Dear Pledge Supporters,
I have been working feverishly in the background on a number of initiatives. The silence has been filled with the following:
- Sorting through the signatories to determine how many are Family Doctors
- Developing media content and talking points - this always takes longer than one expects. I'm preparing to launch a Ontario Family Medicine Facts campaign soon. Any design and media expertise is always welcome.
- Contacting Politicians (e.g. Big Cities Mayors Group (cities greater than 100,000)) and Local Groups (charities, Chambers of Commerce, anyone who has influence). I have a template for an email letter I've been sending. I'd been working on a draft of "What can local government do" document. I'd like to create one for "What can local businesses do" as well.
- I've activated my twitter account and became more active on my LinkedIn account. Follow me @RingsideStrong on Twitter, and my LinkedIn Profile is my name (Alkesh Patel) - you will learn more about my employment and historical entrepreneurial efforts. For now, I'm speaking out against politicians and Team-Based-Care. Please like and share as much as possible. Feel free to download any of the graphics or images and share or repost with your own comments.
- Contacting the Media. I did an initial round of contacting all the major newspaper outlets. I have not heard back from any as of yet. I will continue to email different journalists and keep my social media accounts active.
What I've come to realize with all the above - and with 2 young kids at home, I can always use more help.
Over 150 Ontario Family Doctors have signed this pledge. We have 73 Vulnerable Family Doctors who serve communities with less than 250, 000 residents. The GTA, Ottawa, Barrie are the Top 3 areas affected by number of vulnerable Family Doctors. However, every community across Ontario is affected. In many regions have the potential to coordinate and work together as regional groups. For example, in my region (Halton), there are 25 potential Family Docs who could explore a co-op model with the right stakeholders and financial support. There are likely many more Family Doctors who are unaware of this Pledge and are at risk of closing their clinic. I have not been able to obtain a fax number list for every Family Doctor in Ontario - another challenge I need help overcoming.
I will continue our advocacy efforts until we have some meaningful response and change. Thank you for your patience and ongoing support. Anyone who would like to support the efforts in the background can contact me at OntarioFamilyDoctor@gmail.com
Sincerely,
Alkesh