February 2021 Newsletter

February Newsletter Highlights: 

  • COVID-19 Vaccination for Clinicians and Staff and Ocean eReferral 

  • COVID-19 Vaccination Updates

  • Family Practice Input to MGH Addiction Strategy

  • EasT-FPN COVID-19 Response Forums 

  • Patient Resources and Supports 

COVID-19 Vaccination For Clinicians and Staff 

Dear colleagues, in anticipation of the COVID-19 vaccine being available for primary care practices, we would like to get a headcount of all staff and clinicians in East Toronto that are eligible to receive the vaccine and identify who has and has not yet received the vaccine at this time. 

In addition, Ocean e-Referral is available in East Toronto –enhancing communication between primary care providers and specialists/organizations and simplifying the referral process. It includes a real-time specialist directory that displays wait time, geographical distance from patient and language. It provides opportunities for central intake solutions and intelligent referral forms with the integration of choosing wisely solutions.

Please complete the attached survey regarding COVID 19 vaccination administration and OCEAN e-Referral registration. If you have any questions on eReferral, please email eReferral@ehealthce.ca. 

COVID Vaccination Updates 

With your support, East Toronto was the first to immunize 2,500 Long-Term Care (LTC) and Retirement Home (RH) residents, completing all 22 LTC and RH in our area. All eligible staff and primary caregivers in these facilities were given the opportunity to receive the first dose.

In preparation for vaccine distribution in the general community, the EasT-FPN has convened the Primary Care Vaccination Planning Working Group. Members of the working group include representatives from East Toronto CHCs, FHTs and primary care practices with an OHT/ PH intersection.  Please contact us if you are interested in joining the working group.

Family Practice Input to MGH Addiction Strategy

An Addiction Strategy is in development and MGH is looking for stakeholder input. Please complete this survey to provide your care perspective. If you have more comments or are interested in more details, please email contact@eastfpn.org. 

EasT-FPN COVID-19 Response Forums

Upcoming Events: 

Bi-weekly with Dr. Jeff Powis, IPAC at MGH. Ask questions on managing COVID in your practices. Jan 27th Primary Care COVID-19 Open Forum Summary, outlines the key discussion points, updates and questions. Click HERE to submit questions. 

Monthly with Toronto Public Health and  Dr. Janine McCready, Associate Director of IPAC, MGH to provide a supportive network for East Toronto schools. Click HERE to submit questions. 

Both occur bi-weekly, connecting medical directors of East Toronto LTC facilities and RH physicians to MGH specialists, including Dr. Jarred Rosenberg, MGH’s Nurse Led Outreach Team, Ontario Health’s Home and Community Care leads, TPH and RHRA representatives. Please see the January 21st LTC summary document and February 2nd RH summary document.

REMIND YOUR PATIENTS- COVID-19 TESTING Assessment Centres Pop-up Sites - both DROP IN  and Booked Appointments available

EasT-FPN, in partnership with MGH have created the MGH COVID-19 Assessment Centre (CAC) and 9 pop-up sites. These temporary CAC pop-up sites allow for drop-in COVID-19 testing for all ages. EasT-FPN provided 53 family practice clinicians to staff 460 shifts in the month of January. Below is a list of the temporary  9 CAC pop-up sites and their hours. 

  1. East York - East York Community Centre (1081 ½ Pape Avenue)

  2. Flemingdon Park - Dennis R. Timbrell Resource Centre (29 St. Dennis Drive) and Angela James Arena (165 Grenoble Drive) 

  3. Oakridge (Scarborough) - Oakridge Community Recreation Centre (63 Pharmacy Avenue)

  4. South Riverdale – South Riverdale Community Health Centre (955 Queen Street East)

  5. Taylor Massey (Crescent Town) - Crescent Town Health Centre (4 The Market Place) 

  6. Thorncliffe Park – Thorncliffe Neighbourhood office (45 Overlea Blvd) and Jenner Jean-Marie Community Centre (48 Thorncliffe Park Dr.)

  7. Warden Woods – The Hub at Warden Woods Community Centre (76 Firvalley Court)

To work in the CAC and/or vaccination site, you have to be credentialed at MGH. Once you have completed the credentialing process, contact EasT-FPN to be added to the mailing list.  

Patient Resources and Supports

Virtual Programs for Seniors 

Seniors have been more vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic and may require additional support. The Virtual Activities/Programs for Seniors document provides a list of resources that you can direct your patients and their families to. 

Medical Grand Rounds and Family Practice Rounds 

Virtual MGH’s Medical Grand Rounds and Family Practice Rounds are continuing monthly, offering interesting topics and a chance to see your colleagues! Please email to get on the list for Family Practice Rounds and email for the next Medical Grand Rounds on Feb 10th 8:00am. 

Seamless Care Optimizing Patient Experience  

The Seamless Care Optimizing Patient Experience (SCOPE) is a one point of contact program to allow primary care rapid access to: 

  1. Nurse Navigation to help expedite specialist appointments at MGH

  2. General Internal Medicine to easily get a consultation and expedite appointments to Medical Triage clinic

  3. Diagnostic Imaging to help expedite tests for SCOPE physicians 

  4.  Psychiatry - The newest service that allows for psychiatric physician to physician phone consults

To register for SCOPE, please complete the SCOPE Registration Form and email SCOPE@tehn.ca with any feedback/suggestions for services you would like to see added.

Digital Solutions 

Primary care practices have been digitally isolated from the rest of the healthcare system.  This impacts patient care and increases physician workload. In partnership with our Ontario Health Team Partners (ETHP), EasT-FPN is working to ensure the appropriate IT and digital technologies are in place to provide the infrastructure that enables a connected and integrated health system. 

COVID-19 called for a rapid integration of digital solutions that led to the credentialing of all EasT-FPN members allowing them to enroll in Hypercare an application that can be downloaded on a mobile device and allows for easy, secure and effective communication amongst community primary care, allied health, homecare and hospital care providers. In addition, it also allows easy access for SCOPE. For more information on digital solutions and registering for Hypercare, please visit the EasT-FPN website or download Hypercare. 

Looking for clinicians to:

  1. Provide in-person home visits for registered high-risk populations in our community

  2. Attach patients with no current primary provider and have been diagnosed with COVID 19

Please join as a member and contact the EasT-FPN if anything looks interesting to you at: contact@eastfpn.org. 

East Toronto Family Practice Network