ABOUT US
The Centre for Family Medicine (CFFM) Mobility Clinic strives to provide high-quality primary care to persons living with physical disabilities or other health conditions that affect mobility.
The goal of the Mobility Clinic is to help persons with mobility issues and their primary care providers with health care needs that may be difficult to manage, given existing physical and systemic barriers to care.
Our Story
The CFFM Family Health Team, founded in 2005, provides a range of primary care services to patients in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. CFFM is committed to ongoing improvement of primary care through innovative programs, services, research, and education.
Recognizing the numerous challenges that persons with physical disabilities often encounter when accessing primary care, and in partnership with the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation, CFFM developed the Mobility Clinic in 2010.
In its initial stages, the Mobility Clinic was available to rostered patients at CFFM.
In 2014, the Mobility Clinic was opened up to the entire Waterloo-Wellington region.
Our Model
Persons with mobility issues are referred to the Mobility Clinic through their primary care practitioner. At the Mobility Clinic, a multidisciplinary team of primary care providers works collaboratively to provide a comprehensive assessment and develop a care plan with the patient, which is shared with the patient’s regular primary care practitioner. After the visit, the Mobility Clinic follows up with the patient through phone calls, return visits, and/or house calls.
In order to provide as complete care as possible, the Mobility Clinic team is comprised of health care providers from a range of disciplines. A physician, nurse, chiropractor, and occupational therapist are present at each visit. Other professionals are available as needed, including a social worker, pharmacist, or physiotherapist.
Primary care providers on the team work with community partners to provide improved care and increased access. The Mobility Clinic receives virtual specialist support through Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, as well as expertise in consumer advocacy and navigation through Spinal Cord Injury Ontario. A Patient Advisory Committee is integral in providing direction and guidance to the Mobility Clinic.
In conjunction with the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging, the Mobility Clinic also works with researchers and clinicians to investigate and evaluate ways of improving primary care for persons with physical disabilities.