TORONTO – April 3, 2013 - Today’s announcement from the provincial government, that it is making new investments in 17 capital projects for Ontario’s Community Health Centres (CHCs) and Aboriginal Health Access Centres (AHACs), means thousands more people will have access to a primary health care models that improve health, reduce health disparities and ease the pressures on the rest of the our health system.

Toronto (March 21, 2013) – The Association of Ontario Health Centres (AOHC) is calling on the province’s upcoming provincial budget to invest in measures that will promote health and wellbeing, prevent illness and save money for the health system.

In December, the province adopted a system of health links to better coordinate services for seniors and those with complex conditions. Twenty-two AOHC members are coordinators or partners of these Health Links.

The Association of Ontario Health Centres welcomes the provincial government taking quick action on its seniors strategy. AOHC looks forward to working closely with the government’s provincial lead, Dr. Samir Sinha, who has just released highlights of his forthcoming full report, as well as some of its key recommendations.

People living with low incomes are four times more likely to report poor or fair health as those with high incomes. Our member centres see first-hand how people’s inability to buy nutritious food, travel to health appointments, or afford adequate housing is damaging to health.

AOHC's executive director Adrianna Tetley calls for revolution by evolution in Ontario's health system -- but with a health equity lens fully in place. Because every one matters. And no one should be left behind.

The Wellesley Institute, the Income Security Advocacy Centre and AOHC, along with ACTO, Street Health, and the Peterborough Health Unit, have partnered to produce the report, “The Real Cost of Cutting the Community Start-Up and Maintenance Benefit: A Health Equity Impact Assessment.”

The Association of Ontario Health Centres is calling on the provincial government to act on the Canadian Index of Wellbeing’s (CIW) recommendation and create a comprehensive network of Community Health Centres (CHCs). In a report released today, the CIW said that expanding access to CHCs would have long-term health benefits for Canadians and reduce health disparities.

A new report calls on the Ontario government to replace the current patchwork of programs with a unified oral health program for all Ontarians. AOHC’s contribution to the report notes that Community Health Centres and Aboriginal Health Access Centres are well positioned to play a stronger role in delivering a more cohesive oral health program for people in need.

This week, community members will be hosting multiple special events across Ontario spotlighting the benefits of health services both responsive to, and accountable to, the communities they serve.

As partners in the Ontario Oral Health Alliance, AOHC is asking for your help to build support for extending emergency oral health programs to low income adults.

AOHC has issued an urgent call to the provincial government to take on a strong stewardship role guiding Local Health Integration Networks (LHINS) in primary health care planning.

Over 120 community-governed primary health care centres throughout the province have set a goal to ensure all their Registered Nurses, Registered Practical Nurses and all other health providers are practising to their full scope within three years. By meeting this goal, the association says, over 500,000 served by the centres will receive a higher quality of care from interprofessional teams and the province will also get better value for healthcare dollars.

For AOHC, “medicare” is not just the inner workings of our health system. For us, medicare is an inspiring aspiration enshrined in Canada’s Health Act: … to protect, promote and restore the physical and mental well-being of residents of Canada and to facilitate reasonable access to health services without financial barriers and other barriers.

The federal government is planning to strip refugees of temporary health care coverage, effective July 1, 2012. AOHC urges its members to act on this pressing issue - and to spread the word as you can. We're asking you to send a letter to your MP and Minister Kenney (there's a template); to sign an online petition; and to tweet the minister on the topic. Join your colleagues across Canada on June 18th at a National Day of Action to oppose the cuts. Read on for more details.

This conference is about driving change. And that change is the long-awaited transformation of primary health care through organizational and system-wide adoption of “people-centred care.”

Confirmed speakers: Leading primary health care expert, Steven Lewis; Representatives from Alaska's Southcentral Foundation, home of the world-renowned Nuka model of care; and Cathy Fooks, CEO and president of the Change Foundation. Also hear transformation expert Ted Ball; research results from Dr. Rick Glazier of ICES and Dr. Kieran Moore of Queen's University; and a local interpretation by South East LHIN CEO Paul Huras.

TORONTO (March 6, 2012) –  A new study that compares the performance of Ontario’s primary care models demonstrates Ontario’s Community Health Centres (CHCs) are the most effective model keeping people out of emergency departments – even though the populations they serve have more complex health care needs. The study, conducted by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) investigated seven models which have different methods for compensating family physicians. The study zeroed in on differences in demographics of the populations served, as well as how often their patients/clients used the emergency department.

TORONTO, JANUARY 31 -- The Association of Ontario Health Centres applauds Ontario’s new action plan for health care and especially its commitment make primary care a cornerstone of health system transformation. 

Clients at Ontario’s Community Health Centres (CHCs) and Aboriginal Health Access Centres (AHACs) will soon benefit from state-of-the-art electronic medical record (EMR) technology. The Association of Ontario Health Centres (AOHC) today announced the selection of Nightingale On Demand as the new EMR to support client care at CHCs and AHACs across Ontario.

It’s time health care decision makers and communities across Ontario learned more about Ontario’s Community Health Centres. Community Health Centres (CHCs) are one of Ontario’s best kept secrets. When Ontario’s politicians, healthcare decision makers and local communities move forward maximizing CHCs full potential, Ontario will be much better equipped to address one of our most urgent health issues --- the great health divide.