Community Health & Wellness Action Plan

Cover page of Community Health and Wellness Action Plan

The City of Port Colborne and the Healthcare Advisory Committee invited residents to review and provide feedback on the City's first Community Health & Wellness Action Plan from May 5 to July 2, 2026. Feedback collected through this phase of engagement will be shared with Council in August and used to refine the Action Plan before it is finalized.

  • Watch live Council Presentation on the draft Community Health and Wellness Action Plan here

Purpose of the Healthcare Advisory Committee

This committee was established to ensure residents have adequate access to, and knowledge of, healthcare services in the City of Port Colborne. To view the Healthcare Advisory Committee's Terms of Reference, please click the following link: View the Healthcare Advisory Committee Terms of Reference

To learn more about healthcare in Port Colborne, government advocacy and the work of City Council, please click on this link: Learn more about the Future of Healthcare in Port Colborne 

Healthcare Advisory Committee Members 

Sydney McDowell (Chair) 

Dr. Philip McGarry (Vice Chair)

Carmen Tamas

Matt Lallouet 

Tina Triano

Councillor Monique Aquilina (Non-voting member)

Councillor Ron Bodner (Non-voting member)

Mayor William C. Steele (Ex-officio member)

Meeting #20: July 13, 2026 

Upcoming agenda items and presentations:

  • Presentation by Charity Beland, Manager of Indigenous Health Services and Reconciliation, and Shyann Jenkins, Indigenous Relations Specialist- Community Outreach and Engagement from the Indigenous Health Services and Reconciliation team at Niagara Health.

Charity came to Niagara Health from the De dwa da dehs nye>s Aboriginal Health Centre where she worked in various roles, including as an Aboriginal Patient Navigator, advocating for culturally supportive healthcare and helping clients and their families navigate healthcare systems. Charity also has extensive professional and leadership experience with several local Indigenous education and community organizations. In those roles, she engaged with youth and elders to develop partnerships and educational programming that provides inclusive learning opportunities for young Indigenous people.

 

Shyann’s unique skills bridge clinical care and advocacy. Born and raised in Hamilton, Shyann now calls St. Catharines home. Her family is from Six Nations and she is Cayuga Turtle Clan. Shyann’s journey into healthcare started as early as high school where she completed the high-skilled major in healthcare program, working at several Hamilton hospitals. This led her to Georgian College, where she graduated with her PSW designation before making the leap into the RPN program. The COVID pandemic forced a pause in her schooling, which she took advantage of to step into the world of Indigenous healing, taking on the role of Life Long Care Coordinator at the Niagara Regional Native Centre​​​​​​. Shyann joined Niagara Health in 2023 is the first person to hold the role of Indigenous Community Outreach and Engagement. View the presentation here.

 

  • Presentation by Michael Nolan, Director of Emergency Services and Chief of the County of Renfrew Paramedic Service: 

Mike Nolan leads one of Ontario's most innovative community paramedicine and integrated healthcare systems. He has been instrumental in the development and expansion of the Renfrew County Virtual Triage and Assessment Centre (RC VTAC)—an award-winning model that combines virtual physician care with community paramedicine to improve access to primary care, reduce emergency department visits, and connect unattached patients with ongoing care. Under his leadership, RC VTAC has received provincial recognition for its innovative, integrated approach to healthcare delivery and is widely regarded as a leading model for rural healthcare across Ontario.

 

 

 


 

 


 

Upcoming Meetings, Agendas, and Minutes 

To view the Healthcare Advisory Committee's upcoming meeting dates, agendas, and approved minutes, please click the following link:

Committees, Boards and Council Calendar

 

Past Healthcare Advisory Committee Meetings

Meeting #19: June 15, 2026
  • Committee members heard from Tracy Sparkes, RECE, Manager of the EarlyOn Child and Family Centre, and Christina McNicoll, RECE, RC, IAIM, Early Years Specialist. Click here to view the presentation.

