The AFHTO 2013 Conference to be held on Tuesday, October 22 and Wednesday, October 23 at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.

The deadline for AFHTO "Bright Light" nominations has been

extended to August 6, 2013.

Nominations are open for the second annual AFHTO “Bright Light” Awards program recognizing leadership, outstanding work and significant progress being made to improve the value delivered by Family Health Teams across Ontario.

Are you interested in serving on the AFHTO board of directors? The Governance Committee of AFHTO’s board invites anyone associated with an AFHTO-member teams to apply. Click here to see the Governance Committee letter to members and role descriptions. (Please note member login information is required to see this page, contact info@afhto.ca for assistance.)

When it comes to health care, the key planks in the 2013 Ontario budget are Health Links, the Seniors’ Strategy and the recently announced funding increases for home care. The health care sections of the budget summarize government priorities and commitments in this area.  Click here to read health-related excerpts from the budget.

Message to all FHTs forwarded on behalf of Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, Negotiations and Accountability Management Division, Assistant Deputy Minister Susan Fitzpatrick:

From: Potts, Ashley (MOH) On Behalf Of Fitzpatrick, Susan (MOH) Sent: May-01-13 3:48 PM Subject: Quality Improvement Plans

Today, the Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM) at the University of Toronto launched a website called DFCM Open. Inspired by open knowledge and collaboration initiatives, such as the open source software movement, DFCM Open (www.dfcmopen.com) will collect and store clinical, educational and research material that is created, peer-reviewed and voluntarily submitted by its faculty members and their collaborators.

Today Minister Matthews announced that Ontario is improving access to physiotherapy services for eligible Ontarians by changing how and where these services are provided.  Beginning August 1, 2013, the province will expand availability of community-based physiotherapy, exercise classes and falls prevention services in more locations across Ontario. Steps include integrating physiotherapy positions into primary care settings, including Family Health Teams, Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics, and Community Health Centres. The total number of positions is not yet known.

You are invited to submit an abstract to present a concurrent session or poster in 8 core themes areas that showcase and support FHT Leadership in Healthcare for Ontarians. The AFHTO 2013 Conference takes place October 22-23 in Toronto.

Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health is informing all health system partners of preparedness activities related to influenza A (H7N9):

The AFHTO board is pleased to announce the renewed vision, mission and strategic priorities to guide our work on behalf of our members over the next 2 – 3 years. Please click here for more information.