Gifting agreement will increase access to care in Napanee

March 19, 2024 News Release

The Town of Greater Napanee has entered into a gifting agreement with Kingston Community Health Centres (KCHC) to provide funding in the amount of $313,476 annually for two years. The funding will support KCHC as they assume operational and governance responsibilities for the Greater Napanee Health Home.

The Greater Napanee Health Home will provide more connected care and help with easier access to the care people need. It will be a home base for all the health-care services needed to achieve someone’s best health. Family physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses and other allied health professionals will work collaboratively as a team to meet the health and wellness needs of our community. Healthcare professionals can work to the top of their scope of practice, improving capacity and access to primary care. Patients will be attached to the team as a whole and be able to access the right care at the right time by the right person.

Providing funding to KCHC will allow the Greater Napanee Health Home to have administrative functions performed by individuals with specialized training. This will allow health-care providers at the Greater Napanee Health Home to enhance overall efficiency and focus on delivering excellent care.

The Greater Napanee Health Home is part of the Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Ontario Health Team (FLA OHT). The FLA OHT is working to ensure every single person in the region has access to the care they need to achieve their best health. Find out more about the FLA OHT on their website at https://flaoht.ca/.

Greater Napanee has a population of 16,000. It is estimated that over 5,000 residents are not rostered to a family physician or nurse practitioner. Lack of access to family medicine puts people at a greater risk of having diseases such as cancer that go much longer without being diagnosed or treated. The objective of this partnership is to increase the opportunity to access family medicine for all community members.

This agreement will also act as an incentive for new family physicians and nurse practitioners to open a practice in Greater Napanee without having to take on administrative functions that take time away from providing patient care. This innovative approach replaces the Town’s Physician Recruitment program and contributes to the overall efficiency of the health-care model.

Residents without a primary care provider are encouraged to register through Health Care Connect by phone at 1-800-445-1822 or online. Once registered on Health Care Connect, residents will be added to their local waitlist for a primary care provider. A nurse – the Care Connecter – will be assigned to help find a primary care provider based on each person’s situation. More information on the Greater Napanee Health Home will be available in the coming weeks.