South East LHIN

The Community Care Information Management (CCIM) program’s HRIS project team at the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has launched a new HRIS Quadrant Software Webinar for Community Mental Health and Addictions (CMH&A) and Community Support Services (CSS) organizations across the province.

The webinar reviews how to:

• implement the Quadrant (HR, Payroll, Scheduling and Self Service) software

• streamline back-office processes

• meet Ontario Healthcare Reporting Standards requirements

OMHAKEN is the Ontario Mental Health and Addictions Knowledge Exchange Network, a knowledge exchange network initially established to support the research of the System Enhancement Evaluation Initiative (SEEI).

OMHAKEN works to improve the quality of mental health and addictions services, supports, research and policy by linking and engaging providers, planners, researchers, decision-makers, policy-makers, consumers and families in knowledge creation and exchange across all levels of government and the health care system.

The South East LHIN has recently released its second Integrated Health Services Plan (IHSP2). It builds upon the progress made to improve local health care since the first IHSP was approved in October 2006.

The Primary Health Care Council of South East Ontario will be holding its 2nd Primary Health Care Forum on January 25, 2010, with the theme of: "Laying the Foundation: Strengthening Primary Health Care Across the Region."

The event has three objectives:

• To identify ways to better integrate health services in order to strengthen primary health care across SE Ontario

• To learn about best practice regarding collaboration between primary health care
  providers through utilization of information technology (eHealth)

The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care recently released the LHIN Guide to Good Governance as a resource to provide guidance based on leading practices to LHIN Board members and other stakeholders.

The Guide reviews five topic areas:

• Leading practices in board governance
• Board member roles and responsibilities
• Board scenarios
• Board evaluations
• Checklists and policy documents

The Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) is renewing its landmark agreement with Queen's University and leading health care provider Providence Care, which specializes in mental health. The agreement expands the MNO's mental health resources, training and resource capacity across the province through a partnership with Kingston-based Providence Care and the Centre for Health Services and Research Policy at Queen's.

"The health and well-being of our citizens is a priority," said MNO President Gary Lipinski. "By working with Providence Care and Queen's we are able to bring valuable and much-needed resources into our communities. As well we are able to build capacity at the community level by training our own health care providers according to the most current standards." Under the agreement, Providence Care will provide training and certification for all MNO health care workers, including annual certification in Applied Suicide Intervention Skills and Non Violent Crisis Intervention training. The MNO will also receive additional access to clinical training and mental health expertise via videoconferencing. This agreement builds on the initial two-year agreement between the MNO, Queen's and Providence Care which was signed in 2007

South East LHIN has released a draft of its Integrated Health Services Plan (IHSP) for 2010/2011-2012/13, for public feedback.

Entitled “Reaching for Excellence”, the IHSP has identified ten priorities across four planning areas (primary health care, mental health and addictions, supportive care and specialized and emergency care). The ten priority areas are:

A. Developing a system of primary health care
B. Enhancing a culture of patient centred care
C. Improving mental health and addictions services capacity
D. Developing regional program management
E. Improving access to emergency rooms
F. Reducing the incidence of Alternate Level of Care (ALC)
G. Implementing the Ontario Diabetes Strategy
H. Furthering access through e-Health
I. Expanding cultural and linguistic health-care services
J. Advancing system improvement through boards working together

The South East Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) is pleased to announce $205,300 in funding to help support 16 supportive housing units to be located across the region to help people living with addictions increase stability and security in their lives and reduce pressure on hospital emergency rooms.

Brockville Mental Health Centre's 64 bed Transitional Services is closing and Elmgrove Acute Care Services are being transferred to Brockville General Hospital. The Forensic Treatment Unit and the St. Lawrence Valley Correctional Facility Secure Treatment Unit remain active.

As of July 6, 2009, no new patients will be admitted into the Transitional Services program. Over the next two years, the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group is committing to:

An innovative project between the South East LHIN, eHealth Ontario, Kingston General Hospital (KGH), Hotel Dieu Hospital (HDH) and the Maple Family Health Team is resulting in more sustainable and higher quality, safer care for patients while also reducing workload for healthcare providers and drastically reducing the amount of paper used.

The hospital to family health team integration initiative is one of three significant eHealth milestones being celebrated in the South East today, as the entire region edges closer to an electronic health record. A similar project is also underway between Quinte Health Care and the Prince Edward Family Health Team. The third project involves a Lean-based Kaizen project to improve workflow processes between family health teams in the Brockville area and their acute care hospital.