NORTH Network was a telehealth

Telehealth

Telehealth is the delivery of health-related services and information via telecommunications technologies. Telehealth could be as simple as two health professionals discussing a case over the telephone or as sophisticated as doing robotic surgery between facilities at different ends of the...

 organization serving communities in Northern

Northern Ontario

Northern Ontario is a region of the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron , the French River and Lake Nipissing. The region has a land area of 802,000 km2 and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it contains only about 6% of the population...

 and Central Ontario. NORTH's head office was located in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 and its clinical headquarters in Timmins

Timmins

Timmins is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada on the Mattagami River. At the time of the Canada 2006 Census, Timmins' population was 42,997...

. NORTH was a program of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, abbreviated SHSC and known simply as Sunnybrook, is an academic health sciences centre located in Toronto, Ontario....

, and received funding from the provincial government's Ministry of Health and Long Term Care

Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (Ontario)

The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is the Government of Ontario ministry responsible for administering the health care system and providing services to the province of Ontario...

.

NORTH Network's name is an acronym which stands for the Northern Ontario Remote Telehealth Network.

As of April 1, 2006 NORTH Network merged with Ontario's two other regional telehealth service providers (Videocare (Southwestern Ontario

Southwestern Ontario

Southwestern Ontario is a subregion of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario, centred on the city of London. It extends north to south from the Bruce Peninsula on Lake Huron to the Lake Erie shoreline, and east to south-west roughly from Guelph to Windsor. The region had a population...

) and Careconnect (Eastern Ontario

Eastern Ontario

Eastern Ontario is a subregion of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario which lies in a wedge-shaped area between the Ottawa River and St. Lawrence River...

) to form the Ontario Telemedicine Network

Ontario Telemedicine Network

The Ontario Telemedicine Network is one of the largest telemedicine networks in the world. It uses two-way videoconferencing to provide access to care for patients in every hospital and hundreds of other health care locations across the province...

.

Mandate and Operations

NORTH provided patients in rural and under-serviced communities access to specialized medical care using videoconferencing and other tele-diagnostic equipment. Specialists remotely examined and prescribed treatment to patients in their home communities.

NORTH also connected healthcare professionals and students in the north to educational programmes, and delivered healthcare-related administrative services to its member organizations.

At the time of its integration into the Ontario Telemedicine Network

Ontario Telemedicine Network

The Ontario Telemedicine Network is one of the largest telemedicine networks in the world. It uses two-way videoconferencing to provide access to care for patients in every hospital and hundreds of other health care locations across the province...

, NORTH was facilitating over 2,100 clinical consultations each month and an additional 500 educational and administrative events. NORTH was the busiest telehealth programme in Canada, and may have been the largest network of its kind in the world. Its size and volumes have increased significantly since forming a province-wide network. More than 2,000 physicians and other allied health professionals used the Network, which linked more than 226 sites in more than 120 communities across Ontario.

History

NORTH began as a feasibility study sponsored by the Ontario Medical Association that examined how telemedicine could improve access to health care for citizens of rural and remote Ontario. Launched in four sites in 1998, NORTH Network experienced a significant expansion between 2001 and 2003, thanks to funding from Health Canada's Canadian Health Infostructure Partnerships Program (CHIPP).

Members

(Member list accurate as of March 30, 2006.)

Hospitals

• Atikokan General Hospital
• Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care
  Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care
  Baycrest is a research and education hospital on Bathurst Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.It was founded in 1918 as the Toronto Jewish Old Folks Home in a semi-detached house on Cecil Street in downtown Toronto. In 1968, the new Jewish Home for the Aged opened at Baycrest's present location in...
  
  
• Blind River District Health Centre
• Brantford General Hospital
• Bridgepoint Health
  Bridgepoint Health
  Bridgepoint Health is a rehabilitation hospital in Toronto and affiliated with the University of Toronto. Its mission includes rehabilitation, treatment of complex chronic disease and management of disability.-Location:...
  
  
• Campbellford & District Community Mental Health Centre
• Campbellford Memorial Hospital
• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
• College St. Site
• Queen St. Site
• Russell St. Site
• Chapleau Health Services
• Collingwood General & Marine Hospital
• Credit Valley Hospital
  Credit Valley Hospital
  Credit Valley Hospital is a regional hospital located in Mississauga, Ontario. It primarily serves the communities of north Mississauga; the villages of Streetsville, Meadowvale, Erin Mills and the surrounding area...
  
