SMITHS FALLS NURSE PRACTITIONER-LED CLINIC
ANNUAL REPORT
November 9, 2016
Submitted by Nancy Unsworth PHC-NP/Executive Director
Message from Nancy Unsworth, NP-PHC
Executive Director
This report covers the period April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016
The Smiths Falls Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic is a not-for-profit clinic, awarded in 2010, now entering our 4th year of operation. We are managed under the Primary Care Branch of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care as an interprofessional primary health care organization with a Board of Directors comprised of 51% Nurse Practitioners. We also work closely with the SE LHIN 10 and their Integrated Health Services Plan 2016-2019, Health Care Tomorrow - Putting Patients First. We continue to provide exemplary, comprehensive and collaborative primary health care services to our patient population. Our belief is in a model of health and wellbeing in a collaborative partnership with each patient at the forefront and center of their care.
As per ongoing surveys from Health Care in Canada, it is evident that our health care system continues to evolve. We see system perspective defining the fundamental changes needed to improve health outcomes utilizing primary health care and reduction of costs thus ensuring sustainability. According to Health Care in Canada surveys of the public and professionals over the last two decades, there is an ongoing sense of improved quality of care despite an aging population with an increasing prevalence of chronic illness. There has also been an ongoing push for the improvement of access to timely and patient-centered care with an underlying premise of collaborative care within an interprofessional team approach. This continues to be our NPLC’s innovative model of care with further emphasis on an empowered patient being at the center of their care while optimizing health care resources. Our clinic, along with the other 25 Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics across Ontario, continue to demonstrate strong leadership in the implementation of promising innovations to improve the health of all our patients, under a nursing paradigm of holistic, respectful, caring and collaborative patient centered focus. We look forward to future partnerships with the other primary health care professional resources across this province as our service delivery model shows continued transactional leadership and performance accountability.
Our Board of Directors
The Smiths Falls Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic is governed by a strong and committed Board of Directors who maintain a broad strategic perspective, looking to synergize and leverage with other organizations to achieve strategic outcomes in health care. It is felt that by setting high expectations and idealized influence, increased potential can be realized. Our clinic mission and vision gives us a collective identity under the transactional leadership of our Board of Directors. This builds our clinic organizational capacity in response to Bill 41, otherwise known as the Putting Patients First initiative.
Primary Health Care Model of Collaboration
Working in collaboration, to our full scope of practice, we provide high quality evidence-based patient centered care utilizing the competencies, knowledge and skills of all our health care providers. Not only do we collaborate in-house but also with various specialty services across the sector. This full utilization of all our resources, ensures optimal patient outcomes while being mindful of our health system cost-effectiveness.
Ongoing Quality Improvement
Access and Efficiency: we continue to follow a model of open access, ensuring our patients are seen in a timely fashion.
Intersectoral Integration: we continue to work closely in collaboration and communication not only within our clinic but also with our local hospitals to ensure a more seamless transition in care with appropriate usage of the emergency department, and timely follow up of patients discharged from the hospital.
Patient Centered: Using data from surveys developed with patient-centered questions has allowed us to look at areas for improvement. The consideration of social determinants of health in relation to health outcomes continues to assist us in being responsive to our client demographic and to foster the clinic vision of a holistic approach to health care, with active patient engagement through trusting and therapeutic relationships with our clients.
Programming: Both nursing and the Allied Health Professionals have been continuing with programming specific to our target goals. We continue with the following programs: STOP program (smoking cessation), Hypertension program, INR program, Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, Immunization programs for children and adults, Diabetes Education Program, Prenatal program and Well-Baby Well Child visits, as well as symptom specific action plans for asthma sufferers and patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. A new program recently launched is our ‘Craving Change Program’ as per our dietitian, which revolves around healthy eating.
Looking to the Future
Patient intake: number of patients received in total 2,937, with 2,191 currently in-house.
Open access will be maintained with acute care patients being seen within 2 days.
Software development & data management will continue noting the TELUS Health acquisition of Nightingale. We are looking to develop a migration plan early December 2016.
Continuation of program development, implementation and evaluation.
Continuous quality improvement: clinic process, communication, integration and collaboration.
Continued response to patient satisfaction surveys. Continued networking with our community partners building primary care leadership and collaboration including the SE LHIN 10, potential Sub LHIN and the Rideau Tay Health Link.
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the support given from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, specifically the Primary Health Care Branch. Finally, we sincerely thank the Board members and the staff of the Smiths Falls Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic for their enthusiasm, support and ongoing commitment throughout the past year.
Respectfully Submitted,
Nancy Unsworth BN, RN(EC), NP-PHC, CHPCN(C)
Executive Director
Smiths Falls Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic