Pension Increase for 2010

The Treasury Board has announced that the increase in indexing to be applied, on January 1, 2010, to public service, Canadian Forces, RCMP, and federally appointed judges’ pensions will be 0.5% (half of one per cent).

To see comments from your fellow FSNA members click here

Bomber Command - The Play

Those of you interested in the history of Bomber Command may be interested in this play. Click here

Age_Friendly Communities - Update One

This is the first of a series of UPDATES that we will publish regularly to keep our partners abreast of the latest developments in the movement to make Ontario age‐friendly. Click HERE

Ontario expands Aging at Home program

Ontario is expanding its successful Aging at Home program and community care initiatives to reduce pressure on Ontario’s emergency rooms. Another $187 million is being invested in the Aging at Home program that funds initiatives at the local level to allow seniors to live independently at home. There is $60 million for increased home care, personal support and homemaking services provided by Community Care Access Centres, and $22 million for Ontario’s 14 Local Health Integration Networks to invest in local solutions for alternate level of care patients who are taking up hospital beds while waiting for a placement in community care. There is also $3.5 million for nurse-led outreach teams to provide more care to patients in long-term care homes and help them avoid transfers to hospital ERs. (News release at www.health.gov.on.ca)

Long-Term Care Homes Act Regulation Project

Attached a letter from Colleen Sonnenberg, Manager, Long-Term Care Homes Act Regulation Project, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care relating to Part 1 Proposed Initial Draft Regulations under the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007.

Ontario Heath Related News

Ontario broadening scope of practice of health professionals

Ontario has introduced legislation expanding the scope of practice of a number of health professions to improve access to care.

For example, nurse practitioners will be allowed to conduct ultrasounds and set a fracture; physiotherapists will be allowed to treat a wound; midwives will be able to place tubes in the nose or mouth of a newborn; medical radiation technologists will be able to give needles; and, dietitians will be able to prick the skin to check a patient’s blood readings.

The move was generally applauded by health professional groups. However, the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario said the government has not gone far enough to remove the “regulatory handcuffs” on nurse practitioners. It had been looking for NPs to be given the authority to admit and discharge patients in hospitals, and have broader prescribing powers to the ones they have now.

Bill 179 does give a number of professions expanded drug authority, but for NPs it only gives them the right to dispense, mix and sell certain drugs.

Pharmacists will be able to prescribe certain drugs to manage patient health and give certain substances through injection and inhalation to demonstrate their use or to educate patients.

The Ontario Medical Association is reviewing the legislation, cautioning that expediency should not be a substitute for patient safety. HE

E-prescribing starts in Ontario

Ontario has started Canada’s first e-prescribing program. This new tool is being developed by eHealth Ontario, the agency set up last September to guide the province’s e-health strategy which was subsequently released this March. Electronic prescribing is a key component of the Medication Management part of the strategy, and is expected to dramatically improve patient safety and quality of care by reducing prescription errors from illegible handwriting. Two sites are involved in a three-month demonstration project which started last month: the Group Health Centre in Sault Ste. Marie and Georgian Bay Family Health Team in Collingwood. Both are well advanced in the use of electronic medical records. (News release at www.ehealthontario.on.ca/media/news_releases.asp)

Ontario wait-time information system profiled

The success of Ontario’s Wait Time Information System is examined in a special issue of Healthcare Quarterly. An editorial by Ontario Hospital Association President and CEO Tom Closson says information technology good news stories rarely get recognized and, as a result, “The public and political leaders believe incorrectly that failure of government IT projects is almost inevitable.” The Wait Time Information System (WTIS) is a clear success. It was up-and-running in less than two years and, as of March 2009, is in use by 86 hospitals and tracking 2.2 million surgical procedures and MRI/CT scans. It is also being expanded to include more of the continuum of care such as wait times for alternate level of care patients. The special issue contains a number of articles with key lessons learned from the experience. It can be found at www.longwoods.com/product.php?productid=20744.

