Listowel-Wingham Family Health Team is getting $822,604 in provincial funding to expand primary care.
The funds, announced on Friday morning in Listowel, will help the team serve an additional 2,000 residents in Huron and Perth counties.
Perth-Wellington MPP Matthew Rae said the funding is crucial for rural communities.
“This investment is the first major expansion in Ontario of Interprofessional Primary Care Teams since their inception in 2005," he said in a media release after the announcement.
“This investment will go a long way towards ensuring that in the Wingham and Listowel area, people can access quality care in a timely manner,” said Lisa Thompson, MPP for Huron-Bruce. "It will have far-reaching benefits and is an expression of our government’s commitment to look to the future and listen to the needs of our local communities.”
The funding is part of a larger province wide investment of $110 million to connect up to 328,000 people to a primary care. The Conservative government is investing $90 million to add more than 400 new primary care providers within 78 new and expanded interprofessional primary care teams.
An additional $20 million will provide a boost to all existing interprofessional primary care teams, helping meet increased operational costs for their facilities and supplies so that they may continue providing high-quality care.
“I want to congratulate the Listowel-Wingham Family Health Team on their successful application,” Rae added. “Our government is investing in rural healthcare to ensure residents receive care closer to home. There is more work to be done, and I look forward to continuing to work with our local Family Health Teams to ensure that everyone who wants to have a primary care provider can access one.”
