Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MPP Doug Downey makes an announcement at the offices of the Barrie and Community Family Health Team in Barrie, Ont., May 8, 2026. Photo-Julius Hern/Barrie360
The Ontario government is investing $6.6 million this year into two primary care organizations in Barrie to improve access for residents without a healthcare provider.
On Friday, Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MPP Doug Downey shared that this funding will enable the Barrie Community Health Centre (BCHC) to open two new locations, one in the northern part of the city and another in Angus.
These new sites are anticipated to connect over 12,000 residents with medical care.
Additionally, this funding will assist the Barrie and Community Family Health Team (BCFHT) in coordinating services with the Barrie and Area Ontario Health Team (BAOHT) and hiring more staff to enhance patient coverage.
“Hopefully it will continue to do what the family health team does really well, which is optimized team-based care,” Dr. Matt Orava, a physician and executive co-chair of the BAOHT Primary Care Network, told Barrie360. “We have pharmacists, we have nurse practitioners, we have nurses, we have dietitians.”
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In total, around 20,000 additional people are expected to be linked with a family doctor or nurse practitioner this year across Simcoe County.
In the past, those looking for a family doctor would join the Health Care Connect waitlist but could face waits as long as six years for an option nearby. The provincial government now reports that this list has been reduced by 87 percent.
A news release from Downey’s office indicates that each community’s health team has plans in place to connect a significant number of unattached individuals from their area, including those still on the waitlist.
“It’s partly navigating the system, but it’s also about having resources at the end of that navigation,” Downey told Barrie360 while discussing how residents struggle to find primary care. “What this announcement is doing is allowing us to actually expand. It’s not reorganizing.”
Orava notes that these organizations in Barrie are leading efforts by clearing their local waitlist first but encourages continued sign-ups.
“Now if they access that, they hopefully will be able to link up with a new team member,” he told Barrie360.
Dr. Matt Orava, a physician and executive co-chair of the Barrie and Area Ontario Health Team Primary Care Network, is seen at an announcement at the offices of the Barrie and Community Family Health Team in Barrie, Ont., May 8, 2026. Photo-Julius Hern/Barrie360
The Barrie Family Health Organization within BCHC typically serves about 1,500 patients per practice; Orava acknowledges it’s challenging but says this funding allows them to take on more patients along with newly added healthcare professionals.
“We have a teaching unit which is training new doctors who are sticking around,” Orava adds. “And with the Health Centre’s model being salaried means some of these docs are more inclined to sign up (to work within the network).”
The health network consists of 36 nurse practitioners and 178 family physicians-accounting for up to 96 percent of all eligible providers in that region. Orava mentions that’s one of the highest participation rates across Ontario.
This funding comes from the Primary Care Action Plan which allocates $3.4 billion over four years-from 2025 through 2029-to support 124 primary care teams throughout Ontario. The goal is connecting every resident with a primary care provider by 2029-a target Downey describes as “fairly ambitious but achievable.”
“We’ve achieved several successes that previous governments haven’t managed before us; our track record shows we can undertake ambitious projects,” he stated when speaking with Barrie360. “We have a plan; we’ve dedicated funds for it; we remain focused on it. So I believe it will happen.”
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Dr. Matt Orava, a physician and executive co-chair of the Barrie and Area Ontario Health Team Primary Care Network, is seen at an announcement at the offices of the Barrie and Community Family Health Team in Barrie, Ont., May 8, 2026. Photo-Julius Hern/Barrie360
The Barrie Family Health Organization within BCHC typically serves about 1,500 patients per practice; Orava acknowledges it’s challenging but says this funding allows them to take on more patients along with newly added healthcare professionals.
“We have a teaching unit which is training new doctors who are sticking around,” Orava adds. “And with the Health Centre’s model being salaried means some of these docs are more inclined to sign up (to work within the network).”
The health network consists of 36 nurse practitioners and 178 family physicians-accounting for up to 96 percent of all eligible providers in that region. Orava mentions that’s one of the highest participation rates across Ontario.
This funding comes from the Primary Care Action Plan which allocates $3.4 billion over four years-from 2025 through 2029-to support 124 primary care teams throughout Ontario. The goal is connecting every resident with a primary care provider by 2029-a target Downey describes as “fairly ambitious but achievable.”
“We’ve achieved several successes that previous governments haven’t managed before us; our track record shows we can undertake ambitious projects,” he stated when speaking with Barrie360. “We have a plan; we’ve dedicated funds for it; we remain focused on it. So I believe it will happen.”
What do you think of this article?
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