Friday, November 27, 2020 – On November 18, the Honourable Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health announced the Scarborough Ontario Health Team as one of the new teams in the province to implement a one-team approach to help keep clients, patients and families in our communities healthy and well. This is an important step on our journey together to provide collaborative, high-quality health and community services for the people of Scarborough and beyond.
"This is extremely exciting news for the community of Scarborough,” said Elizabeth Buller, President and CEO of Scarborough Health Network. “With this approval, our Scarborough Health Team partners can increase our efforts to transform the patient experience and offer a more integrated and seamless approach to delivering care.”
Scarborough Ontario Health Team (SOHT) is a network of over thirty partner organizations with a history of collaboration providing health and community services across the continuum of care for the diverse community of patients and families in Scarborough. SOHT is working together with the Scarborough Family Physicians Network of primary care physicians and includes a Client and Family Advisory Committee to help co-design practical solutions to providing care.
During COVID-19, our partners have developed coordinated programs including safety assessments and education to long-term care homes, centralized intake for Community Support Services and coordinated community testing, and our second annual community-based flu vaccine clinics. We are building on these efforts in the coming months with a focus on providing integrated services for frail seniors living with mental health and/or addictions issues and multiple chronic conditions, as well as caregivers for this population as we work to reduce health and social inequity to achieve population health.
“The establishment of the Scarborough Ontario Health Team will bring important healthcare and other services to the community in a coordinated fashion. In particular, TAIBU is looking forward to ensuring that vulnerable and marginalized residents from the Indigenous, Francophone, Black and other racialized communities will receive culturally and linguistically appropriate healthcare and social services within the SOHT.” Liben Gebremikael, Executive Director, TAIBU Community Health Centre.
