Ontario Connecting More People to Primary Care Teams in Burlington - April 26 2024

Burlington — The Burlington Family Health Team has received $710,030 funding for expansion
of their services. This is part of Ontario’s $110 million investment to connect up to 328,000 
people to primary care teams, bringing the province one step closer to connecting everyone in 
Ontario to primary care.

“This funding enhances access to primary health care ensuring individuals in Burlington and 
surrounding areas have the care they need, where and when they need it,” said Natalie Pierre, 
Member of Provincial Parliament for Burlington. “This investment by the Province in the 
Burlington Family Health Team, under the leadership of the Premier and Minister of Health, will 
significantly grow our primary care capacity in Burlington and serve nearly 4,400 residents in our 
community.” 

Ontario currently leads the country with 90 percent of people connected to a regular healthcare 
provider. As a next step to close the gap for people not connected to primary care in the 
community, the province is supporting the expansion of interprofessional primary care teams in 
Burlington.

“Interprofessional primary care teams connect people to a range of health professionals that 
work together, including doctors, nurse practitioners, registered and practical nurses, 
physiotherapists, social workers and dietitians, among others. Timely access to primary care 
helps people stay healthier for longer with faster diagnosis and treatment, as well as more 
consistent support managing their day-to-day health while relieving pressures on emergency 
departments and walk-in clinics. This funding announcement is great news for the residents of 
Burlington.” Said Effie Triantafilopoulos, Member of Provincial Parliament for Oakville North-Burlington.

“Our government is making record investments to ensure that everyone that wants to have a 
primary care provider can connect to one,” said the Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. 
“While there is more work to do, giving hundreds of thousands of more Ontarians the 
opportunity to connect to primary care brings us that much closer to this goal.”

In addition to other historic investments to expand medical school spots and efforts to break 
down barriers so highly-skilled internationally-trained doctors can care for people in Ontario, 
Ministry of Health modelling shows that these initiatives will help connect up to 98 percent of 
people in Ontario to primary care in the next several years.

“The Burlington Family Health Team is grateful for the Government of Ontario’s investments in 
primary care. This funding will allow our team to further expand access to primary care 
programs and services in Burlington, said Carole Beauvais, Executive Director for the Burlington 
Family Health Team. “We’re proud of our service model through which we’re providing access 
to primary care services, including physiotherapy and psychotherapy, to residents of our 
community at no cost to them.” 

Since the launch of Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care one year ago, the 
government has been making steady progress to ensure the health care system has become 
better equipped to respond to the needs of patients and provide them with the right care in the 
right place, faster access to services and access to an expanded health care workforce.
 
Quick Facts: 

• As a next step to close the gap for the 1.3 million people not connected to primary care 
  in the province, the government is making a record investment of $90 million to add over 
  400 new primary care providers as part of 78 new and expanded interprofessional primary 
  care teams. The new and expanded teams will include Family Health Teams, Nurse 
  Practitioner-led clinics, Community Health Centres and Indigenous Primary Health Care 
  Organizations.
  
  
• Ontario’s investment of $90 million dollars triples the original $30 million dollars 
  earmarked to expand interprofessional primary care teams and will deliver over four times 
  as many initiatives as outlined in our Your Health Plan almost a year ago.
  
  
• The new and expanded teams are the result of a province-wide call for proposals that 
  took place in 2023. All proposals were thoroughly reviewed by Ontario Health based on 
  criteria prioritising areas of greatest need, to connect a greater number of people currently 
  without a regular primary care provider with these services closer to home.
  
  
• Ontario is the first province to have a publicly funded Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic 
  program. This is in addition to the new Practice Ready Ontario Program that will add 50 new 
  physicians this year.
  
  
• Ontario leads the country in how many people benefit from a long-term, stable 
  relationship with a family doctor or primary care provider. Since 2018 the province has 
  added over 80,000 new nurses and 10,300 new physicians to the healthcare system.
  
  
• Ontario invests over $1 billion in interprofessional primary care teams annually.
   
  
  Additional Resources: 
  
   
  ● Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care
  ● Ontario Connecting Over 300,000 People to Primary Care Teams
  ● Your Health, Your Results