Children in Orillia with complicated medical issues may soon face another difficult hurdle.

A program that's been helping them and their families streamline medical services may soon be cancelled.  

Greg Fraser, 8, sees more than 10 different doctors because of a rare genetic condition. But because of a a special clinic that helps streamline his medical care, he hasn’t had to make as many visits.

“What this clinic does is that it brings everyone together,” says Dr. Michelle Gordon, director at the pediatric complex care clinic.

The pilot program she runs has been around for six years. Patients have a nurse practitioner based at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. That person helps families navigate the medical maze by coordinating specialists and managing appointments.

“It’s such a time-saver for us to be able to see multiple people at once and the coordination of care for Greg has eased some of his health issues and not having to see doctors quite as often,” says his mom Dawn Fraser.

Gordon says in the past, families would have to do all that coordinating on their own. The Orillia-based program has been supported by the Local Health Integration Network since 2011 but now it’s not clear if it will continue.

“We learned about this mid-March and we've been trying to work with the LHIN and work with other community providers to see if we can find a solution,” says Gordon. “That's what we've been doing for the last six weeks and we've not been able to find a solution yet.”

Doctors say keeping this program open is not only good for the patients, but in the long run it also saves a lot of money. They say to keep the Orillia clinic open would cost about $70,000 a year. Savings would come from the decreased visits to hospitals patients would need to make.

A statement from the LHIN today says the board will be reviewing the program later this month and would be “discussing (the) ongoing sustainability of the program.”

The LHIN says the issues are “complex and one-time funding does not provide stability for this and other programs.”

But time is ticking for the Fraser family, and they hope a solution to keep the clinic open is found soon. It’s an emotional time for the family.

“Greg is an amazing little boy he has brought so much to our family we are blessed to have him it's a struggle, but we wouldn't change it for anything,” Fraser says. “And this helps us to make him live a joyous, thriving life.”