Thank you, Nicole.
Mr. Lauzon and members of the committee, thank you for having given us the opportunity to appear before you today.
Whenever my children ask me if they can purchase something, I always ask if the purchase meets our criteria. In other words, the item in question must be good, beautiful, inexpensive, and it must be necessary.
In 2005, the Heart Institute received funding for the implementation of a new program as part of the PHCTF projects. Here is a summary of it.
The problem is the following: cardiovascular disease is the main cause of disability and premature deaths in Ontario. The prevalence of cardiovascular disease, as well as its related risk factors, is much more widespread among francophone residents of the province than among anglophones. The FrancoForme project is intended to reduce the disparity between francophones and anglophones in the Champlain region as far as cardiovascular health is concerned. It targets francophones living in both urban and rural areas and aspire to improve their access to individualized prevention and cardiac rehabilitation services, which will result in their improved cardiovascular health. A need exists.
Let us now talk about the solution. The FrancoForme project is managed and directed by the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, in collaboration with community partners, including the Eastern Ontario Health Unit and the Eastern Townships Community Centre. The program promotes healthy living habits by encouraging physical activity, a healthy and balanced diet, stress management, quitting smoking and adequate control of cholesterol and glycemia. A counsellor calls each participant once a week over a three-month period. A person's cardiovascular disease risk is assessed both at the beginning and at the end of the program. In short, the FrancoForme project offers its participants an empowering opportunity that will guide them towards a healthier life style and will reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease. This is good.
Let us look at the results to date. An advisory committee was created to offer support and advice throughout the project. Furthermore, our community partners offered us considerable and permanent support throughout. The program is now set up and in operation at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and at the Eastern Ontario Health Unit in Alexandria. Several participants have already completed the program. As expected, we have seen an improvement in the risk factors such as their cholesterol level, their blood pressure, their weight, their level of physical activity and their sense of well-being. These participants say they are very satisfied with their experience. That is beautiful.
Moreover, an appropriate assessment of our project has shown that not only is the initiative effective from a clinical point of view, but that this service delivery model is less costly than a traditional cardiac rehabilitation program. It is not expensive.
I would now like to make some recommendations to the committee. We care deeply about the health of francophones. Within the scope of the PHCTF project, we have identified the problem, we have targeted the population at risk and we have had a significant and sustainable impact on its state of health. We strongly believe that the FrancoForme program, developed within the framework of this project, could be implemented not only in the Champlain region, but that it has the potential to become a service delivery model for preventive and cardiac rehabilitation services for other francophone communities in Ontario, and in time, across Canada. The broadening of the program, through the addition of one or more access points, such as the one planned for Cornwall under the foundation project, will take place over the next few months.
Once the program is well established in the Champlain region, we recommend the establishment of other satellite sites in Northern Ontario as well as in other francophone regions of Canada. The viability of these satellites will depend on the available financial resources and an association with various local health care stakeholders interested in establishing and maintaining the program. In short, we propose to create an infrastructure in order to establish the service in other regions of Ontario and of Canada where there is a large population of francophones at risk. Initiatives like this are good, beautiful, inexpensive, and francophones need them.
Thank you.