New report and video reveal the Community Health Centre secret to success

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, health care 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.

This divide is revealed in dramatic differences in health outcomes for Ontarians. The divide separates the poor from prosperous, new immigrants and racialized groups from long-term residents and European descendants, Francophones from Anglophones and Aboriginal People from non-Aboriginal populations. The divide is unfair. And it also creates great burdens and enormous costs for our health care system.

Research demonstrates Community Health Centres offer the most effective Primary Health Care model to close this divide. But unfortunately a very small proportion of Ontarians have access to Community Health Centres. And the vast majority of those most in need have no access at all.

It’s clear more decision makers and more communities need information about the Community Health Centre solution. We’re starting with the release of two communication tools.

Report

For Ontario’s political parties, LHINs and provincial health care decision makers: a report called Ontario’s Community Health Centres: addressing the great health divide.  The report details how the current government’s 2004-2005 decision to expand access to Community Health Centres has yielded such positive results. The report also recommends a goal that by 2020 Ontario’s Community Health Centres, as well as Aboriginal Health Access Centres, should serve at least a million people living in Ontario. 

To download the report, please click here (PDF). To download the background documents, please click here.
 

Video

For community leaders across Ontario, on our website and through other social media channels we’re releasing a  video called Every One Matters., which shows Community Health Centres in action. Our hope is that as more Ontarians learn about Community Health Centres’ secret to success, they’ll work together with their LHINs and the provincial government, to ensure their neighbourhood or community can access the benefits. 

To view the video on VIMEO, please click here.