Improving health and wellbeing for everyone in our communities
Anyone who has ever felt unsupported by public health care, community, and social services, or simply didn’t know where to turn when they needed help, will understand the need to have a home base from which care can be easily accessed. A place for everyone to have a supportive and fully-connected neighbourhood of health care, social and wellness services.
That is not the reality in today’s health-care system. In our region, as in regions across the country, emergency departments are overwhelmed, hospital beds are full, and people are not able to access the care they need when and how they need it. When service providers operate in isolation, they are limited in their abilities to affect people’s overall health and wellbeing. The ways in which health care is currently funded and operated, through organizational silos, makes collaboration and communication difficult.
This is why we’re working together to radically redesign the health-care system. Through innovative partnerships, the FLA OHT is changing how care is coordinated across health, social, and wellness services in our communities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen how working together has proven to be essential in ensuring the health of our workforces and making sure people get the care they need. Harnessing the power of partnership will expand our capacity, responsiveness, and ability to create a value-based system of health care and wellness, where value is defined as having accountability for achieving the best possible, evidence-based health-care quality, experiences and outcomes for everyone, everywhere in our communities.
By strengthening care in communities, building a foundation in primary care, relieving pressure on hospitals, and empowering people to better manage their own health and wellness, the FLA OHT is uniting partners with a common purpose to overcome challenges and seize opportunities to create stronger, more connected support systems and healthier communities.
Moving from vision to reality
Great ideas need an action plan. The following strategic plan was informed by engagement activities that took place throughout 2022 and involved FLA OHT partners and the general public including the Francophone and Indigenous communities. Over 1,000 people were engaged in various ways, including a survey, in-person and online discussion groups and sharing personal stories. Based on everything our community said was important about their health care, we created a draft plan and validated with community members and partners that we were on the right track.
Input received through the strategic planning process has enabled the FLA OHT to set priorities and actions to address the health and wellness needs of our communities over the next five years. We thank everyone for their contributions to this plan and ongoing commitment to Achieving our best health, together.
Dr. Kim Morrison, FLA OHT Executive Director