New health hub opens in St. Thomas [Video]

Elgin County residents desperately seeking family doctors will have a new option as of next week.

The Elgin Community Health Hub, operated by the Thames Valley Family Health Team, is accepting new patients to a model where doctors are rarely seen.

Instead, nurse practitioners assess and provide primary care. They will only consult with a doctor as required, said Heather Atyeo, the first nurse practitioner at the site on First Avenue.

“We can prescribe most medications. We can do preventative care and wellness care. We can manage many acute episodic illnesses. Lots of chronic disease management,” she said.

With the role of nurse practitioners expanding, the province committed nearly $ 1 million to the clinic last March.

At a grand opening Friday, local MPP Rob Flack called the St. Thomas model the path forward.

“I think it’s here to stay,” said Flack. “I think it’s a very important part of …