When it comes to patient care, it's usually very rarely one issue. It's usually a collection of issues that patient might have. And that's where the Family Health Team comes in. We all come in with our own expertise. And as a team, we're able to give that patient all the care that they need for all the different parts of their life.
The Family Health Team is a partnership between family physicians, their private practices, and a team of care providers. Health care is not only delivered by physicians in today's world. We have nurse practitioners, mental health counselors, dieticians, pharmacists, all of whom play a really important role. So it's basically giving patients what they need at the time that they needed and in the place that they needed.
When I first became involved in the Family Health Team, I'm not quite sure what the involvement meant. But as I saw over the years, it really enriched the patient and physician experience. Our offices run better. And when our office runs better, patients get better care. So before, when I was in my office, not part of the team, I wouldn't be aware of what the other offices were doing.
But now, if I have an issue in my office that I need help with, they can connect me with another office who's overcome that hurdle. So instead of reinventing the wheel, we share our knowledge. We share our knowledge. I find if you feel like there's more people looking after you, you do feel, you know, like people are taking it a little bit more seriously.
And that's what I often get from patients is like, oh, wow, like people are looking at this from all angles. They're really trying to see me as a person. And I think that they value that. What I think they do is they reflect real life. They sort of empower people to live their lives. There's therapeutic guidance in a lot of the work that we're doing, but they work with people in a real world forum.
It doesn't feel like a detached clinic in the middle of nowhere. It's probably the most enjoyable place I've worked in. I can say that quite sincerely. This year, after some considerable thought, the Hamilton Family Health Team has embarked on a strategic planning exercise. The timing was right. We're a mature organization.
We've got 10 years under our belts. The team practices in more than 90 different locations. That represents challenges, of course. But that's part of why we're doing the strategic plan to help us think that through. How do we reconcile the challenges of the size? How can we continue to support our physicians better? How can I do this better?
How can I do it smarter? What's going to make a difference to me and to my staff and to my patients? I would really hope that people who are here today come away inspired. I'm a newcomer to this process. But what's happened over the last decade is really impressive. Timing in life is everything. And the timing for this is just right.
All of us are patients. Every person I've spoken with about this model of care has been in total agreement with the approach. Health is more than just the absence of disease. By empowering patients and providing compassionate care, we can affect health outcomes more than we can by prescribing statins or ordering MRIs. The Hamilton Family Health Team needs your engagement to truly achieve the next level of care.
