Dr. Jo-Anne Clarke recognized for efforts to transform geriatrics in the northeast

When the newest appointees to the Order of Ontario were announced this week, there were two northerners on the list.

One of those was Dr Jo-Anne Clarke, the first geriatrician in northeastern Ontario. She has helped to transform the field across the region.

The exterior of the North East Geriatric Specialized Centre in Greater Sudbury in January 2024. (Angela Gemmill/CTV News Northern Ontario)The North East Geriatric Specialized Centre in Sudbury first opened in 2009, when Clarke returned to her hometown to treat patients.

“There was very little in terms of organized or specialized geriatric care across northeastern Ontario and locally,” she said.

“We have really worked to create models of care across northeastern Ontario thanks to the support of city council initially, the Northeast LHIN (Local Health Integration Network) at the time now Ontario Health, and now from providers across the region.”

Clarke is being saluted for her efforts to transform geriatric health care in the north. She said seeing teams of care created across the region has been a big reward for her.

But she told CTV News that her next goal is to see more learners in the field.

“We now have established a strong continuum of care, where I think we could do a great job of training internists, geriatricians, as well as the care of the elderly streams,” Clarke said.

“I would have said ten years ago that we would not have had the capacity or the breadth of services to do that. I think that’s changing.”

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Dr. James Chau is a family physician specializing in elderly care. He has worked alongside Clarke for the past decade.

He said given the growing seniors population in the north, new recruits are needed everywhere.

“Especially the smaller communities – there is quite a density of population of seniors. I think if you just look at the numbers of outreach clinics that we’re running that speaks to itself in terms of the need,” said Chau.

“Our wait lists, our wait lists are running a year, a year-and-a-half, sometimes two years.”

Clarke said it is her patients who keep her going day after day, and she added that it is a “pleasure and a privilege” to look after seniors across the northeast.