Hospital Improvement Plan Implementation

Niagara Health System

• Developing the Plan
  • About HIP
    • Why a HIP?
    • Questions and Answers
    • Case for Change
    • Quality Care
    • Financial Pressures
    • Factors Driving Change
    • How Can We Change?
    • NHS at a Glance
    • Better Ways of Delivering Care
  • Background
    • Key Messages
    • National Trends in Health Care
    • Niagara’s Population
      • Geographic Overview
      • Travel Maps
      • Population Projections
      • Population Characteristics
      • Income and Employment
      • Health Determinants & Practices
      • Health Status, Life Expectancy
      • Hospitalization
      • Prevalence of Chronic Conditions
      • Disease Prevalence Maps
  • FAQs
    • The Hospital Improvement Plan
    • Emergency Care in Fort Erie/Port Colborne
    • Women’s & Children’s Health
  • Vision / Plan
    • HIP Addendum – December 2008
    • HIP Addendum & Site Charts – November 2008
    • Kitts Review & Recommendations – October 2008
    • Consultation Summary Report – October 2008
    • Draft Hospital Improvement Plan – July 2008
    • Health Experts Say …
      • Centres of Excellence
      • Emergency Services
      • Women’s and Children’s Health
    • Vision Details
      • Emergency Services
      • Women’s and Children’s Health
    • Video Briefing
• Implementing the HIP
  • Implementation Plan – Year 1
  • Early Opportunities
    • Surgical Program
    • Medicine Program
    • Emergency Services
    • Maternal/Child Program
    • Addictions & Mental Health
  • Services at our Sites – Now and by 2013
  • Planning for Changes
  • Effective Use of Patient Care Equipment
  • HIP Implementation Steering Committee
• Stakeholder Relations
  • Community Information
  • Community Advisory Forums
  • Chair’s Message to C.A.F.
  • Vice Chair’s Address
• Contact
• News
• Videos
• Contact

Chair’s Message to C.A.F.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to start off by wishing everyone a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year and thank you for braving the weather to be here this evening.

As Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Niagara Health System, on behalf of my colleagues from the Board as well as our administration, medical leadership and the entire hospital, it is my pleasure to welcome you tonight.

Your attendance is testament to your community leadership and your commitment to the important issues before us and helping chart a better future for healthcare across Niagara.

As we make our way through this first week of the new year, we can’t overlook the symbolism of a new beginning.

While some of you may be thinking well that’s pretty obvious Betty Lou – and there may be others saying come on Betty Lou that’s just plain old corny – believe me I am genuine and serious in saying to you that I sincerely look to tonight as the beginning of a new beginning.

It has to be.

Undeniably the events and developments of the past eight months of this Hospital Improvement Plan journey have been very, very difficult, in some cases quite divisive and in a number of situations extremely stressful.

Going into the Hospital Improvement Plan late last spring, from the outset we acknowledged this process would be a difficult one.

We acknowledged there would be differing views and division would result. It was a given that not everybody would or could possibly agree to everything that was outlined in the plan.

It is true – we feared that relationships with individuals as well as relationships with various communities would be marred and damaged.

The things that would come through the HIP constituted major change and seldom is change in healthcare ever easy especially change of the magnitude that was envisioned through the HIP.

We knew it would not be easy.

And it hasn’t been.

While it may be painful and overwhelming to reflect on what leads us to tonight, it is important to reflect on what’s happened over the past months and years and why it happened to help figure out how we can more forward.

The clock keeps ticking and the pressures we know full well keep mounting.

Providing quality of care is our number one imperative. We need to ensure our patients are getting the right care, at the right time in the right place. As our population changes we have to respond to changing health population needs.

We have to contend with the ongoing shortages of health professionals; we must address our facility, equipment and financial resource issues; and address patient satisfaction.

That’s in essence what brought us to the development of the HIP and its many initiatives.

On December 16th our LHIN endorsed the Hospital Improvement Plan. The LHIN’s approval gives NHS a mandate to move forward to make the changes over the next five years which are outlined in the HIP.

Some of these changes will happen sooner than others – some not for five years. This all has to be sorted out.

And as part of all of this some how, some way, collectively, together – we have to pick up the pieces and repair and rebuild relations in the best interests of the patients and families and quality care.

I don’t want to be presumptuous but as community leaders I personally believe it is our collective responsibility to find a way to move forward together.

I say this underscoring that I would not ask anyone in this room to say or do anything more or less than they are prepared to.

At this point in my life on a professional and personal level I know full well that trust, integrity and respect are earned rights.

If there is trust and respect that I have to earn I am up to the task of earning it. If it is what needs to be done in the best interests of our community and our community’s healthcare then consider me signed up to the task at hand.

As I look around across our community of Niagara, I do see that more and more there are fewer and fewer public or private organizations, services or companies that can go it alone.

The rapid compression of this economic downturn is very, very, very real. And as every leader in this room knows the impact of the current downturn has far from crested.

If we felt pressure in 2008 – let’s not kid ourselves we will feel more – much, much more in 2009.

As organizations and quite honestly as individuals — we need each other and we need to find ways to best work together all for a common interest – and a common good.

To me the next couple of hours are about finding common ground for the common good when in comes to hospital care in Niagara and how we can do that together.

There is a tremendous amount of talent in this room.

And above and beyond that there is amazing heart and spirit as passionate community leaders.

So while some of us may not agree on the path and the decisions that have been made to bring us into this room tonight — there is common ground amongst us – perhaps it is as simple as the passion we each have for our healthcare.

As a starting point we are looking to stakeholder participation to help make the future better than the past.

Stakeholder participation in the HIP implementation we believe will help ensure transparency, inclusion, understanding, dialogue as well as provide the feedback we need to be a better more responsive public agency.

Through discussions with our stakeholders we look forward to making better decisions, developing more effective policies and practices and be more responsive to the people we serve.

Yet what are the best ways – the most effective ways – the right ways- to bring you our health partners and community leaders as the key stakeholders into the process to re-establish effective working relationships.

In anticipation of having a decision from the LHIN in mid-December we proceeded to book this meeting for tonight because there is no time to lose.

This first meeting is the beginning of a beginning to talk about the things we can do to ensure authentic, genuine and accountable stakeholder participation in HIP implantation over the next five years.

Do you see value in forming the group gathered here tonight into a stakeholder council to provide feedback and to inform and improve NHS decision making on the implementation. If so then let’s talk about ideas around membership, processes and communication as we move forward with developing a detailed implementation schedule for the HIP.

Dialogue, communication and information sharing is critical going forward and there are many different ways to communicate with the people of Niagara, our health partners and the people of individual communities. We need to hear from you about to find the best ways – the most effective means of facilitating constructive conversations with our stakeholders.

I for one feel strongly that face to face communication is essential in rebuilding relationships with communities.

While that may be my view I would not want to presume it’s the best approach for the people of your town or city. This is one of the things I hope we will get around to discussing – if not tonight – then at a future meeting.

Similarly what other communications do we need to consider. Through the development of the HIP we had a lot of feedback on our written communications such as information bulletins and the website and the surveys dedicated to HIP. Again – we need to talk about what will work for the future.

Tonight –we need to hear from you. What are your thoughts on how we go forward together and how we gain stakeholder feedback.

With all that said, I want to wrap up my comments by thanking you for coming tonight and the opportunity to share my thoughts with you.