AFHTO has named the winners of our annual Bright Lights Awards.
These innovators have improved primary care through their leadership, outstanding work and significant progress made toward improving the value delivered by interprofessional primary care teams throughout Ontario. Bright Lights Award winners are innovators and team players whose work has an impact on the healthcare system.
The review committees made up of AFHTO members chose the winners from among dozens of nominations. AFHTO gave awards for each of our six conference themes, as well as a spotlight award for excellent work by an underrepresented primary care team.
In addition, AFHTO’s board presented a special award to an organization whose work improves patients’ lives and enhances the quality of primary care in Ontario.
Board Award: County of Simcoe paramedicine program
In recognition of: Collaboration to Ensure the Success of Community Paramedicine as Part of the Interprofessional Primary Care Team
This year, the board has recognized the County of Simcoe paramedicine program supported by Director Meredith Morrison and Community Paramedicine Coordinator Kyle McCallum. The program monitors vulnerable patients, including those who might call 911 and go to the emergency room, and has successfully reduced unnecessary dependence on primary care among the vulnerable.
The six theme recipients of Bright Lights Awards and the winner of the spotlight award are listed below. Click on the links to read a summary of their achievements:
1. Windsor Family Health Team
- Award Category: Access to Care: Improving Team-Based Care
- Achievement: Windsor Team Care Centre
The Team Care Centre (TCC) has successfully made interdisciplinary team care available to patients with mental health, addictions, and complex care needs, including patients of solo practitioners who do not have access to team-based care.
2. Sunnybrook Academic Family Health Team
- Award Category: Continuous care: ensuring seamless transitions for patients across the continuum of care
- Achievement: Code Orange – the Colour of Collaboration exercise
After a local mass casualty, the team realized that primary care teams have a contribution to make during a crisis and, in collaboration with their hospital, revamped its Code Orange procedures.
3. Family First FHT Mental Health Team
- Award Category: Comprehensive Team-Based Care
- Achievement: Increased access for psychotherapy services
Given the long wait times for access to mental health services provincially, the team offers group interventions to patients with more severe symptoms and psychiatric diagnoses.
4. St. Michael’s Hospital Academic Family Health Team
- Award Category: Patient and Family-centred Care
- Achievement: Applying methods of citizen engagement in primary care
They used methods of citizen engagement to gather recommendations from a representative group of patient advisors to prioritize areas for improvement to service delivery.
5. Couchiching Family Health Team
- Award Category: Community and Social Accountability
- Achievement: Trans Health Service
Couchiching FHT integrated transgender healthcare into primary care delivery with the services of a Nurse Practitioner with expertise in hormone replacement therapy and surgical referrals and a peer support navigator and implemented Safer Spaces training for employees.
6. Digital Coalition- Clinton FHT, Stratford FHT, East Elgin FHT, Thames Valley FHT (sites in Elgin, London and Woodstock),Tillsonburg Family Physicians, North Huron FHT, North Perth FHT, Sauble FHT, London FHT, Four Counties FHT, Brockton & Area FHT, Maitland FHT, Happy Valley FHT, Huron Community FHT, Saugeen Shores Medical Associates, London Lambeth FHO, Wolseley Medical Clinic, London InterCommunity CHC, Elmdale FHO, Ingersoll NPLC, South Huron Medical Centre, various solo practices and Partnering For Quality Team
- Award Category: Enabling High-Performing Primary Health Care
- Achievement: Digital Coalition
These rural teams and partner organizations have created an active, voluntary digital partnership that boosts the efficiency of their practices through coordinated form creation, testing, communication and distribution.
7. The Spotlight Award: Trent Hills Family Health Team
- In recognition of: Providing Better Care for Rural Children
Presented in recognition of underrepresented primary care teams, the Spotlight Award is presented to Trent Hills Family Health Team. Nurses on the team identified a gap in care and developed a program to support families in rural area in providing better care of children from birth to school age.
To see all our nominees please visit the 2019 Hall of Fame. The call for nominations for the 2020 Bright Light Awards will go out in June 2020. All AFHTO members are welcome and encouraged to participate. For additional event photos, please contact info@afhto.ca.
