FAQs Portail ESO FLA

Who we serve

This area is composed of vibrant urban cities, many small towns, picturesque villages along Lake Ontario and many rural and remote areas – yet many health and wellness challenges exist:

This area is composed of vibrant urban cities, many small towns, picturesque villages along Lake Ontario and many rural and remote areas – yet many health and wellness challenges exist: 

  • We are older than the rest of the province. One in four people is older than 53.
  • We have a total population of about 220,000 where one in eight or over 20,000 people do not have a primary care provider. This puts more pressure on emergency departments and hospitals. 
  • Hospitals in the region are experiencing severe shortages of health-care workers and longer wait times have become normal. 
  • Mental health and addiction needs in this region are higher than the provincial average.
  • The regional Indigenous population is higher at 3.7 per cent compared to the rest of the province at 2.8 per cent.
More people speak French as their first language at 3.1 per cent compared to the provincial average of .03 per cent, and we are a designated area under the French Language Services Act.