(Residents and guests attended the information session on the proposed Kanata-Stittsville Health Hub hosted by Councillor Glen Gower and held at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Stittsville on January 28, 2025. Photos: Stittsville Central from iSiLIVE feed)
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church saw their pews full with residents wanting to learn more about the proposed Kanata-Stittsville Health Hub on January 28th. Councillor Gower who organized the evening is a strong proponent and wants to see more doctors in our area at a facility such as a health hub. In his opening remarks, the Councillor shared that Dr. Ferrier had reached out to him in 2024 when he moved to Stittsville from Perth and hearing of the need for doctors here, he was interested in pursuing a health hub similar to the Tay River Health Centre which he was instrumental in creating in Perth over three years ago. “150,000 Ottawa residents are without a family doctor,” emphasized the Councillor.
Dr. Taylor Ferrier is the medical director and a physician at the Tay River Health Centre in Perth. In the past year, the Centre had over 50,000 patient visits. During his introduction, Dr. Taylor said, “I don’t like the one-stop shop as it leaves a hole in healthcare.”
Dr. Ferrier stated, “there is no reason why this particular area should struggle with healthcare. All the right elements are here, his representations have been supported and I am looking for a positive outcome for the long-term.” “We aren’t looking to re-arrange the deck chairs and don’t want to take from others – we want people who are not attached (to a family doctor) and newly graduated doctors – this is who we are interested in.”
The plans he shared would include comprehensive healthcare being available with a health team approach similar to that of Perth. In Perth, there are family physicians, Registered Practical Nurses, and services such as dental, audiology, ophthalmology, home care, podiatry, physiotherapy and treatment programs – specialty infusions, injections, education, and clinical trial support. Since his initial idea that included a couple of doctors, there are now a group of twenty who are interested. The group have submitted an application that includes nine health programs initially to receive funding approval for a Kanata-Stittsville family health team to the Ontario Ministry of Health and are awaiting a response.
Councillor Gower also said that the City is currently working through the process for an assessment on the Maple Grove proposed location. “This project is still in the very early stages but it is gaining momentum and there has been a lot of excellent progress in the last few months,” Councillor Gower told Stittsville Central.
The health hub would be located on Maple Grove and would be constructed on eight acres up to the south parking lot fence near Palladium Drive. It would be accessible by the highway, future light rail and would have plenty of parking.
“The Tay River Medical Centre was constructed in nine months and although timelines cannot be confirmed when the Kanata-Stittsville Health Hub could open, anything like a two-year wait, would leave me a little frustrated,” emphasized Dr. Ferrier.
The health hub would also be a teaching site taught under the direction of the hub’s doctors, for residency doctors and medical students to increase their hands-on experience in their chosen career. Health hubs are obligated to provide training that echoes that received in hospitals.
Dr. Ferrier stated, “doctors are not the be all/end all. Specialists, nurse practitioners, pharma and health workers are required in a health care setting.” He added, “There would be primary care; connection with the primary care doctor; specialists on site, i.e. a diabetes nurse; and more community-based specialized doctors for an out-of-hospital setting.” He would also like to have a centralized medical records system similar to My Chart “ambitious yes, but records could be availed no matter where the patient is located.”
New patients would be triaged according to the ‘College standards’ (College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario – CPSO) who require a doctor prior to the opening of the health hub. Prior to opening, a strategic plan will be in place to launch their website, obtain an email address, connect with pharma, physio and labs to be in place for opening. Residents will have an opportunity to apply to be a patient and following the guidelines of the CPSO, it will be ‘fair and equitable’.
When asked about urgent care, Dr. Ferrier stated, “One of our future programs aims to provide urgent care across the region. The treatment would be in partnership with hospitals, using their data timelines to accommodate the hours that urgent care would be required, i.e. 1:00-9:00pm, etc. with the patients of our doctors being the priority for access.”
The health hub would be totally publicly funded through OHIP as Dr. Ferrier does not want to create barriers to care. He said the front entrance would be open and friendly with patients addressing the staff by name; there would be telehealth provided; and would like to see a family advisory committee set-up. He would also like to have some of the medical equipment donated by the community.
“I have been hoping to attain Jane Philpott’s goal – hope it comes to fruition,” said Dr. Ferrier. “This has been front of mind for me and I am conscientious that this facility meets the needs of everyone. The health hub would support seniors, providing a continuum of health for the patient in addition to care received in a senior’s home,” added Dr. Ferrier.
Councillor Gower also encouraged residents during this election time to “ask the candidates knocking on your door for their support of the health hub and that you had attended the meeting. This is not a partisan issue.”
“I was really impressed with the turnout at the meeting and strong interest from residents. Not a surprise – we hear all the time from residents who are struggling to find primary care. Since the meeting we’ve heard from more health care providers looking for info and who want to get involved, so that’s encouraging as well,” Councillor Gower told Stittsville Central.
He added, “I encourage residents to watch the video from the meeting. It’s available on my website and will answer a lot of questions about the project and how it could make a difference in improving access to healthcare in our community.”
You can watch the video from the meeting here courtesy of iSiLIVE, or read the edited transcript of the discussion with Dr. Ferrier at https://www.glengower.ca/information/recap-primary-care-health-hub-information-meeting/.
need to press for specialized care such as opthalmology which there are few of at the moment.
WHAT A WONDERFUL AND SENSIBLE PROJECT – I REALLY FEEL THAT IT WOULD RECEIVE STRONG COMMUNITY SUPPORT, BOTH VOCAL AND FINANCIAL.
What an exciting and common sense initiative! Hopefully things will fall into place much quicker than the usual sloth like timeline things usually take to get through the city’s red tape!