A first-of-its-kind clinic is now open in Vanier, providing free healthcare to thousands of people in the area without a family doctor. It’s entirely operated by nurse practitioners and aims to fill a gap in primary care in both Vanier and Overbrook. Debora Odmatten is a nurse practitioner at the clinic and says she sees many infants in the role, and immediate access to care for parents and children is important. “After being discharged from the hospital, just to see how they’re doing, how the growth is going,” she explains. “Not just for the children, but also for the parents as well.” She says many of her patients in the area are newcomers to Canada and they may not know how to navigate the county’s health-care system. She’s one of five nurse practitioners working at the newly opened Ottawa Nurse Practitioner Led Clinic on Montreal Road. Executive Director Hoda Mankal says this is a pioneer clinic for the city because it’s funded by the Ontario Government, and the nurses are on salary, so people won’t have to pay out of pocket to see a nurse practitioner. She says with more than 160,000 people in Ottawa without a doctor, this is a tool the government is using to get people frontline care. “We’re in a crisis. We’re in a primary care access desert right now,” explains Mankal. “So, we’re really glad to be here.” Mankal explains that only patients from Vanier and Overbrook will be brought on. The clinic is taking on more than 4,000 patients in all, with added services to help patients like social supports. She says this area was specifically chosen because many in the area have complex needs for care and there are more than 14,000 people in the area without a doctor. “It is a population that has historically been underserved by our health-care system, our social service system,” she says. While this is a first for Ottawa, it’s not for the province. Menkal says that there are 26 other clinics across Ontario using this system. Odmatten says this clinic is an important step to closing the gap for many patients. “The fact that you have patients, you see them, and you say, ‘I will be your primary care provider moving forward,’ lights people’s faces up,” she says.
