Midtown Kingston Health Home is taking major steps to ensure that French-speaking residents in our community can access primary care in their first language.
As part of its journey toward French Language Service (FLS) designation, Midtown is leading the way in connecting unattached francophone residents with French-speaking primary care providers. This creates more opportunities for patients to discuss their health concerns in the language they are most comfortable with, enhancing trust, safety and overall care.
“When you’re sick, you’re not thinking in two languages,” explains Allan Katz, a Special Advisor with the French Language Health Services Network of Eastern Ontario who has been working with Midtown on its FLS designation. “Having French-speaking health care providers helps build trust, improves patient safety, and leads to better health outcomes. There’s still more work to do, but this first step at Midtown, along with recruitment efforts in Kingston, is very encouraging.”
Midtown has now established a centralized pathway to connect French-speaking residents of Kingston with a doctor or nurse practitioner. This work has been done in collaboration with Immigrant Services Kingston and Area (ISKA) and community partners such as ACFOMI and KEYS Job Centre. To date, everyone on Health Care Connect who was waiting for primary care in French has been successfully matched.
“Meeting these patients and addressing their concerns in French has been very fulfilling,” says Patricia Hoyeck, one of the physicians leading this work at Midtown. “Many appreciate being able to express themselves in their first language. It’s rewarding to connect culturally and fully understand their concerns.”
While not all team members are fully bilingual, Midtown is committed to being a welcoming home for Kingston’s francophone community. Phone interpretation and digital tools are always available to support communication when needed.
For more information about our services, and to access the French intake package, click the button below.
French Language Services at Midtown