We are on a mission to bring a Community Health Centre to Peterborough. Join us.

UPDATE Feb 2024:

Our proposal has been approved!

  • Following a year of work, led by community organizations, our proposal for a CHC in Peterborough has been approved by the Ministry of Health and Ontario Health.

  • An inaugural board of directors is now in place to lead this new non-profit organization.

  • We now begin the work of standing up our new organization. We can’t do it alone. Please get involved. Sign up to our newsletter.

Why Peterborough urgently needs a Community Health Centre.

Local doctors join the conversation and speak out in favour of a CHC in Peterborough

  • Attract new family doctors and nurse practitioners who prefer to practice in a CHC model

  • Reduce pressure on the hospital and lessen emergency department wait times

  • Attach patients to a doctor or nurse practitioner

  • Act as a local hub for social services supporting complex patients

  • Champion a healthier, safer, and vibrant downtown community

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Peterborough CHC’s Volunteer, Community-led Board of Directors

  • Board Member

    Dr. Dawn Lavell-Harvard, Ph.D., is a proud member of the Wiikwemkoong First Nation, on Manitoulin Island, the first Aboriginal Trudeau Scholar, and has worked to advance the rights of Aboriginal women as the President of the Ontario Native Women's Association since 2003.

    After serving as Vice-president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada for three years, Dawn was elected National President at the 41st Annual General Assembly, July 11, 2015 in Montreal, Quebec.

    In October 2016, after fulfilling her promise to see the MMIWG Inquiry initiated, Dawn left her role as National Leader and took on the role of Director at the First Peoples House of Learning at Trent University.

  • Board Member

    Jonathan Bennett, C.Dir., provides sought-after executive coaching, trusted advice, and training to leaders, teams, and boards across North America. With experience in urban, rural, remote, and First Nations communities. He was the Founder and CEO of Laridae, a proud B Corp, which he grew into a leading management consulting and training firm. He sold the company in 2021. Before Laridae, he held C-Suite leadership roles at a large regional hospital, as well as education and social services organizations. An experienced director, he has served terms as Chair of the Board of Directors of Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN) and Chair of the Kawartha Haliburton CAS. He was a board member and committee chair of the Writers’ Trust of Canada. He is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors and earned a Chartered Director (C.Dir.) designation through McMaster University. He now serves on two privately-held, social-purpose corporate boards, Accerta Services Inc., and CashCo Financial.

  • Board Member

    Kylie is an urban Anishinaabe kwe who grew up just north of Toronto in Kleinburg – traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat and Haudenosaunee people. Dutch and Spanish through her mother, and Scottish, French and Ojibway through her father and grandfather who are members of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, situated on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. She now lives in Nogojiwanong (Peterborough, Ontario).

    A very proud mother to her beautiful son, Zika’ige; she is a wife to an amazing husband and best friend, Beedahbin; a daughter, sister and an Auntie to two beautiful little ones – Casimir and Cali Abitong who live in Sagamok First Nation; and a proud community Auntie to many others!

    Kylie’s career spans the postsecondary sector and provincial ministries where she has held increasingly senior leadership roles in indigenous policy. She is now co-owner and Corporate Indigenization Consultant with Indigenize.ca. Her work includes the facilitation of training, policy advising, educational workshops and guest speaking engagements. She is passionate about health and wellness of her community.

  • Board Member

    Hailing from Oshkiigmong (Curve Lake First Nation), Steve is a proud Michi Saagiig Anishnaabeg and the Martin clan member. His journey, starting in the Peterborough area on and off the reserve, has led him to Norwood, Ontario, where he lives with his partner and their two dogs.

    Steve's upbringing in Peterborough imbued a profound understanding of community values, which he incorporates into every aspect of his life. As a Registered Social Services Worker with a diploma from the First Nations Technical Institute (FNTI) in collaboration with Canadore College, Steve has honed his skills and knowledge in social service. He's in the final year of his Bachelor of Arts and Science Degree at Trent University.

