Thousands of residents in the Pembroke area have successfully been matched with a family doctor or nurse practitioner, marking a significant improvement in local health care access. Since March 2025, the Ottawa Valley Ontario Health Team has connected more than 4,800 people to primary care providers, helping to clear waitlists across 19 local municipalities.
This initiative is part of a broader provincial effort to ensure residents have a consistent primary care provider. To date, over 72 percent of individuals who were on the regional waitlist as of January 1, 2025, have now been connected to care. The progress comes as part of the Ontario Ministry of Health’s multi-year plan to improve access to primary care across the province.
To support this goal, nine new family doctors and two nurse practitioners have established practices across the region over the past year. Much of the recruitment success is tied to the Pembroke Family Medicine Teaching Unit. By training new doctors locally, the unit has created a reliable pipeline for staffing, with many graduates choosing to stay in the community to practice long-term.
Dr. Richard Johnson, who serves as the clinical lead for the health team and director of the teaching unit, said the organization remains dedicated to closing the remaining gaps. While acknowledging the recent progress, he noted that the work is not yet finished.
“We are committed to ensuring that every resident in our community has access to a high-quality primary care system that is close to home,” said Dr. Johnson. “These successes are just the beginning.”
Before these recent recruitment efforts, approximately 20 percent of residents in Renfrew County were without a regular health care provider, a rate that was significantly higher than the provincial average. The health team, which launched in 2021, continues to coordinate care and physician recruitment alongside partners like the Pembroke Regional Hospital to help ensure all area residents have the medical support they need.
