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Access Point: Health Care and Road Construction

access point: In an office overlooking some noisy road construction, three nurses based at the clinic talk about the challenges they face at Access Point providing health care to people who often aren't aware they can get medical assistance, according to Toronto Star. Recognizing that it's hard for someone who actually has OHIP to find a family doctor in this day and age, says Julia Murphy, acting manager for nursing and primary care initiatives at the clinic, it's absolutely crucial for people who might not know where to go, where to find a provider, who might not know that they're eligible for a service through community health centres. Sandwiched between a hydro corridor and a dense stand of aging apartment blocks, it's one of three Access Alliance facilities across Toronto, designed to serve refugees, recent immigrants and other communities that slip through the cracks of the public health system. The nurses at Access Point on Jane work with programs, such as a walk-in clinic for uninsured immigrants, and Health With Dignity, which works to help clients navigate the health-care system and manage their own medications and care when dealing with chronic conditions. We will have people coming into the non-insured walk-in clinic who have been in Canada for decades and have only just heard from a friend that it existed, Dalmacio says. As the co-ordinator of the non-insured walk-in clinic, Monika Dalmacio frequently sees the results of years of unattended medical conditions. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.