Meeting #18: April 20, 2026
  • Committee members received a presentation by Dr. Erica van Daalen from St Thomas Elgin General Hospital, and Connor Cleary, RN on the Elgin Neighbourhood Health Home Model. Click here to view the presentation.

Meeting #17: March 23, 2026
  • Guest Speaker: Joanna Mataya, CEO of Community Living Port Colborne-Wainfleet shared valuable insight into the barriers that impact members of the local community who have disabilities when accessing healthcare services. Click here to view the presentation.

Meeting #16: March 9, 2026
  • The Ontario Long-Term Care Association presented to the committee members to provide an overview of LTC in Ontario, as well as data specific to Port Colborne's current wait lists, and needs forecast. The concept of Senior's Hubs integrated into new LTC's was shared as a way to bring essential services together under one roof, and provide services for both on-site residents and external patients. Click here to view the presentation. Click to view insights hand out.
  • The healthcare advisory committee reviewed the findings of the Port Colborne Healthcare Analysis Report prepared by KPMG. Click here to view the report.

Meeting #15: February 9, 2026
  • KPMG provided a virtual Validation Session with the healthcare advisory committee members to share preliminary results from the data collection and insights from engagement conducted in December 2025-January 2026. Click here to view the presentation.

Meeting #14: January 26, 2026

 

  • Guest speaker: Dr. Erica van Daalen, Chief of Staff at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital. STEGH has a reputation for exceeding provincial healthcare standards, and has been recognized for being a leader in having short ED wait times and strong patient care performance. Click to view presentation.

Meeting #13: January 12, 2026
  •  KPMG held an engagement focus group session with the healthcare advisory committee.

Meeting #12: November 24, 2025

  • ESRI Canada specializes in the use of spatial intelligence and the geographic method to tackle some of Canada’s most pressing health care challenges, such as improving access to primary care and reducing strain on acute care systems. On Nov. 24, the healthcare advisory committee heard from two individuals who are part of a national effort to integrate geospatial technologies into health system planning, policy development, and service delivery.

    Their work supports organizations in leveraging location-based data to enhance decision-making, equity, and outcomes across the continuum of care.

  • Guest Speakers: Brian Mosley and Dr. Sandy Watts from ESRI Canada

  • Click link to view webinar on their past work with the City of Kingston and the Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Ontario Health Team

 

 

 Meeting #11: October 29, 2025
  • The committee heard from two guests, one speaking from the perspective of a municipality who has recently looked a the municipal managed clinic model, and a school nurse who shared insight on the current health challenges experienced by children and teens.
  • Rory Bulmer, Assistant to the Mayor and Council, City of Orillia View presentation
  • Austin White, Public Health Nurse, School Health Team, Niagara Region Public Health View presentation

 

 

Meeting #10: October 15, 2025

  • The committee heard from two guest presenters from the Town of Wasaga Beach who spoke about their innovative work on physician recruitment to improve access to primary care and after-hours services for the residents in their community and surrounding areas. View the presentation

  • Gerry Marshall, Deputy CAO/GM of Strategic Initiatives
  • Nicole Rubli, GM Legislative & Development Services/Clerk

Meeting #9: October 1, 2025
  • This meeting was a facilitated discussion focused on developing guiding themes and a vision statement as part of the healthcare services strategy.
  • View workshop report

Meeting #8: September 22, 2025

  • The healthcare advisory committee heard from two guest speakers who presented about the role of the upper tier municipality to "Promote, Protect and Prevent" in public health programming and emergency services. View the presentation.

  • Dr. Azim Kasmani, Medical Officer of Health and Commissioner, Niagara Region Public Health and Emergency Services
  • Niagara EMS Chief Karen Lutz-Graul

Meeting #7: September 3, 2025
  • The healthcare advisory committee reviewed all past presentations to reflect on all of the information and data provided up to date, and requested staff book more speakers as well as tours of several healthcare institutions located in Niagara and Hamilton.

