Lakehead Nurse Practitioner Led Clinic: Caring for Our Community
by Caitlund Davidson
Pictured: Lori Salmi, Amy Cordeiro, Jenna Coderre, Sheena Streib, Kim Prochnicki, Shannon Jones, Pam Delgaty, Margo Ayoub, Joshua Belanger, Carolan Thayer, Marlene Ross, Lawni Labelle, Stefan Chery, Stephanie Malayko, Stephanie Vincent, Janine Narbonne, Crystal Kaukinen, Alixis Davidson, Jamie Lindberg, Katie McGrath, Alyssa Cicigoi, Ruby Klassen, Liuba Turlova.
Missing: Rebecca Krawczuk, Stacy Roberts, Jessica Massaro, Casey Ruberto, Danielle Dubeau, Amanda Henderson, Katelyn O'Conner, Robin Latimer, Debra Bishop, Anna Kapoor, Hannah Potter, Natalie Mendyk, Nicole Boire, Liz Demianiuk, Tannice Fletcher-Stackhouse.Lack of access to a family doctor is a common concern for patients living across Ontario. To support those who require a primary care provider, the Lakehead Nurse Practitioner Led Clinic (LNPLC) is providing comprehensive, accessible and coordinated care to unattached patients (those without a primary care provider) living in our community. Patients are connected to care in a more seamless manner, instead of having to search for a primary care provider through other avenues, such as the emergency department or walk-in clinics.
LNPLC houses an interdisciplinary team of nurse practitioners, social workers, kinesiologists, a dietician, a pharmacist, a system navigator, administrative staff, and nursing staff (registered nurses and registered practical nurses). With ten nurse practitioners on staff, each with a roster of 800 patients, this busy operation offers an array of primary health care services for people of all ages including acute conditions, chronic disease management, cancer screening, and pre-natal care. It also focuses on three main areas for unattached patients: breast screening follow up, well-family clinics for those with children under the age of five and care for those who require home care for chronic conditions.
LNPLC will take on unattached patients who have been screened at an Ontario Breast Screening Program site and have received an abnormal result which requires additional testing /imaging. The nurse practitioners will ensure appropriate follow up tests are coordinated and if needed, will refer to a specialist.
“It’s important that breast screening patients with abnormal results have access and coordinated care,” explains incoming Executive Director of LNPLC, Crystal Kaukinen. “Early identification of breast cancer means that there is a better chance of treating it successfully.”
With the breast screening age lowered to include those who are between the ages of 40 to 49, there is likely to be an increase in referrals and as such an increased need for assistance for unattached patients.
Another clinic available to unattached patients is for babies and children up to age five and their mother (up until the child is a year old). Care includes vaccinations, and identifying any developmental problems before the child enters the school system.
Through partnerships with other community organizations, LNPLC is also able to offer care to those who are unable to leave their homes and managing conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or congestive heart failure, or the frail elderly.
In addition to providing care to patients, LNPLC gives back to the community by operating a food bank for their patients who are experiencing poor access to food.
“Access to food is a growing need in our community,” shares Kaukinen. “Our food bank operates on donations so it can often be a challenge to fund, but our goal is to provide our patients in need with a food bag up to once a month.”
For more information about services offered by Lakehead Nurse Practitioner Led Clinic by visiting https://lnplc.ca. Learn more about breast cancer screening at https://tbrhsc.net/cancerscreening.
