Family health team hiring nurse practitioners
FERGUS – Residents without a family doctor can take heart.
The Upper Grand Family Health Team has hired two nurse practitioners, who will work from the medical clinic at Walmart during the day.
Local doctors will continue to run the after-hours clinic.
Each nurse practitioner will be able to take on 800 patients.
Upper Grand Family Health Team executive director Hilary Blackett made the announcement at the Centre Wellington council meeting on Aug. 24.
Patients will be selected from those who have registered with Health Care Connect, Blackett said.
As well, Blackett said the family health team has been working with Groves Memorial Community Hospital.
Newborns without a primary care doctor and patients with complex medical needs will now be discharged with a primary care doctor, Blackett said.
Groves hospital president and CEO Angela Stanley delegated to council with Blackett, underscoring the partnership between the two organizations.
Stanley said the board of directors is changing its governance model.
One board will now oversee Groves and Wellington North Health Care, which includes the hospitals in Palmerston and Mount Forest.
Stanley said this is best practice and will make it easier to recruit board members, who require a certain expertise and medical background.
It also means councillors will no longer sit on the hospital boards.
Councillor Jennifer Adams, who currently sits on the Groves hospital board, expressed her disappointment at that change.
Stanley said she’s willing to bring updates from the board to council upon request.
