available to those individuals who are registered to the CHC.

Are the CHC services covered by OHIP?

Yes, the services provided through CHCs are covered by OHIP. Some services may require co-payment (e.g. through ODSP). The CHC is a not-for-profit corporation, and any charges for services would cover the cost of provision if they are not funded by an external funder. All of the current community support services (e.g. meals on wheels) which have a client contribution will continue to operate under the current fee for service guidelines for community support services.

With reference to our recent visit to 2 CHCs, what elements were most valuable for our planned CHC?

Every CHC is unique and has different programs, services and components that we can learn from. The Norwest CHC in Thunder Bay has a wonderful mobile van service that we have seen. Other appealing elements we have seen include CHCs with lots of community space for partnering with community groups, providing community programming, and serving as a meeting place for groups. One new CHC has been built to be “green”, and has such things as a roof top garden and lots of natural light. Our aim is to build an environmentally friendly building, providing easily accessible services, that will welcome all residents of the City of Kawartha Lakes.

What will the new logo look like?

The Community Care Public Relations Committee is currently considering what a new logo should look like. There are many things to consider, including how we maintain the visibility of Community Care, which has so much credibility and goodwill in the community. A new name and new logo must be easily identifiable, and ideally will build on the reputation that already exists. A recommendation on this will be going to the Board in the near future.

Will the CHC address respite care and affordable housing?

The Community Care Board of Directors has spent considerable time and effort over the past several years planning for a supportive housing initiative. The possibility is still being pursued, and if successful, we will look at how a housing initiative might be combined with a CHC. However, we also know that we must move forward, as quickly as possible, to create the CHC. The Board will be making a number of challenging decisions over the next several months based on the information and funding that we have available.

Could Community Care and the CHC be on the same site?

This would be ideal configuration. We want the CHC and Community Care services to be coordinated and integrated, so that our clients have access to the entire range of services within the same building. This is what we will be striving for as we develop our functional plan, our human resource plan, our physical plan and our funding application.

If you have any further questions please contact Valmay Barkey, Executive Director
705-324-7323 ext 232 or vbarkey@community-care.on.ca