For immediate release: October 5, 2006

Mcguinty Government Improves Access To
Health Care Services In Mattice-Val Côté
Improvements Will Help Residents With Disabilities, Protect Patient Privacy

Mattice - The McGuinty government is helping to improve access to health care services for the Mattice-Val Côté community, David Ramsay, MPP for Timiskaming-Cochrane announced today on behalf of Leona Dombrowsky, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

"The McGuinty government's support for this project demonstrates that we are on the side of northerners," said Ramsay. "This project will enhance the Mattice Medical Clinic, a satellite nursing station of the Notre-Dame Hospital, by undertaking minor renovations to enhance patients' privacy and accessibility."

The government will contribute $21,600 to help the Township of Mattice-Val Côté and the Nord-Aski Regional Economic Development Corporation meet confidentiality standards under the new Personal Health Information Protection Act and the accessibility expectations under the Ontarians with Disabilities Act. Work will include a redesign of the reception area (including privacy screens), upgrades to washroom ventilation and accessibility and the main entrance door, and a ramp for wheelchair access.

"This project will improve access to health care, as this nursing station is the only source of primary care in our community," said Eva Gosselin, mayor of the Township of Mattice-Val Côté. "Thanks to the support of the provincial government, facility improvements to the Mattice Medical Clinic will now be able to proceed."

Other government initiatives that support health care in rural Ontario include:

• Investing in rural health care, including 17 new community health centres and seven satellite CHCs that serve rural communities
  
• Expanding access to doctors, nurses and other health care professionals: 3,062 new nursing positions; 150 family health teams, when fully operational, providing better care for more than 2.5 million Ontarians; providing international medical graduates with access to up to 200 training and assessment positions each year
  
• Expanding medical school spaces by 23 per cent, to help alleviate the doctor shortage.
  Today's investment was made through the Rural Economic Development (RED) Program, which invests in projects that support sustainable rural economies and community partnerships - a key part of the government's plan for rural Ontario.

Through the RED program, the Ontario government and its rural partners are building stronger communities that work better for the people who live in them. For more information about RED or Ontario's rural plan, visit www.omafra.gov.on.ca.

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Contacts:
Christopher Flavelle
Minister's Office
416-326-3072

Dave McLeod
Communications Branch
519-826-3198