New Plan Focuses on Improving Health Outcomes for Residents of Northwestern Ontario

Press Release

Health System Transformation Remains at the Heart of the Plan

February 1, 2016, Thunder Bay – Today, the North West LHIN released its Integrated Health Service Plan 2016-2019, which intends to continue advancing health system transformation in Northwestern Ontario. This Integrated Health Service Plan, also known as the IHSP IV, is the fourth to be developed since the LHIN’s inception and will be in effect from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2019.

The Integrated Health Service Plan IV has been developed following extensive qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis completed during 2013-2016 with 30,643 individuals, groups, and organizations to assess the successes achieved through implementation of the strategic priorities outlined in the IHSP III and to validate future directions for health system improvement, integration, and transformation in the IHSP IV.

To further inform the development of the IHSP IV, the North West LHIN also conducted an innovative community engagement campaign, entitled Guide Your Health: Your Story, Your Future, to gather additional feedback from residents in Northwestern Ontario between April and June 2015. The North West LHIN collected over 1,500 comments from more than 700 residents who identified areas of the health system that work well and opportunities for improvement.

The IHSP IV aligns with the strategic goals and vision for Ontario’s health system outlined in the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s Patients First: Action Plan for Health Care. In addition, the IHSP IV reaffirms the North West LHIN’s commitment to continue advancing the North West LHIN Health Services Blueprint introduced in 2012 that focuses on greater integration of services, better health outcomes, and quality improvement to enhance the care experiences of patients, residents, caregivers, and families.

Over the next three years, the North West LHIN’s IHSP IV will continue to build an integrated health care system through four priorities:

• Improving the Patient Care Experience

• Improving Access to Care and Reducing Inequities

• Building an Integrated eHealth Framework, and

• Ensuring Health System Accountability and Sustainability

Quotes:

“The North West LHIN Board of Directors approved the IHSP IV which is clearly setting the path to move towards a value-based health care system which is designed to reflect population needs and improved health outcomes. Achieving priorities in this Plan will require commitment and unwavering leadership at all levels in our region.”

Dan Levesque, Interim Board Chair, North West LHIN

“The IHSP IV is a reflection of what the residents and health service providers in this region have told us they value in their health system – better quality, improved access, and sustainability into the future. We look forward to working with health system partners, communities, and residents in the North West LHIN to bring the priorities in the IHSP IV to life over the next three years.”

Laura Kokocinski, CEO, North West LHIN

Quick facts:

• Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) were established under the Local Health System Integration Act in 2006, which sets out their mandate and power to plan, fund and integrate health care and to engage communities.

• The North West LHIN is responsible for planning, integrating and funding local health services – hospitals, long-term care homes, the Community Care Access Centre, community health centres, community support services, and mental health and addictions agencies.

• The North West LHIN and its Board of Directors are responsible for more than $600 million of health care services delivered in Northwestern Ontario.

• The Local Health System Integration Act, 2006, requires all of Ontario’s 14 LHINs to develop and publish Integrated Health Service Plans every three years.

• The Patients First: Action Plan for Health Care sets clear and ambitious goals for Ontario’s health care system in order to put patients at the centre of our health care system by improving the health care experience as follows:
  • Access: Improve access – providing faster access to the right care;

• Connect: Connect services – delivering better coordinated and integrated care in the community closer to home; providing better home and community care;

• Inform: Support people and patients – providing the education, information, and transparency Ontarians need to make the right decisions about their health; and

• Protect: Protect our universal public health care system – making decisions based on value and quality, to sustain the system for generations to come.

LEARN MORE

For more information on the North West LHIN or the Integrated Health Service Plan, please visit our website: www.northwestlhin.on.ca.

Media Contact:

Petronilla Ndebele, Director, Corporate Communications & Community Engagement 807-684-9425, extension 2039

Toll free 1-866-907-5446, ext. 2039 petronilla.ndebele@lhins.on.ca

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