Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Ontario Health Team to attach up to 3,500 community members to primary care

Kingstonist file image.

The Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Ontario Health Team (FLA OHT) will put more than $1 million from the Ontario government to work before spring 2026, attaching up to 3,500 community members in the region to a publicly funded family doctor or primary care team.

According to a release from the FLA OHT on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, the health-care organization received $1,495,100 as part of Ontario’s $2.1-billion Primary Care Action Plan, which aims to connect 300,000 people to primary care across the province this year.

The funding was reportedly awarded through a provincial call for proposals focused on communities — identified by postal code — with high numbers of residents not connected to primary care, including those on the Health Care Connect waitlist. 

“Across Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, we’re steadily attaching more people to primary care—and this investment helps us go further,” said Kim Morrison, Executive Lead of the FLA OHT.

“Our commitment is clear: we will keep working to build capacity and coordinate attachment until everyone in our region has a primary care provider.”

Dr. Morrison’s sentiments reflect the latest discussions and decisions of Kingston City Council, who recently heard that the municipality has brought in 33 physicians since launching its doctor recruitment strategy in 2022. With the “significant progress” made on that front, Council was asked for — and approved — a further $400,000 towards the program, which will now shift to focus on addressing the numerous physicians locally who will retire in the coming years.

According to the release, the FLA OHT, together with Maple Family Health Team as the primary care team lead organization and primary care providers across the region, will connect community members to People-Centred Health Homes in their neighbourhood through geographic attachment (“care close to home”), as space and capacity allows. The health team said that people will be identified for attachment through the Health Care Connect waitlist, as well as through priority populations, including pregnant people, newborns and infants, people with cancer, and those identified through the FLA OHT’s Integrated Care Pathways for Chronic Disease. Those without a provider are encouraged to register with Health Care Connect so they can be matched to a clinic near where they live as capacity allows.

“We’re honoured to serve as the primary care team lead organization for this initiative,” said Ashley Miller, Executive Director, Maple Family Health Team.

“We’re proud to partner with the FLA OHT and support Health Homes and fellow primary care providers to expand coordinated attachment and strengthen team-based care and shared interprofessional services—so people can access the right care, from the right provider, close to home.”

The FLA OHT said that this investment will also support the development of an interprofessional community hub to expand access to team-based care and help connect people to the most appropriate health-care professional for their needs.

People who are attached to participating Health Homes across the region can access a range of shared health services at the hub, including mental health, physiotherapy, diabetes supports, and navigation, according to the release. The hub will reportedly shorten wait times to access care and free up primary care capacity — allowing more people across the region to be attached over time. This also puts in place the governance, tools, and referral pathways needed for future investments, with a long-term goal of attaching everyone in the region, FLA OHT outlined.

A comprehensive list of resources to help residents without a primary care provider find the health-care services they need across the region while they wait to be connected to a primary care provider is available on the FLA OHT Community Resources page.

According to the release, the most recent Ontario Health data as of September 2025, states that there are currently 10,751 people on the Health Care Connect waiting list and over 29,000 people who don’t have a primary care provider in the FLA region.

People without a primary care provider are encouraged to register with Health Care Connect by calling 1-800-445-1822 or visiting the FLA OHT website to learn more.