Raven Song’s primary care team is celebrating their clinic opening, but it’s just the beginning. While the team is building capacity to care for up to 3,500 new clients—in the clinic, at satellite sites and through outreach—the impact of their efforts won’t stop in the community. The effects of caring for our most complex clients will ripple all the way to our hospitals.

Five days a week, from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., the new Primary Care High Needs and Stabilization Clinic team will be providing ongoing care to complex clients, as well as youth under 24, to ensure their basic health needs are met.

Emergency Department not the only option

Many clients are frail and elderly, have mental health or addiction issues or multiple chronic diseases. They usually do not have a family doctor and often seek treatment as a last resort—in our emergency departments.

“Building a strong relationship between primary care and acute clinicians will ensure patients receive the right care in the right location,” says Dr. David Hall, the medical director for primary care. “Starting with three mornings per week, one of our GPs from Raven Song will be joining the morning huddle with VGH’s emergency team. When a patient doesn’t have a family doctor, and is struggling to manage their health, we can offer them ongoing care at Raven Song.”

“Some clients will stabilize over time and we will connect them to a family doctor in the community. This will ensure we continue to have access for those with no other care options,” he adds.

The primary care outreach team at Raven Song is also building relationships with individuals who frequently use the emergency department for care. It takes time to gain their trust, but eventually many clients walk through Raven Song’s doors instead.

Kudos to the new team

“In the last two weeks our team has doubled,” says Jane Porter, manager of primary care at Raven Song, who thanked staff for their hard work at a recognition event yesterday. “We’ve all gone on a journey to get to this point, whether it was moving sites or working at Raven Song throughout the changes. We now have an opportunity to build a team that will provide amazing care to our clients and improve health outcomes across our system.”

Visit VCH.ca to find out more details about the Primary Care High Needs and Stabilization Clinic. Service will expand to include weekends in early 2015.