July 3 – Mothers attending the Waterfront Festival in Cobourg will have no trouble finding a comfortable spot to breastfeed and change their babies. The Northumberland Breastfeeding Coalition, of which Northumberland FHT is a member, has arranged a line-up of hot pink Adirondack chairs in an open-sided tent for their convenience. Coalition members will also be available to offer information about breastfeeding and community resources that support families. Their aim is to increase positive attitudes toward breastfeeding in public.

A new Electronic Medical Record (EMR) query to identify patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is available to all primary care providers using Accuro EMR. The query was developed by QIDS Specialists from the Windsor FHT and East GTA FHT and validated by other QIDS Specialists.

Are you interested in serving on the AFHTO board of directors? The Governance Committee of AFHTO’s board invites anyone who works within an AFHTO member organization to apply. Please share this call for nominations with all who work in your team.

June 26 - Essex County NPLC is promoting cervical cancer screening for women in Ford City, a Windsor neighbourhood with a low rate of regular checkups. Residents experience multiple barriers to health care such as transportation issues, poverty and not having a family doctor, which is why an outreach office was opened there three years ago.

Thank you to everyone who submitted an abstract for concurrent session and poster presentations at the AFHTO 2015 Conference. The working groups have now reviewed all submissions and a notification e-mail has been sent to each contact person. If you are part of a group that has prepared an abstract, please ensure your group contact has received an e-mail including the words “AFHTO 2015 Conference” in the subject this week.

Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care aims to introduce amendments to the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) in the fall. If passed, these amendments would include making it mandatory to report breaches to the commissioner’s office; lifting the requirement that offences be prosecuted within six months of an alleged breach, and doubling fines for individuals and organizations.

Evidence tells us that, with a team-based approach to primary care, patients experience more timely access to care, better care coordination and improved management of their chronic diseases. At present, about 25-30% of Ontarians can access team-based primary care. The logical question is – how do we expand access to primary care teams and get the best value from this investment?

May 25 - St. Michael’s Academic Hospital Family Health Team’s focus on treating poverty as a root cause of poor health continues to grow as profiled in the Toronto Star.