“A sense of trust is starting to build”: The Neighborhood Care Team makes a difference in North Toronto

After his morning coffee, Robin Whyte slips on his shoes and heads to the lobby of his building. Within minutes, a nurse practitioner from Sunnybrook’s Schulich Heart Program has listened to his heart, given him the all-clear, and he’s back in his apartment.

“For the tenants in our building, having someone we can go to, and say ‘I’m worried about so-and-so’, is a game changer,” explains Robin, a 75-year-old tenant who lives in a Toronto Seniors Housing Corporation building in midtown Toronto.

The stethoscope check that Robin attended is just one invaluable step the Neighborhood Care Team, an initiative of the North Toronto Ontario Health Team, is undertaking to address the health and social needs of tenants in their own homes.

Comprised of primary care, hospital, community and home-care partners, the team provides an integrated model of care in Toronto Seniors Housing Corporation buildings. With an approach co-designed by tenants, the goal is to facilitate simple access to care from health and social services providers.

After surviving colon cancer, and with a history of heart disease on his mother’s side, Robin says he’s seen firsthand the positive impact after the team found him a family doctor.

“Many tenants don’t have family doctors – they rely on walk-in clinics,” explains Robin. “A sense of trust and gratefulness is really starting to build with all of these connections.”

If you’re a North Toronto resident and looking for a family doctor or nurse practitioner, the North Toronto Ontario Health Team can help! Sign up at www.northtorontooht.ca/primarycare and get matched to a health care provider.