FLA OHT Primary Care Summit: Co-creating solutions for the future of primary care

March 24, 2025.

More than 90 primary care professionals gathered at Fort Henry in Kingston on February 5, 2025, for the FLA OHT Primary Care Summit - an event focused on shaping the future of primary care in Frontenac, Lennox, and Addington. The summit was designed to deepen understanding of the FLA OHT’s People-Centred Health Home model, which ensures that every person has equitable access to a comprehensive, coordinated primary care team close to home. Discussions throughout the day focused on how primary care teams can integrate three key features of the model - team-based care, equitable access, and care close to home - into their practices to improve outcomes and strengthen the health-care system.

Setting the tone: Honouring Indigenous perspectives

The summit began with a moving opening by Grandmother Kathy, who delivered a Thanksgiving Address, emphasizing the importance of approaching this work in a good way. She also unveiled a painting by Indigenous artists Jaylene and Dakota of W.C. Creatives, titled “The Circle of Life and Wellness.” The artwork represents the interconnectedness of emotional, spiritual, and physical health and is part of the Indigenous Health and Wellness Strategic Advancement in KFL&A initiative.

Keynote from Dr. Renee Fernandez: “Hope is a strategy”

Dr. Renee Fernandez, a family physician at Rise Health in British Columbia and Chief Medical Officer of BC Family Doctors, delivered a powerful keynote emphasizing the urgent need to modernize primary care. She framed hope as a strategy for primary care transformation—an active tool for change, not just a passive feeling of optimism. “Hope is not just a feeling. It’s a lived experience when we see things start to change,” shared Dr. Fernandez.

Key takeaways: 

• Primary care must evolve to meet modern needs, addressing chronic illness, mental health challenges, and increasing care complexity.
• Team-based care is essential, not optional, ensuring people receive coordinated support from physicians, nurses, social workers, and other professionals. 
• The administrative burden on family doctors is unsustainable, with excessive paperwork reducing time spent on providing care.
• Equity must be prioritized, ensuring rural, low-income, and marginalized communities have better access to care.
• New funding models can drive lasting change, with Ontario’s $1.8 billion investment in primary care as a major opportunity.
• The conditions of work are the conditions of care, a well-supported primary care workforce is essential as “primary care is the cornerstone of a functioning health-care system.”

Dr. Fernandez closed with a challenge to attendees: “We have a mighty task ahead - to rebuild our shattered health-care system and create one founded on 21st-century values.”

Dr. Kim Morrison: A call to action

Following the keynote, Dr. Kim Morrison, Executive Lead of the FLA OHT, underscored that embracing the Health Home model is key to shaping the future of primary care. She urged attendees to recognize their role as leaders of change.

“The power to create change really, truly does lie within each of us as primary care leaders,” Dr. Morrison stated. “We're the architects of its future. We are going to create what will be the foundation for health care as we move forward. And that's why we're here today. Every person in this room has the ability to lead, every person has the choice to work together to build a health system where primary care is truly the foundation.”

Dr. Morrison highlighted the progress made in connecting more than 13,000 previously unattached people to primary care and emphasized that the continued transformation of primary care depends on fully embracing the three core principles of the Health Home model:

• Team-based care – Building coordinated teams of health-care professionals who work together to provide comprehensive, personalized care.
• Equity – Removing barriers to health care, addressing social determinants of health and improving access for underserved and equity-denied communities.
• Care close to home – Expanding geographic health homes so people can access care close to where they live, making it easier to get timely care, manage chronic conditions, and avoid unnecessary hospital visits.

Panel discussion: Real-world approaches to team-based care

Dr. Morrison introduced a panel featuring Dr. Sundeep Banwatt (CarePoint Health), Jen Quinlan (Flemingdon Health Centre), and Jordan Beattie (Greater Napanee Health Home). Panelists shared innovative approaches from their own clinics or practices, showcasing how key features of the Health Home model, like team-based care and equity-focused initiatives, are improving outcomes and efficiency. 

Key takeaways:

• Physician extenders (e.g., nurses, social workers, and system navigators) reduce administrative burden and improve care coordination.
• Community Health Ambassadors help overcome language, transportation, and financial barriers to ensure equitable care.
• Shared electronic medical records (EMRs) improve collaboration among providers, reducing duplication and inefficiencies.
• Integrated and virtual care models expand access and streamline referrals.
• Flexible team-based models can be adapted to different clinic settings and community needs.
• Teamwork improves provider well-being, reducing burnout and improving job satisfaction.

The panel set the stage for collaborative planning sessions, where attendees developed strategies to integrate team-based care, equity, and care close to home into their own practices.

Table discussions: Actionable solutions for primary care

The interactive table discussions allowed primary care professionals to collaboratively explore how to implement the People-Centred Health Home model across the region. Participants identified practical solutions to enhance team-based care, expand equitable access, and ensure people receive timely, coordinated care in their communities.

Key takeaways and recommended actions: 

• Enhancing team-based care: Expanding interprofessional teams (e.g., allied health professionals, social workers, system navigators) and salaried models was to improve comprehensive, coordinated care.
• Advancing equity: Developing flexible funding models and community partnerships to support underserved populations.
• Bringing care closer to home: Implementing hub-and-spoke models to deliver care to rural and remote communities, ensuring continuity and accessibility.
• Reducing administrative burdens: Streamlining workflows, leveraging AI tools, and using shared EMRs to free up provider time for care.

Digital Fair: Advancing primary care through digital health

The summit’s Digital Fair, showcased innovative digital tools that support the Health Home model by improving efficiency, access, and care coordination. Highlights included: 

• AI-powered scribes: Automating clinical documentation to reduce provider workload
• Online appointment booking: Enhancing access and scheduling efficiency.
• E-consults and e-referrals: Facilitating faster, more streamlined specialist access.
• OntarioMD: Tools supporting digital health adoption in primary care clinics.
• Lumeo hospital information system: Enhancing data sharing and regional care coordination.
• Shared Health Integrated Information Portal (SHIIP): Improving care coordination across teams.

The Digital Fair reinforced how embracing technology can strengthen team-based care, enhance care experiences, and support a more efficient and connected primary care system.

Next steps: Advancing the Health Home model for a strong primary care system

The FLA OHT Primary Care Summit was a catalyst for action reinforcing that team-based care, equity, and care close to home—core features of the People-Centred Health Home model—must drive primary care transformation.

With a shared vision and actionable change ideas, the FLA OHT and its partners are well-positioned to continue expanding the Health Home model across the region—building a more connected, sustainable and people-centred primary care system that better serves both people and providers.