Loyalist students help strengthen health care access in Northumberland County

When the COVID-19 pandemic closed walk-in clinics across the country, many Canadians suddenly lost access to primary care. In Port Hope, that challenge was felt locally, and a community partnership soon stepped in to help. 

In August 2024, Northumberland County and the Northumberland County Community Health Centre (NCCHC) reopened the Port Hope Walk-In Clinic as part of a one-year pilot project. The goal was to support patients unattached to primary care physicians and help bridge gaps in local health care. To evaluate the clinic’s impact and strengthen its case to secure ongoing funding, the partners needed help turning their data into insights. That’s where Loyalist College stepped in. 

“The NCCHC reached out to see if Loyalist could help,” said Kurstin Salisbury, Senior Manager for the Centre for Healthy Communities (CFHC), part of the college’s Applied Research and Innovation Office. “They had incredibly valuable data but lacked the resources to analyze it. That’s when I approached our nursing faculty to explore turning it into a student project.” 

With support from the CFHC, Loyalist faculty member Alanna Lakoff integrated the project into a third-year course in the Honours Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Starting in January 2025, students worked with anonymized clinic data to analyze patient volume, usage patterns and the overall community benefit of the relaunched clinic. 

“This was a significant opportunity for students to apply their data analysis skills in a real-world health care setting,” said Alanna. “They gained hands-on experience while directly contributing to the health and well-being of their community.” 

Working with real-world data gave students Mustafa Alali, Maddie Leeper, Andre Avila Pinto, Kerry Stafford, Jordan Pyne, and Jacqueline Seman the opportunity to reflect on the impact local clinics have on community health. 

“We were given all this data and tasked with sifting through it to find the most important information, clean it up, and interpret the trends,” said Jordan. “One of the key patterns we noticed was how far people were travelling to access care at the clinic, and just how many of them were unattached patients.” 

Reflecting on their work, the students agreed that the project showed how one conversation can spark meaningful change. Several shared that it reshaped the way they view health care, especially the importance of preventative care and advocacy; principles they plan to carry with them into their careers after graduating in 2026. 

“This experience has been incredibly rewarding for all of us,” said Mustafa. “We didn’t just complete a course. We made a real difference in the community. When our partners came to speak with us at the end of the semester, we were thrilled to learn that our work contributed to securing funding for another year.” 

The experience opened doors for many students, with several now working with CFHC and one contributing to ongoing efforts at the Port Hope Walk-In Clinic. For others, it inspired future goals, from continuing research to applying to additional post-secondary programs that build on their experience at Loyalist. 

By partnering with local organizations and applying their learning to real challenges, Loyalist students continue to make a difference—one step, one project, and one community at a time.