TORONTO, June 04, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ontario’s voice for community-governed comprehensive primary health care has a new name, and it’s official as of today: Alliance for Healthier Communities.
Members of the Alliance for Healthier Communities – Community Health Centres, Aboriginal Health Access Centres, Community Family Health Teams and Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics right across the province of Ontario – share a strong commitment to advance health equity and recognize that access to the highest attainable standard of health is a fundamental human right. Alliance members strive to be health equity leaders for people and communities who face barriers – through comprehensive primary health care.
“Our new name, Alliance for Healthier Communities, is a powerful statement of our shared vision. It reflects our commitment to achieving health equity for the 22% of people in Ontario who face barriers by embracing our full Model of Health and Wellbeing and the Model of Wholistic Health and Wellbeing,” said Sarah Hobbs Blyth, Chair of the Board of the Alliance for Healthier Communities, and Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Toronto. “It’s hard to describe the work we do in just a couple of words. Our members are all different, and serve diverse communities across the province. They offer a wide range of programs depending on the needs of who they serve. But this unites us all: we focus on improving individual health through comprehensive primary health care that addresses the social determinants of health, and we are committed to improving the wellbeing of our communities.”
Over the last 36 years, Alliance membership has grown from six original Community Health Centre members to more than 100 community-governed primary health care organizations across the province. While the health care landscape in Ontario is undergoing significant transformation – offering new opportunities and new barriers to confront – our members remain collectively committed to planning and delivering more equitable programs and services for the 3.5 million people in Ontario who experience health disparities due to social, economic and environmental barriers such as racism, poverty and social isolation.
Standing together with members and partners, the Alliance for Healthier Communities will continue to strive for healthier people, healthier communities, a more inclusive society, and a more sustainable health care system. The Alliance’s new tagline – Advancing Health Equity in Ontario – is a call to transform the primary health care landscape in Ontario so that everyone living here can achieve their best possible health and wellbeing.
CONTACT: For more information, or to schedule an interview with Sarah Hobbs Blyth, please contact: Jason Rehel 416-817-9518; [email protected] Twitter: @AllianceON