Friends & Colleagues, we did it!
TLDR; TCMO has been awarded the seat to represent TCM Practitioners and Acupuncturists within CORPHA (Coalition of Regulated Health Professional Associations). The first meeting was eye-opening about the state of other RHPs and the Ministry of Health (MOH).
I’m elated to announce that the TCMO is the official member of CORPHA, representing the interests of TCM Practitioners and Acupuncturists in Ontario.
Thank you to TCMO President Heather Kenny for her tireless work, advocacy and networking to get us this seat.
CORPHA was formed to keep the member associations apprised about what is happening at the MOH and to be a support to one another as allied health professionals in terms of what the associations are doing to best assist their members.
I had the opportunity to attend the TCMO’s first CORPHA meeting. Below are some of the highlights:
- Allison Henry, Director, Health Workforce Regulatory Oversight at the MOH attended and gave a short presentation on what they are focusing on at the MOH. They are intending to move forwards with a a more “team-based approach” to healthcare. She is the point of contact for all change of scope of practice applications. The midwives said that they have had a change before her for years without any feedback other than additional questions.
- Some of the other RHPs shared what their strategies are regarding DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) within their respective professions
- The ODA (Ontario Dental Association) is hosting a training for dental office staff on records management and some of the other RHPs will look for feedback on that event and how it went
- Discussion about what some of the associations are recommending to their members to address the changing public health requirements for COVID
Many of our colleagues had no idea that of the 23 regulated health professions in Ontario, TCM & Acupuncture was the only one without a seat in CORPHA. Ensuring that Chinese medicine and acupuncture is being represented in CORPHA is critical for our profession and was one of the main goals of Project Newsletter.
Project Newsletter was a volunteer drive to add people to the TCMO’s newsletter mailing list so we can keep them updated about this and other critical issues impacting our profession.
Thank you to our volunteers who gave many hours of their time and hard work to contact our colleagues. We added hundreds of other practitioners to the TCMO mailing list with your efforts.
The newsletter launches soon and so does our new website. We’ll be able to share more easily what we’ve been working on at the TCMO, current events and issues that will have a direct impact on our profession and its stakeholders, and benefits to membership.
We are taking some of the great ideas shared during our first CORPHA meeting and bringing those to our members. So stay tuned!
We thank you for your patience and support, as we the board members, are all volunteers.
Looking forward to doing more great things for our profession. And just an FYI, we’re always looking for more help. If you’re interested in volunteering for the TCMO, please feel free to reach out. We’re stronger together.
Your TCMO VP,
Katrina