pregnancy
family,  Health,  infertility,  parenting

What’s Next for Infertility Patients in Ontario? #ohip4ivf #onpoli Twitter Chat Live June 10 at 8 p.m. EST

child, happiness and people concept - adorable baby
How do infertility patient groups evolve?

How does a patient group like Conceivable Dreams evolve once they’ve met one of their biggest advocacy goals? This is the topic we’ll talk about on Wednesday night at a special Linked Moms twitter chat at 8 p.m. EST. Infertility patients in Ontario are invited to brainstorm what shape their advocacy should take next.

In fact, this is an important topic for any advocacy group, charity or non profit. It’s not uncommon for a group to come together with one goal as a mission. But a successful group needs to consider the future too. Succession planning and remaining focused are crucial to long-term success.

Right now infertility patients everywhere are feeling the considerable weight of the season. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day can be hard. Infertility Awareness Week or Month also leads into spring and summer when it seems like everyone is expecting a baby, or announcing a new baby on their Facebook page. For people who are still trying to conceive, the season is full of triggers. By this time next year we hope many Conceivable Dreams patient group members are the ones announcing their happy news, as a result of the success of the 2015 Ontario IVF funding program. But once the program is here and more healthy families are created what comes next?

[tweetthis]If you are an infertility patient in Ontario chances are you have heard there’s an IVF funding program on the way #ohip4ivf #onpoli[/tweetthis]

If you are an infertility patient in Ontario, then chances are you have heard the news that the Ontario government is working on an IVF funding program.

First of all a few facts:

[tweetthis]An Ontario IVF funding program has been committed to and funding included in 2 consecutive budgets. (2014 and 2015). #ohip4ivf #onpoli [/tweetthis]

An Ontario IVF funding program has been committed to and funding included in two consecutive budgets. (2014 and 2015).

The initial announcement that Ontario would develop an accessible IVF funding program stated that about $50 million a year would be committed.

The Ontario IVF funding program 2015 is still on target to be ready in 2015 as promised all along.

Members of Conceivable Dreams have been working behind the scenes on the advisory panel that is building the 2015 IVF funding program.

[tweetthis]Conceivable Dreams members have been involved on the advisory panel helping to build IVF funding program 2015 #ohip4ivf #onpoli [/tweetthis]

The program is likely to be one round of treatment which is also likely to be contingent on single embryo transfer (because single embryo transfer leads to lower health care costs and healthier moms and babies.)

It is now almost halfway through 2015 and this program should be ready soon. It’s time for infertility patients to start asking what comes next? Do we need to stay active and involved as advocates? We have an accessible program, right? So what now? Is our job done?

I have been writing about infertility and infertility funding programs for over 3 years now. Conceivable Dreams has grown over that time and they have evolved throughout their seven or more years of championing accessible health care for fertility patients in Ontario. They have met an important goal and soon will be able to recognize that and celebrate it. Many other countries and areas have IVF funding programs. Some have maintained their programs extremely well and crafted themselves into groups that are powerful. Some, like the group based in Quebec, were less active once they had been given a health care program.

– Recently the Quebec program was dramatically altered when a new health minister targeted it and began implementing health care cuts. The Quebec IVF funding program is now a shell of what it once was.

[tweetthis]What can infertility patients in Ontario learn from the ART program cuts in Quebec? #ohip4ivf #onpoli [/tweetthis]

– In Australia, a patient group there has had exceptional success because they have maintained a high profile active membership. They have managed to celebrate each successful birth and bring babies created through the program into it as young members who can also advocate beautifully any time a new political party targets their program for cutbacks.

Please join us Wednesday night for a twitter chat at 8 p.m. EST.

The hashtags are #ohip4ivf #onpoli Please remember to use these to follow the conversation.

Also please follow:

@ohip4ivf 

@inkscrblr

@downshiftingpro

@linkedmoms

@thexaviers

Mom of two beautiful active girls, traveller, fitness junkie, social media consultant, and keeper of the sanity.