In February AFHTO’s Membership Committee and Board approved our 2020 conference themes and program. In March we prepared to announce them and send a call for volunteers but as with everything else, the COVID-19 pandemic overtook our plans. Thank you for your patience as we monitored the situation and made decisions about how it might affect the 2020 Conference, set to take place this October in Toronto.
April 15, 2020
An open letter regarding PPE in Primary Care during COVID-19 was released today from the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario (AFHTO), Nurse Practitioners' Association of Ontario (NPAO) and the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP). On behalf of our members - who are caring for patients in communities across Ontario in the midst of COVID-19 - we are seeking urgent assistance from Ontario's Ministry of Health in ensuring access to appropriate PPE in order to safeguard patient access to primary care.
As told by Dr. Matt Dumas, Lead Physician, Lakelands FHT*
In late March, Lakelands FHT discovered that there was a positive case at our Northbrook site. That resulted in the immediate closure of our building. We all had to go home and finish 14 day periods of self-isolation. To our surprise, this meant having to distance ourselves from our own families, which was very difficult.
Healthy Debate opinion piece by Kate Mulligan and Kavita Mehta
As of tomorrow, Thursday, Jan. 23, AFHTO staff will be working offsite in preparation for a move to a new location.
We will each be checking our voicemail periodically but if the matter is urgent, please email the relevant staff member directly.
Further details including our new location will be announced by early February. We appreciate your patience as we transition to our new space. If you have any questions, please feel free to email info@afhto.ca.
Congratulations to the first cohort of 24 Ontario Health Teams and to our many member teams that are engaged and participating in the development of OHTs in their communities, ensuring that primary care is the foundation in the transformation.