Hansard Highlights

In the Ontario legislature Wednesday, Health and Long-Term Care Minister David Caplan was grilled over the fact that the former Smart Systems for Health Agency spent at least $26 million on consultants’ fees over a five-year period. Mr. Caplan said e-health systems require “very highly technical” expertise and this investment pales next to the $50 billion the Obama administration is spending to implement an electronic health record for all Americans over the next five years.

On Monday, Mr. Caplan faced questions about a freeze on new registrations for family health teams. Mr. Caplan said the model is being reviewed, and he hopes to have the situation resolved “as quickly as possible.” The minister did not explain what the problem was but a ministry spokesperson told the Hamilton Spectator it had to do with “administrative back office issues with financial forecasting.” Progressive Conservative Health Critic Elizabeth Witmer said the freeze comes “at the most critical time of the year as medical school graduates decide where to practise.” She said they may choose to look elsewhere.

Military Police Fund for Blind Children 2nd Annual Golf Tournament

The 2nd Annual Military Police Fund for Blind Children Golf Tournament sponsored by 2 Military Police Unit, Detachment Kingston will be help at CFB Kingston Garrison Golf Course on Sept 11, 2009. Should you be interested in supporting this most worthy cause, you can download an entry form by clicking here.

VIA Rail Special Rates for Vets

VIA Rail is again offering a deal on rail travel to vets. For details Click HERE

PSHCP - Pay-Direct Drug Card

There have been a number of questions over the last couple of months about the long-announced PSHCP Drug Card. For all the latest details click HERE

History of Canadian Public Pensions

To all who are history lovers.

The Canadian Museum of civilization has posted the History of Canadian Public Pensions, which includes snapshots of different eras on the following subjects:

Researcher's Summary

Daily Life

Political Events

World Events

Influential People

What Canadians Received

http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/hist/pensions/cpp-sitelay_e.shtml

Ontario to create 25 Nurse Practitioner clinics

The Ontario government has announced that it is moving ahead with the funding of 25 Nurse Practitioner (NP)-led clinics. Three are being set up immediately, and the remainder will move forward in the spring. All will be in operation by 2011-12.

“Nurse practitioners bring unique and valuable skills and expertise to patient care teams across Ontario,” Premier Dalton McGuinty told a news conference last Friday.

However, the Ontario Medical Association remains opposed to the move. It says the government should instead be supporting the creation of an additional 150 Family Health Teams as promised in the election.

“At a time when financial resources are stretched thin and there is a shortage of nurses it would seem more appropriate to open additional collaborative care teams that we know are having a positive impact on patients,” OMA President Dr. Ken Arnold said in a news release.

The OMA maintains that Family Health Teams are more cost-effective since they have higher patient caseloads than NP clinics. Dr. Arnold said the government has the “responsibility to demonstrate to taxpayers that these clinics are delivering on the outcomes that patients expect.” He said the government has not done this.

Not surprisingly, the Nurse Practitioner Association of Ontario holds the opposite view.

“There are tens of thousands of unattached patients in the province who do not have access to a primary health care provider,” NPAO President Tina Hurlock-Chorostecki said in a news release. “Nurse practitioners have demonstrated they provide safe, effective and quality health care to patients of all ages.” HE

New Healthcare Services for Ontarians

Ontarians can now find health care close to home with the click of a mouse.

For the first time, information about local health services is available in a single place: www.ontario.ca/healthcareoptions. Using this site, people can find the nearest walk-in and after-hours clinics, urgent care centres, family health teams, general practitioners and emergency rooms by typing in their postal codes.

The new service is being updated regularly, and will soon be expanded to offer information on all front-line health services in Ontario including Community Care Access Centres, laboratories and long-term care homes.

The government is also introducing Health Care Connect, a new program to help people find a family health care provider. Ontarians can call 1-800-445-1822 to register with the program, and those who need care most will be helped first.

Veterans Independence Program (VIP)

Did you know that if you are a veteran and you require assistance to maintain your independence, Veterans Affairs Canada may be able to help through a program called Veterans Independence Program (VIP). Check it out by clicking here