Member of Parliament, Ryan Leef Announces $17 million Investment to Strengthen Health Services in the Yukon

New investments will improve services in mental health and chronic disease management

WHITEHORSE, May 22, 2015 /CNW/ - Today, on behalf of the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Health, Ryan Leef, Member of Parliament for Yukon, along with territorial Minister of Health and Social Services Mike Nixon, announced a three-year total investment of just over $17 million to strengthen access to services in the areas of mental wellness and chronic disease in the Yukon. This funding, provided through the Territorial Health Investment Fund (THIF), will ultimately help to reduce the reliance on out-of-territory health systems and medical travel.

Yukon will use $13 million of the fund for a project targeting mental wellness care and chronic disease management. This project will focus on three major activities:

• Improving health service quality through training and skill development for front-line providers;
• Increasing local access to health services by establishing integrated health provider teams at the community, mobile and virtual level; and
• Strengthening care by finding innovative ways to ensure better information flow amongst acute, community-based, and out-of-territory specialized services.

Yukon will also receive $1.5 million under the THIF's pan-territorial fund to undertake a project in mental health to support tele-psychiatry and electronic mental health supports for youth and young adults.

To offset the continued cost burden associated with medical travel, Yukon will receive $2.6 million from the THIF to help alleviate the significant expenditures. It is expected that as health care system needs are addressed by increasing services "in-territory", the requirement for medical travel will be reduced in the years to come.

Quick Facts

• The THIF is a $70 million three-year pan-territorial initiative to strengthen health services in the territories and was announced in Economic Action Plan 2014.
• This investment builds on the $270 million provided over the past nine years through the Territorial Health System Sustainability Initiative.
• Healthy Northerners and healthy Northern communities contribute to Canada's overall social and economic development and are an important component of Arctic sovereignty.
  

Quotes

"Our government is committed to helping build vibrant, healthy and prosperous communities in the North that contribute to Canada's overall social and economic development. These investments will go a long way to improving access to the services Canadians need to be healthy at home here in the Yukon and reduce the burden of chronic disease in the North." 
Ryan Leef
Member of Parliament for Yukon

"The Government of Yukon is pleased to be working with the federal government to help improve the health of Northerners. The Territorial Health Investment Fund will support system improvement initiatives like technology-based applications, medical travel and building capacity and sustainability in Yukon healthcare." 
The Honourable Mike Nixon 
Minister of Health and Social Services, Government of Yukon

SOURCE Health Canada