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Dr. Michael Keating, a family physician there for decades, closes his practice Dec. 20. Patients will then be transferred to the recently minted Access Care Clinic at 170 East St., operated through GHC. Keating’s patients will have access to the Same Day Clinic until Dec. 20. Patients will continue to have access to GHC’s chronic disease management programs, including the Anticoagulation Clinic, Family Health Worker Program and Injection Clinic.
In a letter from the Algoma District Medical Group to patients, and obtained by The Sault Star, Keating said he made his decision with “mixed emotions and after much consideration.”
“It has been a pleasure to spend my professional career, first as an emergency physician, and then for the last 25 years as a family physician,” Keating said the letter, dated Oct. 22. “Every day has been a challenge, and every day has been a learning opportunity. I thank you for your patience as I have learned and grown with you, and I hope for the very best of health and future for you all.”
GHC said that “driven by his commitment to his patients and his desire to ensure a seamless transition of care,” Keating has twice postponed his retirement.
“We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Keating for his decades of service, his exemplary dedication, and his steadfast support for the health and well-being of our community,” reads a statement provided to The Sault Star.
For 35 years, Keating has been a “cornerstone” of GHC and the Algoma District Medical Group (ADMG), demonstrating “exceptional” care and “unwavering” dedication to his patients and the broader community, the statement said.
“His contributions have left an indelible mark on our organization and the community we serve, and we wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement,” GHC said.
Keating’s retirement only adds to the swelling primary care problem here, which became abundantly apparent last spring when GHC announced some 10,000 patients – one sixth of GHC’s overall roster – would lose access to primary care services due to a significant physician shortage.
However, the province stepped in at the last minute, unveiling plans for a new outpatient clinic funded by the Ministry of Health. The province injected more than $2.8 million throughout a two-year term to establish the Access Care Clinic, which could service 11,200 patients. Critics, including Ontario Health Coalition, have branded this a Band-Aid solution to a much larger, complex problem.
One in five people in Ontario currently do not have a family MD, which will grow to one in four unless action is taken, the Ontario Medical Association says. It’s estimated there are now some 30,000 people in this area without a primary care provider.
Group Health Centre said that while it recognizes concerns about increased demand for the Access Care Clinic services, it continues to take “proactive measures” to manage this transition and support all impacted patients, Giordan Zin, GHC communications manager, told The Sault Star this week.
To address early challenges with accessibility at the Access Care Clinic, GHC has expanded staff by hiring three additional part-time nurse practitioners, increasing clinic capacity.
“We expect these enhancements to assist in reducing delays through improved appointment availability,” Zin said via email. “We continue to actively recruit additional nurse practitioners for the clinic.”
Since the Access Care Clinic opened in June, GHC has “successfully” re-rostered 1,200 patients, connecting them with primary care providers at GHC, Zin said.
In addition to recent Access Care Clinic hires , GHC has also recruited two new primary care nurse practitioners, who are “actively building their patient rosters, enabling us to connect approximately 1,500 more patients from the (Access Care Clinic) over the coming months,” Zin said.
Sault Area Hospital recently secured a six-month extension to access temporary locum dollars to enhance physician coverage in its emergency department, which, the hospital says, allows it to better accommodate unattached patients, and is “key” to reducing initial assessment times and overall ED wait times.
SAH time to physician initial assessment, the period between registration and being seen by a physician assistant, physician or nurse practitioner, has seen a “significant improvement” over the past three months, with wait times consistently below the five-hour goal.