  
• Dryden Regional Health Centre
• Englehart & District Hospital
• Espanola General Hospital
• Geraldton District Hospital
• Guelph General Hospital
  Guelph General Hospital
  Guelph General Hospital is a medical care facility in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It is a 165-bed facility employing 224 doctors among a total staff of about 1200. Prior to cutbacks in the 2008/2009 fiscal year, the hospital operated 181 beds....
  
  
• Haliburton Highlands Health Services
• Haliburton Site
• Minden Site
• Hamilton Health Sciences Centre
• Chedoke Campus
• General Hospital Site
• Henderson Campus
• Juravinski Cancer Centre
• McMaster Children's Hospital
• McMaster University Campus
• Headwaters Health Care Centre
• Hornepayne Community Hospital
• Hospital for Sick Children (The)
• Huronia District Hospital
• James Bay General Hospital
• Kirkland and District Hospital
  Kirkland and District Hospital
  The Kirkland and District Hospital is a public hospital which was established in 1976 to serve Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada and area.The hospital has a total of 62 beds, including 6 intensive care, 2 obstetrics, 39 medical/surgical and 15 chronic beds plus 280 full-time and part-time staff...
  
  
• Lady Dunn Health Centre
• Lake of the Woods District Hospital
• Lakeridge Health
• Beaverton Thorah Health Centre
• Bowmanville
• Oshawa
• Port Perry New Life Centre
• Whitby
• Manitoulin Health Centre
• Little Current Site
• Mindemoya Site
• Manitouwadge General Hospital
• Mattawa General Hospital
• McCausland Hospital
• Meno-Ya-Win Health Centre
• 5th Avenue Site
• 7th Avenue Site
• M.I.C.'s Group of Health Services
• Anson General Hospital
• Bingham Memorial Hospital
• Lady Minto Hospital
• Mount Sinai Hospital
• Muskoka-East Parry Sound Health Services
• Burk's Falls & District Health Centre
• Huntsville District Memorial Hospital
• South Muskoka Memorial Hospital
• Niagara Health System
  Niagara Health System
  The Niagara Health System is Ontario's largest multi-site hospital amalgamation, comprising the following seven sites serving 434,000 residents across the 12 municipalities making up the Regional Municipality of Niagara, Canada....
  
  
• Greater Niagara General Site
• Niagara-on-the-Lake Hospital Site
• Port Colborne General Site
• St. Catharines General Site
• Welland Hospital Site
• Nipigon District Memorial Hospital
• North Bay and District Hospital
• North York General Hospital
• Northumberland Hills Hospital
• Notre Dame Hospital
• Penetanguishene General Hospital
• Penetanguishene Mental Health Centre
• Peterborough Regional Health Centre
• Riverside Health Care Facilities
• LaVerendrye Health Care Centre
• Rainy River Health Care Centre
• Red Lake Margaret Cochenour Memorial Hospital

Educational and Community Organizations

• Cambrian College of Applied Arts & Technology
  Cambrian College
  Cambrian College is a college of applied arts and technology in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1967, and funded by the province of Ontario, Cambrian has campuses in Sudbury, Espanola and Little Current....
  
  
• Canadian Hearing Society
• Canadian Institute for Health Information
• Canadian Mental Health Association (The)
• Cancer Care Ontario
• CCAC of the District of Thunder Bay
• CCAC for Kenora & Rainy River Districts
• Dryden Site
• Fort Frances Site
• Kenora Site
• Centre for Mountain Health Services
• Centre for Movement Disorders
• Cochrane District Community Care Access Centre
• College of Physicians & Surgeons of Ontario
• Community Care Access Centre of the District of Thunder Bay
• Dryden and District Association for Community Living
• Ear Falls Community Health Centre
• George Jeffrey Children's Centre
• Group Health Centre - Sault Ste. Marie
• Health Sciences North
• Institute for Safe Medication Practices Inc.
• Laurentian University - School of Nursing
  Laurentian University
  Laurentian University , was incorporated on March 28, 1960, is a mid-sized bilingual university in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada....
  