Meeting #6: August 27, 2025 (Special Meeting)

Meeting #5: August 20, 2025
  • Christine Lafleur, Chief Executive Officer of Port Cares presented on the overarching topics of health equity/social determinants of health, and provided an overview of Port Cares history in the community, programs and services, and who they serve locally. View presentation.
  • Dr. David Salanki, D.C. provided a presentation about Doctors of Chiropractic, conditions that they diagnose and treat, who they serve in the primary care spectrum, and impacts to patient care without access to a local UCC and/or diagnostic imaging services. View presentation.
  • Dr. Jeff Remington had a Q&A session with the committee to help understand patient rosters and physician payment funding models, factors that impact how many patients a family physician will choose to roster, insight into the state of primary care in Ontario, and what do local doctors need to be able to expand their rosters, services and space.

  • Tara Galitz from Niagara Ontario Health Team provided a brief update on their strategy work with local physicians and offered insight on when the next round of primary care funding is coming in fall 2025. 

Meeting #4: August 6, 2025

The committee heard from two local Community Health Centres (CHC's) to learn more about health equity, the social determinants of health, CHC's and their approach to patient-centered primary care, how they are funded and who they serve.

  • Taralea McLean, Executive Director, Bridges Community Health Centre. View presentation.

  • Keira Thibault, Director of Primary Care, Centre de Santé Communautaire, Hamilton-Niagara. View presentation.

Several members of Niagara Health’s executive leadership team attended the meeting to share a hospital-based perspective on the current state of healthcare in Niagara and Port Colborne. Their presentation highlighted system pressures, efforts to align services with community needs, opportunities to transform hospital care, and the importance of partnerships to address gaps in the system.

  • Presenter: Harpreet Bassi, Executive Vice-President, Communications and Strategy; Executive Lead, Research and Niagara Health Knowledge Institute; Interim Executive Vice-President, Capital Planning and Redevelopment, Niagara Health. View presentation.

Also in attendance:

Dr. Kevin Chan, Executive Vice-President, Medical; Chief of Staff

Simon Akinsulie, Executive Vice-President, Practice, Clinical Support & Chief Nursing Executive

Anthony DiCaita, Executive Vice-President, Corporate Services; Chief Financial Officer

Natalie Doucet, Director, Women, Babies and Children’s Unit

 

Meeting #3: July 23, 2025

  • Jill Croteau, Physician Recruitment Specialist from the Niagara Region gave an overview on physician recruitment in the Niagara Region, including some of the opportunities and challenges involved in recruiting new primary care physicians to the City of Port Colborne. View the presentation.

  • Tara Galitz, Executive Director of the Niagara Ontario Health Team-Équipe Santé Ontario Niagara provided a presentation on the background behind Ontario Health Teams and what they do, how funding for healthcare is allotted by the Ministry of Health, including details on an upcoming grant submission for primary care in Port Colborne in fall 2025. View the presentation.

  • View Meeting 3 Information Package here.

Meeting #2: July 9, 2025
  • CAO Bryan Boles presented a comprehensive overview of the background on healthcare in Port Colborne, key learnings from the community engagement campaign and survey results, and shared some data on socio-economic factors that may impact decisions on healthcare planning and delivery. View the presentation here.
  • Kyle Boggio from the Boggio's Family of Pharmacies presented on the role of pharmacists in the local healthcare network, the recent expansion of their scope of practice and how they could assist with primary care by seeing patients for 19 conditions. View the presentation here.
  • View Meeting 2 Information Package here.
Meeting #1: June 12, 2025

The Healthcare Advisory Committee holds inaugural meeting, elects Chair Sydney McDowell, NP and Vice-Chair Dr. Philip McGarry, MD. The agenda was focused on the review of key documents such as the committee's Terms of Reference, Procedural By-Law and Code of Conduct.