The Lucknow Sentinel, 2014-02-12, Page 88 Lucknow Sentinel • Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Local clinic offering publicly -funded physiotherapy
Steven Goetz
QM! Agency
After five years without
publicly -funded outpatient
physiotherapy available in
Kincardine, the Ministry of
Health and Long Term Care
(MHLTC) is funding a pri-
vate clinic to deliver services
locally.
Community Rehab Serv-
ices, operated by pt Health
and located on the south
side of town, started receiv-
ing MHLTC funding on Jan.
16 to provide clinic -based
physiotherapy services to
qualified patients.
The funding is part of a
$44.5 million provincial pro-
gram announced in April to
expand physiotherapy serv-
ices to under -serviced com-
munities and replace the
previous OHIP-backed
system.
The clinic's manager, Fran-
cisco Larios, says the new
funds will help patients who
were falling through the
cracks.
"Not everyone in town has
coverage from a Bruce Power
health plan and the dis-
tances people had to travel
to access OHIP-covered
services made it impossible
for some people," Larios
said.
The funding is not unlim-
ited but there is currently no
wait -list and the clinic is pre-
pared to fit people in right
away, Larios said.
The South Bruce Grey
Health Centre (SBGHC) cut
funding for outpatient physi-
otherapy at the Kincardine
Hospital in 2008 and from its
other hospitals in Walkerton,
Durham and Chesley in
2009.
Patients without private
coverage were forced to pay
for physiotherapy services
out-of-pocket or travel to one
of three clinics funded
through OHIP in Durham,
Tillsonburg or London.
But now all qualified
patients - people under 20,
over 65, and adult clients of
the Ministry of Community
and Social Services, or
receiving disability - will
have the chance to access
physiotherapy at the local
Submitted photo
Kincardine Community Rehab Services recently began receiving funding from the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care to provide
clinic -based physiotherapy services in Kincardine. Staff include L -R: Cathy Walsh, Carly Scheer, Francisco Larios, and Theresa Knight.
clinic with a doctor's
referral.
The program replaces the
previous OHIP-funded sys-
tem after years of ballooning
cost and limited accessibil-
ity. Previously, a single refer-
ral entitled a patient to
receive services indefinitely
at an OHIP-covered clinic
and providers reimbursed
for each session with a
patient, giving clinics an
incentive to stretch care out
to receive more funding.
Under the new program,
MHLTC will pay service pro-
viders a fixed rate for an "epi-
sode of care," which starts
with a consultation with a
physiotherapist to determine
how many one-on-one ses-
sions are necessary for the
patients' recovery. At the end
of those sessions, the patient
will be discharged and the
"episode of care" concluded.
"Our new role is to provide
short-term management of
patients' ailments, then pro-
vide education and get the
patient into long-term sup-
ports in the community so
they can self -manage their
condition," Larios said.
The MHLTC has tasked the
province's 14 Local Health
Integrated Networks (LHIN)
to develop exercise, falls pre-
vention, and activation pro-
grams so discharged patients
have long-term supports
where appropriate.
For more information on
physiotherapy services in the
area, visit the Southwest
LHIN website www.south-
westlhin.on.ca
Submitted photo
Kincardine Theatre Guild will play the Vagina
Monologues
Members of the Kincardine Theatre Guild have teamed up with other actors from
across the region in support of Women's House Serving Bruce and Grey, to make up a
cast for a performance of the acclaimed 'Vagina Monologues'. The shows takes place
Feb. 14-15, 2014 at the Kincardine Centre for the Arts at 8 p.m. Tickets are available
at J'Adorn in Kincardine. Back L -R: Melinda Smegal, Liz Small and Frankie Renwick.
Middle: Sarah Kehn, Jacqueline Clements and Sylvia Berg. Front: Carol Cook, Lizanne
Campbell and Leise Peddie.
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