  
• Mary Berglund Community Health Centre
• McMaster University
  McMaster University
  McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
  
  
• Department of Family Medicine
• Faculty of Health Sciences
• Michael DeGroote Centre for Learning
• Mohawk Site
• Northeast Mental Health Centre
• North Bay Psychiatric Hospital
• Northeastern Ontario Medical Education Corporation
• Northern Ontario School of Medicine
• N.W.O. Infection Control Network
• Ontario Addiction Treatment Centres
• Richmond Hill Site
• Thunder Bay Site
• Ornge
  Ornge
  Ornge is the air ambulance service for the province of Ontario and for the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care...
  
  
• Ontario Hospital Association
  Ontario Hospital Association
  According to the Ontario Hospital Association website, the OHA is a member association that represents approximately 154 public hospitals in Ontario. The association regards itself as "the voice of Ontario's public hospitals". To find out more about the OHA, its programs and services, visit...
  
  
• Ontario Medical Association
• Pioneer Manor
• Rural Ontario Medical Program
• Sioux Lookout & Hudson Association for Community Living
• St. Joseph's Villa
• St. Joseph's Care Group
• Heritage Site
• Hogarth Riverview Manor
• Rehab/ Chronic Pain Mngt. Site
• Sister Margaret Smith Centre
• Surrey Place Centre
• University of Toronto - Faculty of Medicine

Public Health

• Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox, & Addington Health Unit
• Middlesex-London Health Unit
• North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit
• Regional Niagara Public Health unit
• Thunder Bay District Health Unit

Teleprimary Care Sites
with collaborating family physicians

• Apsley Medical Centre
• Argyle Nursing Station
• Britt Nursing Station
• Havelock - Belmont - Methuen Health Centre
• Keene Health Centre
• Kerr, L. (Dr.)
• McMullen, W. (Dr.)
• Medical Associates Physicians Clinic
• NorWest Community Health Centre
• Armstrong Site
• Longlac Site
• Thunder Bay Site
• Pointe au Baril Nursing Station
• Registered Nurses Association of Ontario
• Rosseau Nursing Station
• Whitestone & Area Nursing Station
• Wright Clinic

Government

• Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services
• Central East Correctional Centre
• Monteith Correctional Facility
• Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
• Emergency Management Unit
• Central Local Health Integration Network
  Local Health Integration Network
  A Local Health Integration Network is a type of health organisation in Ontario, Canada.Across the province of Ontario there are 14 LHINs. The LHINs have been given the mandate for planning, integrating and funding health care services at a local level...
  
  - Markham
• Central East Local Health Integration Network - Ajax
• Central West Local Health Integration Network - Brampton
• Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Local Health Integration Network - Grimsby
• North Simcoe Muskoka Local Health Integration Network - Orillia
• North East Local Health Integration Network - North Bay
• North West Local Health Integration Network - Thunder Bay
• Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network - Toronto

Keewaytinook Okimakanak Telehealth

• Bearskin Lake First Nation
• Beausoleil First Nation Health Centre
• Big Trout Lake Nursing Station
• Cat Lake First Nations Health Authority
• Deer Lake Nursing Station
• Eabametoong First Nation
• Emily Anderson Memorial Nursing Station
• Fort Severn Nursing Station
• Judas & Emily Winter Memorial Clinic
• Keewaytinook Okimakanak Northern Chiefs Council
• Keewaytinook Okimakanak Telehealth
• Keewaywin Nursing Station
• Kingfisher Lake Nursing Station
• Lac Seul First Nation
• Nellie Fiddler Memorial Health Centre
• Neskantaga Nursing Station
• New Osnaburgh Nursing Station
• Nibinamik First Nation
• Nodin CFI- Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority
• North Spirit Lake Nursing Station
• Pikangikum First Nation
• Poplar Hill Nursing Station
• Sachigo Lake First Nation
• Sandy Lake Nursing Station
• Sena Memorial Nursing Station
• Shibogama First Nations Council
• Sioux Lookout Diabetes Program
• Slate Falls First Nation
• Webequie First Nation
• Wunnumin Lake Nursing Station