Chatham-Kent Community Health Centers providing impactful health care; saving system money

Community health centers across Ontario are touting the benefits of their model of care in keeping people healthier, out of emergency rooms and helping save the system money.

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A report by the Alliance for Healthier Communities, that includes data from the 73 CHCs across Ontario, including the Chatham-Kent community health centers, shows a holistic approach to patient care saved an estimated $27 million in emergency room costs in 2022.

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While there isn’t a specific break-down for the local CHC that has locations in Chatham, Wallaceburg and Walpole Island First Nation, executive director Sherri Saunders credits the effort to “batch appointments” as being a significant factor.

She noted in other types of primary care settings, the patient only comes in for one or two issues.

“We do a full visit, whatever you need, in the same visit,” she said.

Saunders said this could include updating immunizations to seeing a dietician.

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Noting CHCs are mandated to serve vulnerable and marginalized populations, she said local individuals served, on average, have health issues 79 per cent more complex than people by local family health teams.

Saunders said these patients are not only experiencing health issues, but also social issues such as food insecurity and often living in poverty.

“They don’t have enough resources to meet their basic needs,” she said.

Noting there are also often barriers to CHC patients getting to their appointments, Saunders said, “We want to try to do as much as we can in the moment with them and set them up for success looking at all of their holistic needs, as an individual, as a family unit.”

She said they may also have had trauma or are experiencing mental health or addiction issues.

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“That’s why when we take a holistic approach using the model of health and wellbeing, it’s not just health, there’s social, physical, spiritual, mental wellbeing in all of the quadrants,” Saunders said.

She noted patient visits can range from 30 minutes to 90 minutes, depending on what supports an individual needs.

About 70 staff, including five full-time equivalent physicians and between nine and 10 nurse practitioners, along with health providers in 19 different disciplines such as physio and occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, kinesiology and dietary, work together to serve about 6,100 patients.

The holistic approach to patient care offered at the CHC appeals to nurse practitioner Nicole Basiaco.

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“That’s actually one of the reasons why I chose to be a nurse practitioner is because I get that great balance between providing nursing care and medical care,” she said.

She said since none of the health care providers with CHCs bill OHIP, “it allows us to be able to spend time with people and address all of their needs while they’re here.”

When more issues can be dealt with during a visit, Basiaco said there is less frustration for patients with not having to book appointments for separate issues.

“I think they feel heard and they feel like we’re validating their concerns and taking them seriously.”

Basiaco said the CHC is a busy clinic, but added, “we’re lucky to have such a great multi-disciplinary team, because I don’t feel like I have to do it all by myself as a nurse practitioner.”

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She said there is awesome support from the team that enables patients to be sent to other experts which provides much better overall care.

Saunders said the team at CHC also does community outreach including having a primary health team go to the temporary homeless shelter in Chatham to deliver care.

There is also a team that goes to area greenhouse operations and food processing plants to visit temporary foreign workers, who have challenges accessing care, she said.

The Alliance for Healthier Communities has authorized the report to show the benefit of providing more funding to expand this type of health-care delivery.

“If we were given more funding, we could definitely add to our team to continue delivering high-quality services within the Chatham-Kent community health centers,” Saunders said.

The local CHC has put a business case forward for team expansion knowing that roughly one-third of Chatham-Kent residents do not have access to a primary care provider, she said.

She estimates roughly 20 per cent of those without a primary care provide meeting the definition of vulnerable population, which the CHC is mandated to serve.

Noting it has been tough to recruit physicians, Saunders said the CHC would like to take on more nurse practitioners to help serve local residents in Chatham-Kent who do not have access to a primary care provider.

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