MIDDLESEX LONDON COMMUNITY NAVIGATORS: TO HELP YOU FIND HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES

The Middlesex London Ontario Health Team and Home and Community Care Support Services South West have partnered to create a Community Navigation Team.

If you and/or someone you support needs help finding health or social services in the Middlesex and London areas, visit our resource page for links to various sources of support.

If you can't find what you need, please call 519-474-5774 or 1-811-888-6941 (toll-free) to reach our Community Navigators who will assist you.

CONNECTMYHEALTH: CONNECTING YOUR HEALTH RECORDS ACROSS THE ONTARIO HEALTH WEST REGION

ConnectMyHealth is a digital health solution that provides you with an online, single access point to view your health records from participating hospitals in southwestern Ontario. ConnectMyHealth can be used on desktop and mobile devices, and there's no cost to use it.

ConnectMyHealth is different than other patient portals because it combines various types of health records created at Ontario Health West Region hospitals that patients have been to, into one consolidated view. Key functionality of ConnectMyHealth includes being able to receive email alerts when you have new results available, customize your patient dashboard and view a timeline of your upcoming hospital visits. ConnectMyHealth is an ideal complement to additional functionality, like appointment scheduling, that you may have access to via your local hospital.

Patients can view their electronic medical information, aggregated from a variety of source systems across Ontario Health West Region, including:

• Radiology reports and their corresponding images (where available)
• Cardiology-related reports and images (where available)
• Laboratory test results
• Clinical reports, such as discharge summaries from hospital visits
• Select medication information
• Allergies documented while in hospital
• Pathology and Genetics reports
• Details of past and upcoming hospital visits (where available)

For a complete summary of the types of data available in ConnectMyHealth, visit

https://info.connectmyhealth.ca/data-availability. To learn more about ConnectMyHealth and how to register visit https://info.connectmyhealth.ca.

SHARING THE LOAD: A KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE EVENT FOR FRONTLINE WORKERS

The  London Middlesex Mental Health and Addiction Strategic Direction Office is hosting a free event, "Sharing the Load: A Knowledge Exchange Event for Frontline Workers," on Friday, August 18th, from 8:00am-4:00pm at Goodwill Industries (Community Ballroom). Please see the attached flyer for more information.

The sessions will be a mix of presentations and group discussions where you can share your knowledge and experience:

• MORNING SESSION (AM) - 8:00am-11:40am
• 8:00AM-10:00AM: Restorative justice approach to crisis work and creating low-barrier spaces. 
• 10:10AM-11:40AM: Learning the difference between uncomfortable vs. unsafe and the challenges of daily living for people experiencing homelessness.

• NETWORKING LUNCH - 11:40am-12:40pm

• AFTERNOON SESSION (PM) - 12:40pm-4:00pm
• 12:40PM-2:10PM: Harm reduction in clinical and non-clinical spaces and initiating challenging conversations.
• 2:20PM-4:00PM: Proactive ways to support yourself, colleagues, and families.

The target audience for this event includes students (in nursing, social work, developmental service work, child and youth work, and medicine), frontline social services staff and leaders, and frontline healthcare staff and leaders. You can choose which session(s) you would like to register for (AM and/or PM) based on your availability and interests. 

For questions, please email officestrategicdirection@gmail.com. 

GLOBAL NEWS - MIDDLESEX ONTARIO HEALTH TEAM INTERVIEW - PRIMARY CARE RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, AND TRANSITION INTO PRACTICE

Londoners in need of primary care providers face challenges as the Middlesex London Ontario Health Team (MLOHT) seeks funding for a vital recruitment and retention program.

In addition to retaining current primary care providers in our community, the proposed program aims to recruit and transition into practice new graduates and international medical graduates, addressing the urgent need for primary care providers in the Middlesex-London area.

Learn more about the program's importance and the efforts of the MLOHT in the Global News interview.

LET'S CELEBRATE

• Remote Care Monitoring for Surgical Transitions (RCMST) Funding: We had 2 funding proposals accepted this month from the surgical transitions proposals. LHSC will be receiving $98,400 to support thoracic surgery patients with pre- and post-operative remote care monitoring; and Middlesex Hospital Alliance will be receiving $40,450 to support hip and knee patients. 
• Health Care Navigation: MLOHT and HCCSS are delighted to announce the fruition of the 24/7 navigation project, a result of the dedicated efforts of our Navigation Planning Team over several months. The Community Navigation Team officially launched on July 11, and will support individuals in seeking health or social services.
• Designing systems for the care we need: A transformation journey in Southwestern Ontario - A number of the MLOHT Operations Team members contributed to a publication that has been published to Healthcare Management Forum as an Online First version. It will be added to their official issue in September. Read the article here.

The Middlesex London Ontario Health Team (MLOHT) is seeking an individual with quality improvement, evaluation, and analytics experience to be the Co-Lead for our Quality and Analytics Advisory Group. We are seeking an in-kind resource from a partner organization for this role.

