CDK Family Medicine receives City Primary Care Clinic Grant to hire staff and enhance IT capacity to support adding 1,700 patients to the roster

Kingston city councillors Jimmy Hassan and Brandon Tozzo recently presented physicians at CDK Family Medicine with a $100,000 cheque through the City Primary Care Clinic Grant. The grant funds will be used to help with administrative costs associated with rostering 1,700 new patients, meeting higher patient volumes and demands through the addition of allied health professionals and enhancing services via IT platforms. 

“We, the family doctors at CDK Family Medicine, are so grateful to the City of Kingston for prioritizing the health care needs of our population and for their tremendous support during this time of primary care crisis,” says Dr. Ziny Yen. 

CDK Family Medicine has two clinic sites in Kingston. The downtown location on Princess Street has been providing walk-in services for unattached patients in Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington since 2010. Over the past 14 years, the clinic has provided much-needed urgent, non-emergent services and comprehensive follow-up for patients without a family doctor. 

CDK’s second clinic opened in 2015 on Sutherland Drive. It provides comprehensive family medicine services to rostered patients, along with booked appointments and follow-up for unattached patients. 

"There is a dire need for more family doctors in Kingston,” says Brandon Tozzo, Kingscourt-Rideau district councillor. “They represent the entry point to our health care system. I'm pleased to be part of the solution: working with the Mayor, councillors and City staff to attract and keep primary care providers in Kingston." 

The City of Kingston Primary Care Clinic Expansion Grant is a dedicated initiative funded entirely by the municipality to increase access to primary care for unattached patients. Clinic recipients will receive a one-time financial incentive of $100,000 to broaden their services through the innovative use of technology, expansion of administrative support to address paperwork burden, and the addition of allied healthcare professionals to the primary care clinic setting. 

Recipients of this fund will continue to be highlighted over the coming weeks. Residents are also encouraged to follow along with the City’s physician recruitment efforts, including the Primary Care Grant, by visiting CityofKingston.ca/PhysicianRecruitment.