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The Ottawa Valley Ontario Health Team says more than 5,200 residents who were waiting for a primary care provider through Ontario’s Health Care Connect program at the start of 2025 have now been removed from the provincial waitlist.
The organization announced that all 5,251 residents who were on the waitlist as of Jan. 1, 2025, have been matched through the provincial process, describing the achievement as a key milestone in efforts to improve access to primary care across the region.
The Ottawa Valley Ontario Health Team, a partnership of health-care providers and organizations serving the region, said local family physicians, nurse practitioners and primary care teams worked over the past year to identify available capacity and connect patients with care closer to home.
“This accomplishment reflects what is possible when health-care teams and organizations work together with a shared commitment to improving access to care,” said Dr. Richard Johnson, clinical lead for the Ottawa Valley Ontario Health Team and director of the Pembroke Family Medicine Teaching Unit.
Johnson said the work is not complete, noting the organization remains focused on connecting all residents in the region with primary care services.
Access to a family doctor or nurse practitioner allows patients to receive preventive care, manage chronic illnesses and access referrals to specialists and support services.
Among those recently connected to care are Pembroke residents John and Melanie Freeman, who said they spent four years searching for ongoing primary care before being matched with a nurse practitioner in April.
“I was excited. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders,” John Freeman said. “It was a wonderful feeling to know that we’re in the system now.”
Freeman encouraged others still waiting for a provider to remain hopeful.
“Be patient. It will come. Have faith in the system,” he said.
Despite the milestone, the Ottawa Valley Ontario Health Team said demand for primary care remains significant. Residents who joined the Health Care Connect waitlist after Jan. 1, 2025, as well as others still seeking a family doctor or nurse practitioner, continue to be a priority.
The organization said it will continue working with health-care providers and community partners to expand primary care capacity and pursue its goal of connecting every resident in the region to primary care by 2029.
The Ottawa Valley Ontario Health Team was launched in 2021 and includes more than 50 health professionals, organizations and community representatives working to improve access to health services across the region.
(Steve Berard)
