The Erie St Clair LHIN doesn't want to leave immigrants in the dark when it comes to healthcare.
The LHIN is implementing a Newcomer Immigration Health Plan. Among its initiatives, it looks to connect newcomers with primary care systems within their culture, to ease the transition of immigrating to Canada.
LHIN CEO Gary Switzer says this was prompted by a discussion with reps from 15 different cultural backgrounds. "You can appreciate that moving to a new country is a challenge to begin with. If you don't have a family or support system here, you really don't know how to move around. So this was the start of understanding that process for newcomers and connecting them to the system."
The health network also has a rep from the Canadian Mental Health Association reaching out to immigrants with mental health and addiction issues.