• Nurse practitioners are an essential part of our government's plan to deliver better healthcare to Ontarians.
• We need to overcome barriers to make NP full participants in the primary health care team.
• Nurse practitioners will play an even greater part in our province's family health teams in the years to come.
• The Nurse Practitioner Integration study is a roadmap for integrating NPs in family health and community care across the province.
• As a next step, I will work with the Nursing Secretariat to appoint an implementation task team to move forward on the recommendations.
• This report is the result of nurses, physicians and government working together.

I'm happy to be here today at this significant conference to release the Nurse Practitioner Integration Study.

I want to express my particular appreciation to Dr. Alba DiCenso, CHSRF/CIHR Nursing Chair in Advanced Practice Nursing for her stewardship of this important study. I'd also like to recognize Gail Paech, ADM of the Long-Term Care Redevelopment Project and study co-chair.

I'd like to acknowledge the important contribution of the Nursing Secretariat in coordinating the work of the steering committee. Mary Woodman, Manager of Nurse Practitioner Initiatives for the Nursing Secretariat is here this afternoon. And I want to recognize Theresa Agnew, Chair of the Nurse Practitioners Association of Ontario.

It's great to see so many steering committee members here today representing nursing, medicine and government. The room reflects the wonderful diversity of health care settings where nurse practitioners work.

Nurse practitioners are an essential part of our government's plan to deliver better healthcare to Ontarians.

We have an ambitious goal of making Ontarians the healthiest people in Canada.

To deliver on this goal, we must create a vibrant community health sector that responds to patient and community needs.

We cannot have real primary care reform without NPs. We need to overcome barriers to make NP full participants in the primary health care team.

Nurse practitioners will play an even greater part in our province's family health teams in the years to come.

Family health care teams will be made up of doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners and other health care professionals who will provide around the clock primary care services to communities. They will focus on keeping people healthy, not just treating people when they are sick.

I am honoured to receive the Nurse Practitioner Integration Study here today.

Dr. DiCenso will take you through the recommendations and how they will advance the role of nurse practitioners in primary healthcare.

As a next step, I will work with the ministry's Nursing Secretariat to appoint an implementation task team to move forward on the recommendations.

The Nurse Practitioner Integration study is a roadmap for integrating NPs in family health and community care across the province.

This report is the achievement of nurses, physicians and government working together. The steering committee that oversaw the report included representatives from nursing, medicine and the ministry. This is the kind of collaboration we need to create a better health care system in Ontario.

The RNAO/OMA study released last week confirms doctors and nurse practitioners are working collaboratively across Ontario. That's very encouraging to see. Only a team approach will make our population healthier.

I've come to appreciate that nurse practitioner practice is about team work. It's also about engaging patients and families in care decisions.

Work is already underway in the Ministry on some of the recommendations including developing standard collection and reporting mechanisms for nurse practitioner human resource planning, and an educational strategy for NPs practicing in primary care settings.

This work is in addition to the $30 million annually to support 400 primary health care NPs and primary health care nurse practitioner educational programs.

We must do more to remove the barriers to nurse practitioners and to enable them to perform their distinctive role.

Patients and communities who have access to nurse practitioners highly value their work and care. Other practitioners, such as physicians are experiencing the benefits of teaming with NPs

I am impressed by the diversity of health care settings that NPs work. It's great to see the large number of specialized nurse practitioners in the room.

The versatility of NPs in all health settings makes them an essential investment. CHCs, Windsor, Sharbot Lake.

Our government sees untapped opportunities to better involve nurse practitioners in all health care settings from acute care to pediatrics to mental health and, of course, family health teams.

The nurse practitioner's focus on disease prevention and health promotion will make our system more effective at keeping people healthy.

The McGuinty government is committed to strengthening our medicare system so that all people receive the care they need, when they need it.

We need all caring hands and talented minds to improve medicare.

We need nurse practitioners to deliver on our goal to make Ontarians the healthiest Canadians.