Dr. David Fera and Dr. Jodie Stewart are the North East Local Health Integration Network’s new Primary Care Co-Leads for the Algoma hub area.

The two physicians will work together to help better connect primary care providers with each other as well as other parts of the health care system such as home and community care.  Their valuable work supports the North East LHIN’s goal of having patients receive faster access to the care they need in addition to better coordinated care.

Part of their responsibilities will be to help ensure primary care providers are engaged as active members in the area’s Health Link. The Health Link, announced last fall, is under development and has several health care partners working together to look at ways to wrap services and care around complex and high needs patients.  The two physicians will also be working on other local priorities such as assess and restore programs for frail elderly and other patients.

Dr. Fera works as a full time primary care provider both at his practice and in hospital, with ties to many aspects of primary care in the community. He is the CEO and Chair of the Algoma District Medical Group, the Medical Director of the Algoma Diabetes Education Care Centre, and was recently appointed Chair of the Health Link. Dr. Fera has also served on the Board of the Children’s Rehab Centre, worked as a Team Physician for the Sault Greyhounds, and Physician Lead for St. John’s Ambulance.

Dr. Stewart has been a family physician with the Algoma District Medical Group, offering inpatient and outpatient care, for almost a decade and prior to this was an emergency room physician at the Sault Area Hospital. She is the VP of Medical Affairs for the Group Health Centre, has served on the Board of Directors of the medical group, taught as an Associate Professor with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and has participated in several hospital and community medical committees.