New unattached care clinic open

Staff at the Tillsonburg Unattached Care Clinic have been busy answering phones since the clinic opened on Monday, with most of the week’s appointments filled within two hours. Left to right are: Mackenzie Tibbits, RPN; Jessica Carrasco-Hardin, NP; and Cait-Lynne Anderson, medical office assistant.

By Jeff Helsdon

Editor

The new Tillsonburg Unattached Care Clinic opened on Monday.

The Ingersoll Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic, in partnership with the Oxford Ontario Health Team, announced on Friday that the clinic would be open for booking appointments starting Monday. The first patients were seen on Tuesday in the location at Roulston’s Phatmacy. For people without a doctor or nurse practitioner only, the clinic is a temporary solution launched to deal with a large number of Tillsonburg and area residents without access to primary care. The hope is it will gain permament funding in the next year.

The Ingersoll NPLC will operate the Tillsonburg Unattached Care Clinic with support of Oxford OHT partners.

“This clinic represents a collaborative response to a growing gap in access to primary care,” said Stephanie Nevins, executive director of the Ingersoll NPLC.

The initiative has been made possible through funding from the Town of Tillsonburg and with the support of Oxford OHT members, including the Ingersoll Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic, Roulston’s Pharmacy-Tillsonburg, Tillsonburg, Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital, and the Thames Valley Family Health Team.

It was an exciting day for Jessica Carrasco-Hardin, the nurse practitioner, who will be at the clinic. She comes to the position from working as the clinical lead RN at Alexandra Hospital Ingersoll with a background in emergency medicine. Carrasco-Hardin has 11 years of experience as an RN and finished the nurse practitioner course in 2024.

“Watching this come to fruition as a nurse practitioner is exciting because about building the community to be better,” said Carrasco-Hardin. She was so excited that she returned early from maternity leave when she saw the job posting.

The phones were busy Monday, with most of the week filled by 11 a.m., just two hours after staff started answering them. Carrasco-Hardin was assisting and was working through a list provided to her by Lopes of people without a doctor who had prescriptions filled.

“The list of patients in this area , not just Tillsonburg but surrounding area, is quite long and right now, we’re happy trying to give that access to people,” she said. “There shouldn’t be a worry for people that  used to go to emerg for a lab requisition.”

Leading what she called a “small and mighty team”, Carrasco-Hardin is assisted by RPN Mackenzie Tibbits and medical office assistant Cait-Lynne Anderson.

Appointments will be available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for more in-depth issues. There will also be same-day/next-day 15-minute appointments for simpler problems, such as colds and earaches, on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

She said health care accessibility is also essential for the farming community. For farmers without a health care provider, she said those without a doctor often put off seeking health care knowing it can take three or more hours out of their day to seek help. Carrasco-Hardin understands this results in an income loss for them, so healthcare is put aside during busy times, and conditions can worsen, leading to an ER visit.

Another hope is the clinic will reduce visits to ER.

“The Unattached Patient NP clinic supports patients to get the primary care they need in an appropriate location,” said Nadia Facca, Integrated President & CEO of AHI and TDMH. “The hospital is hopeful that this should reduce visits to our Emergency Department for health issues that can be appropriately managed at the clinic".

The clinic came together when Tillsonburg town council supported funding to get it off the ground temporarily.

“This important step forward would not have been possible without the leadership of the Oxford Health Team—thank you for your dedication and vision,” said Mayor Deb Gilvesy. “I also want to express sincere gratitude to our town council for their fiscal support and to the Health Care Committee for their tireless efforts in bringing this project to life.  Thank you as well to Roulston's and the Ingersoll Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic for partnering on this meaningful investment in the health and well-being of our community."

Deputy Mayor Dave Beres, who is also the chair of the town’s health care committee, said committee members have been working with the Ministry of Health and the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) in recruiting health care professionals to town.

“The opening of the primary care clinic is a giant step forward in building a family health team model.,” he said. “MPP Ernie Hardeman, along with Ontario's Health Minister Sylvia Jones and members of OMA,  have  been extremely helpful in guiding Tillsonburg in building a model for attracting physicians and health care professionals to our community.

David Lopes, pharmacist/owner of Roulston’s Tillsonburg, was excited to be a part of the clinic. He has seen an influx of people looking for primary care since opening six months ago.

“It’s great to have a collaborative approach,” he said.

To book an appointment, call 519-544-1185 Monday to Friday between 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. The clinic operates by appointment only and is not a walk-in or urgent care facility. The clinic is located at 12-671 Broadway St.