Renfrew County Chief Paramedic Mike Nolan, Renfrew County Warden Peter Emon, Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke MPP John Yakabuski and Renfrew County Chief Administrative Officer/Clerk Craig Kelley. (Photo Credit: County of Renfrew)
The Virtual Triage and Assessment Centre is here to stay.
Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke MPP John Yakabuski and Renfrew County Warden Peter Emon met with County Paramedics at their service base in Renfrew on Friday, March 24th to announce that the Provincial Government will provide permanent funding for the local health service moving forward.
Since March 2020, VTAC which has provided 79,337 virtual family physician assessments, 70,290 on-site paramedic assessments, and 5,583 home visits to residents in Renfrew County through their toll-free number.
Yakabuski noted that this wasn’t the first time Renfrew County has been at the forefront of health care innovation, pointing to the Community Paramedicine program which has since been adopted in rural communities across Ontario. He also credited Health Minister Sylvia Jones for her continued support for VTAC which began just days into her time in the position.
Meanwhile, Emon says he was confident the County’s efforts to promote the VTAC model would be rewarded in this year’s Provincial budget.
He adds that the success of the program has other rural municipalities frequently getting in touch with him about bringing the VTAC model to their communities.
Renfrew County’s Chief Paramedic Mike Nolan adds that VTAC takes away barriers that people experience when trying access primary care providers.
Around 30,000 residents, or 28% of Renfrew County, do not have a family physician or alternative primary care provider, and there are no walk-in clinics or urgent care centres anywhere within county boundaries.
Nolan says that VTAC gives residents another option to access health care so they aren’t “suffering in silence.”
(written by Kasey Egan)