The MLOHT Quality & Analytics Advisory Group is responsible for developing and implementing our evaluation strategy to ensure that we are appropriately measuring the advancement of our purpose.

Please contact Matthew Meyer if you are interested and want more information.

MIDDLESEX LONDON OHT: PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

ONLINE APPOINTMENT BOOKING

The Middlesex London OHT has received approval for Online Booking Appointment (OAB) Funding for the fiscal year 2023/2024. This funding is intended to support the implementation and use of online booking appointment systems for healthcare services in the region.

The funding has been allocated as follows:

• For Primary Care Providers (PCPs) who expressed interest in obtaining new licenses:

1. 145 PCPs have submitted an expression of interest to acquire new licenses.
2. These PCPs will receive funding to implement the OAB licenses, and the funding will cover 10 months during this fiscal year (FY23/24).

• For Primary Care Providers who were already using the OAB system in the previous fiscal year (FY22/23)

1. 67 PCPs went live with the OAB system in the last fiscal year.
2. These PCPs will receive "sustainment funding," which is set at 50% of the cost, to continue using the OAB system during the current fiscal year (FY23/24).

It's worth noting that the Middlesex London OHT has made one of the largest license requests for OAB funding among all the OHTs in the West Region.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH BY OUR PATIENT/CLIENT, CARE PARTNER COUNCIL (PCCPC)

Our Patient/Client, Care Partner Council (PCCPC) wants to connect with other patient groups. We want to hear from patients/clients, people with lived experiences, and caregiver tables across Middlesex London to ensure patient/client and caregiver's voices influence health care improvement work.  

If you know of any patient/client/caregiver groups that our PCCPC could connect with, please email us at info@mloht.ca.

Post COVID-19 Condition (PCC), also known as “long COVID,” refers to the long-term effects of COVID-19, in which people experience new, returning or persisting symptoms after contracting the virus. As the evidence base for this condition evolves, research continues to explore the scope, scale, and impacts of the disease. 

Statistics Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada have launched the Canadian Health and COVID-19 Survey (“CHCS”), a federal survey that includes questions on PCC. Please see the Statistics Canada website for information for survey participants, or for a description of the survey. The Ontario Ministry of Health is working with Statistics Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada to raise awareness of this survey to ensure as much Ontario-specific information is collected as possible. This includes targeted efforts to raise awareness among populations most impacted by PCC, including front line workers and priority populations. Information collected through the survey will help inform Ontario’s ongoing response to PCC.

The survey can be accessed by clicking here and will remain open until August 29, 2023. The information collected will be confidential and used for statistical purposes only. The survey results will inform the planning of a provincial PCC response tailored to meet the needs of priority populations and provide equitable access to services.

For any questions related to the survey, contact SPB.PCIRB@ontario.ca.

SKA-NAH-DOHT'S 50TH ANNIVERSARY

Celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of Ska-Nah-Doht Village and Museum with Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority on August 13^th, 2023 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the Longwoods Road Conservation Area. Admission to Longwoods Road Conservation Area will be FREE to all visitors during the event.

Drumming and song by the Warrior Womyn Drum Group, followed by remarks by community members involved in the early years of the organization and local dignitaries at 1:00 p.m.

This celebration will reflect on the last fifty years and the people that have helped build Ska-Nah-Doht Village and Museum over the decades.

BEST FIRST DAY - SCHOOL SUPPLIES COLLECTION

Thames Valley Education Foundation (TVEF), United Way, and The Salvation Army are hard at work preparing to support students this September through Best First Day. Last year, the annual community-wide drive was able to deliver nearly 3,500 backpacks full of supplies to students of all ages in need across the entire Thames Valley district, in addition to Indigenous communities, the  London District Catholic  School Board, and several community agencies. 

Amid the financial strain many families are facing, there is an anticipated increased need among students for school supplies.

How can you support? 

Option 1: You can drop off supplies at your local Middlesex County Library Branch. See flyer(above) for more details. Visit the library website for locations and hours of operation: https://library.middlesex.ca/locations-9311. 

Branches will be collecting until August 22, 2023.  

Option 2: The digital shopping experience is available again this year. You can shop from the comfort of your home.  Collection online is available until Sept 1, 2023.  

https://unitedwayem.ca/best-first-day/

Thank you in advance for your support!

SOUTH WEST SELF MANAGEMENT PROGRAM WORKSHOPS

MIDDLESEX COUNTY CHILD CARE & EARLY YEARS SERVICE SYSTEM PLAN SURVEY

The County of Middlesex is currently in the process of renewing their Childcare and Early Years Service System Plan. This plan will guide priorities and actions around child care and early years supports and programming in our local communities for the next five years. 

As part of this renewal, Middlesex County would like to hear from parents and caregivers with children under 13 years of age, planning to adopt in the next 12 months a child (or children) under 13 years of age, or are expecting a child.

This survey is open to residents of Middlesex County who are legal guardians, grandparents, or other family members.