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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, May 3, 2013 | 24 Your Halton Connection May 2013 www.halton.ca Recognizing and celebrating Halton's physicians by Regional Chair Gary Carr Ten facts about health care and physicians in Halton 1. Halton Healthcare Services (Milton District Hospital, Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, Georgetown Hospital): · Serves residents in Halton Hills, Milton and Oakville · Employs a team of approximately 290 family physicians, 4,000 employees and 1,100 volunteers 2. Joseph Brant Hospital (JBH): · Serves residents from Halton and Hamilton, including Stoney Creek, Waterdown and Flamborough · Employs a skilled staff of 175 physicians, 1,400 full-and part-time professional health care staff and more than 600 Auxiliary volunteers 3. At JBH there are 13,512 admissions, over 47,389 annual visits to the Emergency Department and 1,165 births yearly 4. Halton Healthcare Services provides care during 115,725 Emergency Department visits and 122,083 patient clinic visits, performs 5,652 main operating room surgeries and delivers 3,260 babies annually. 5. Halton Region's physician recruitment program brought 22 new family physicians to Halton in 2012. 6. McMaster Family Health Centre will graduate. 7. Over 50 per cent of all new family physicians recruited to Halton in the past three years are physicians who trained internationally. 8. Wait times for key surgeries and procedures are down across Ontario. 9. Over 7 million Ontarians have electronic medical records. 10. We are nearing our goal of providing access to a family doctor for every resident. There are now close to 20 physician practices in Halton accepting new patients. Visit www.halton.ca/newphysicians for a complete listing. Every year, Halton Region and local hospitals celebrate the efforts of Halton's physicians and recognize their contribution to our community with Physician Appreciation Week, which takes place April 29 to May 3. May 1 is also the third annual Doctors' Day in Ontario. The date was chosen to commemorate the birthday of Dr. Emily Stowe, the first female physician in Canada. Halton's doctors work tirelessly year round, making a difference in every life they touch. Thanks to our physicians, Halton is a healthy and safe community, and a great place to live, work, raise a family and retire. Now in its 10th year, Physician Appreciation Week in Halton was originally established in 2003 as part of the Halton Physician Recruitment program. Today, attracting new physicians to establish medical practices in Halton continues as a priority in Halton's Citizens' Priorities Action Plan. The Physician Recruitment program addresses both current physician needs and the needs of the future. A collaborative effort with all four Halton Local Municipalities, local hospitals, clinics and community representatives, the initiative is well on its way to meeting the goal of a family doctor for every Halton resident. Halton Region's Physician Recruitment program has helped bring 182 new family doctors to Halton since 2003. Halton Region also supports the Halton McMaster Family Health Centre family medicine teaching unit, which will move to its permanent location at Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington in 2014. There are six first year and five second year family medicine residents based at the Halton McMaster site. The second year residents will graduate later this year and this July, eight new first year residents will join the program. Additionally, the program provides ongoing support, together with the Town of Halton Hills, to the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care's funded Nurse Practitioner program at the Acton Medical Clinic. Halton's physicians are committed to excellence and deliver highquality care to patients. This commitment goes beyond the time spent in a practice or hospital setting. Halton doctors give back to the community and support one another through knowledge sharing. They serve as role models for medical students, residents and the community at large. Once again, during Halton Physician Appreciation Week 2013, we say a collective thank you to all of Halton's dedicated physicians. You play a major role in the high quality of life we enjoy in Halton. Thank you for making a difference, each and every day. To see a list of newly recruited doctors who are accepting patients across Halton, dial 311 or visit www.halton.ca/newphysicians. For more information on the physician recruitment program, visit www.haltondoctors.ca, contact Angela Sugden-Praysner by dialing 311, 905-825-6000, ext. 7929, or toll free 1-866-442-5866, TTY 905-827-9833. Meetings at Halton Region Headquarters May 8 May 21 May 22 May 29 9:30 a.m. Regional Council 9:30 a.m. Health & Social Services Cttee. 9:30 a.m. Planning & Public Works Cttee. 1:30 p.m. Admin & Finance Cttee. 9:30 a.m. Regional Council Please contact us as soon as possible, if you have any accessibility needs at Halton Region events or meetings. We welcome your feedback. Contact us at AccessHalton@halton.ca This page has been donated by this newspaper to communicate important information to Halton residents at no cost to taxpayers.