    Steve has made significant contributions to the field with over a decade of experience in delivering community and provincial-level programs focusing on health education and promotion. He currently serves as the Community Health Representative for Alderville First Nation, a role he took up after serving his home community of Curve Lake for nearly seven years.

    Steve is currently serving a three-year term as a Councillor for Chief and Council of Curve Lake First Nation, elected in June 2022,.

    Steve's profound passion for community health and well-being has transformed the lives of those around him and inspires others. His commitment reminds us of the power of collective effort in fostering healthier, happier, and more vibrant communities.

7 facts about CHCs
(and why they’re unique.)

  1. CHCs are not-for-profit organizations governed by a community board so they are community centred.

  2. They are focussed on addressing the social determinants of health and are committed to health equity and social justice, including a commitment to Indigenous Health in Indigenous Hands.

  3. CHCs offer a diverse array of health and social services (e.g., diabetes clinics, dentistry, wellness programs, mental health support groups, etc.) provided by an inter-professional team that includes salaried clinicians.

  4. Research suggests salaried compensation is increasingly attractive to family physicians. Without a CHC, we are less able to attract these clinicians.

  5. CHCs help address health-equity issues among underserved populations and increase their engagement with screening programs, cardiovascular-disease prevention, and management of chronic conditions such as diabetes.

  6. The literature indicates that CHCs offer high patient satisfaction.

  7. CHCs have lower costs of care and provide cost savings to health systems.

Physicians in Support of a CHC in Peterborough

  • "We are losing doctors because we don't have this. I can specifically name a colleague of mine…who's working in a CHC in a different community and commuting from Peterborough."

    Dr. Jaclyn Vanek

  • "If Peterborough had a CHC, I would definitely want to stay here and practice.”

    Dr. Andrea Zukowski, 2nd year family medicine resident

  • "We face a real crisis in our community in the next 10 years in primary care, and unless we can develop a diversity of models, we are going to be bereft of primary care. "

    Dr. John Beamish

  • "As I near the end of my last year in training at the University of Toronto, I have worked in many family practice models... [CHC's] are attractive because they allow for more time caring for patients, less time dealing with administration... Personally, I love Peterborough, and have strong connections [it]... Having a CHC would definitely factor into my decision making on where I choose to practice."

    Dr. Erich Nelson

A Community in Full Support

  • 1,600 wet signatures on a petition tables at Queens Park were collect in just 9 days this spring

  • 38 of letters of support from local partner agencies and organizations

  • 15 of letters of support representing over 30 local physicians received

  • 6 family physicians, 5 nurse practitioners and a psychiatrist  submitted letters of commitment

  • The proposed CHC will provide a low-barrier health care ‘home’ to treat and prevent illness while also offering health promotion, outreach, systems navigation, and community development work.

    Bill McNabb, Executive Director
    Brock Mission

  • A CHC in Peterborough would create a hub of social and health services under one roof to serve individuals who live with complex mental health and/or addictions, extreme poverty, and disability. Newcomers, racialized individuals, Indigenous persons, and individuals who identify as 2SLGBTQ+ will also receive care that meets their needs.

    Mark Graham, CEO
    CMHA HKPR

  • Given Peterborough’s high levels of marginalization and large unattached population, we strongly encourage this historical under-investment in primary care be remedied by funding a CHC in our community.

    Ellen Armstrong, Social Services Division Manager
    City of Peterborough

  • Peterborough’s significant marginalized population needs an adequately resourced and integrated health care team to reduce health disparities that are driving poor health outcomes in our community.

    Donna Rogers,
    Executive Director
    Fourcast

  • As leaders in the delivery of primary health care services we will desire a collaborative approach to care which will include service coordination and collaboration where possible. We will work together to achieve common goals ... eliminating health disparities in our community and to achieving health equity.

    Duff Sprague,
    CEO
    Peterborough Family Health Team

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