Peterborough This Week article published March 8, 2017. Article in full pasted below. This Week PETERBOROUGH — Primary care services in Peterborough are expanding as the Family Health Team launches the Trans Care Clinic. The Peterborough Family Health Team (PFHT) announced the launch on Wednesday (March 8), noting the nurse practitioner-led clinic will operate once a week at the main building located at 185 King St. In preparation for the clinic’s launch, PFHT spent months planning and consulting with various organizations and subject matter experts such as PARN; Gender Journeys; CMHA; VON 360; Dr. Vanita Lokanathan and Sheena Howard, RN. The Trans Care Clinic will offer services for transgender patients such as counselling support, medical treatment initiation, hormone monitoring and additional individualized service and supports, such as surgical consultations. Data collected during the development of the clinic identified one in every 200 people are transgender. Additionally, evidence shows that roughly 70 per cent of trans Ontarians live outside of the GTA. “We are incredibly happy to be able to help those in our community who have struggled in finding and accessing a specific type of care,” states Lori Richey, executive director of PFHT. “We are committed to delivering high-quality care to patients and to be a leader in the development of a holistic health care system, which is evident through the programs and services we offer to our patients.” Patients belonging to a PFHT family doctor can request a referral or self-refer to the clinic. Those who are not rostered with a PFHT family doctor may still contact PFHT for assistance in finding similar services available to them. “The overarching goal of the Trans Care Clinic is to integrate this service back to the hands of the primary care providers; your family doctor,” states Richey. “This clinic is only the first step while we continue to educate clinicians and better position ourselves to offer these services to patients.” This initiative is made possible by the Community Fund for Canada’s 150th, a collaboration between the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough, Community Foundations of Canada, the Government of Canada, and extraordinary leaders from coast to coast. The Greater Peterborough Health Services Foundation not only made the Trans Care Clinic possible with their kind donation, but they also support patients in the community who rely on expert, compassionate care delivered by the Family Health Team. For more information, visit peterboroughfht.com Click here to access the Peterborough This Week article.
