Bridging the Gap: Expanding Primary Care Access in Elgin County
The Interprofessional Primary Care Team (IPCT) in Elgin County made a lot of progress in 2024-2025. The IPCT was awarded $960,938 from the Ministry of Health to help the 20,000 people in Elgin County who do not have a family doctor or nurse practitioner.
Over the year, TVFHT worked together with the East Elgin Family Health Team, Central Community Health Centre, West Elgin Community Health Centre, and the Elgin Ontario Health Team to give people in St. Thomas and nearby communities better access to health care.
After talking with TVFHT partners, it was decided to focus on these areas:
- Opening a new clinic for people without a primary care provider
- Creating better pathways to care
- Adding more mental health and addictions support
Elgin Community Health Hub: a new primary care clinic
The Elgin Community Health Hub (ECHH) opened in St. Thomas on September 23, 2024. A ribbon-cutting and open house were held a few days earlier with Elgin-London-Middlesex MPP Rob Flack, project partners, and local media.
On the first day, 120 new patient forms were handed out, and 12 patients were seen by the team. By the end of March 2025, this clinic had seen over 5,600 patients, exceeding their initial goal.
The ECHH offers many services, including care for injuries and illnesses, prenatal care, and help for anyone without a primary care provider. To make it easier for people to be seen, the clinic opens as early as 7 AM.
Cancer Screening Clinics
Before the clinic opened, TVFHT ran 4 pop-up cancer screening clinics in the summer. These clinics offered cervical cancer screenings and helped connect people to colorectal and breast cancer screenings. Services were available to women, men over 50, trans masculine individuals, and non-binary people.
Building Better Pathways to Care
TVFHT worked with the St. Thomas-Elgin General Hospital to create a referral pathway for people who go to the emergency department and do not have a primary care provider. Now, they can get follow-up care at the ECHH. This helps people stay healthy and reduces hospital visits.
Another option that is available to patients is the First Five Program at the West Elgin Community Health Centre. This program is for children under six who need care but do not have a family doctor or nurse practitioner. Directing patients to this resource frees up space at the ECHH for others.
TVFHT worked with community providers to share information about the TVFHT’s free group programming. This year saw expanded access to TVFHT’s mental health group programs.
The team connected with local pharmacists to learn more about their services to have a complete picture of help available in the community.
Mental Health and Addictions Navigation – Support for local providers
In 2024, TVFHT introduced a Mental Health and Addictions Navigator to help people find the right support. The Navigator works with primary care providers to connect patients to the services they need at the right time and in the right way.
Preparing for Attachment
With this great start to the work in Elgin County, the team is looking ahead to completing the goals set out at the beginning of the project:
- Attach more people to a TVFHT nurse practitioner as their primary care provider, working with Health Care Connect.
- Add a new nurse practitioner to provide mobile care in high-need areas through the West Elgin CHC, funded by the IPCT.
- Expand mental health and addictions navigation to more providers.
- Centralize referrals for respiratory therapy services.
- The aim for next year is helping more people in Elgin County live healthier lives close to home.