Public Forum Hub of Health Excellence

Public Forum
Hub of Health Excellence
November 8, 2011
Good afternoon. Bonjour.
I want to thank everyone for joining us here today where we are discussing the future of the health care system in the North.
Permettez‐moi de remercier tous ceux et celles qui se sont joints à nous aujourd’hui, pour nous entendre discuter de l’avenir du système de santé dans le Nord de l’Ontario.
I am struck by the timing of this forum. It was exactly one week ago today that we announced a new name and vision for our institution – Health Sciences North/Horizon Santé‐Nord.
This decision has been met with some criticism in our community. Many people question the need for a new name and the expense.
It may surprise some of you today when you hear me say that I agree with this criticism. A hospital should not spend money simply to change their name or logo.
However, Health Sciences North is not just a new name or logo. Nor is it a branding or marketing exercise.
Horizon Santé‐Nord n’est pas qu’un nom ou un logo. Ce n’est pas non plus un exercice de marketing. C’est beaucoup plus que cela.
Health Sciences North/Horizon Santé-Nord
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An entirely new concept for health care
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Redefining how health care is being delivered to better
meet needs of our community
New approach to delivering high quality patient care,
research, teaching and learning
to our region and beyond
Health Sciences North/Horizon Santé‐Nord is an entirely new concept for health care.
We have undertaken a vigorous examination of who we are, what we do, and where we need to go in the future.
We are redefining how health care is being delivered in Greater Sudbury to better meet the needs of our community.
Health Sciences North/Horizon Santé-Nord
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Most extensive engagement ever undertaken
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Reached out and received input from 1,600 individuals
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Employees
Physicians
Health care partners
Community partners
Education sector
Business sector
Public
Input will serve other important planning initiatives
It is important for you to know that the redefining initiative was the most extensive consultation and engagement exercise ever undertaken by our institution.
We reached out and received input from 1,600 individuals – both within and outside our institution. By all standards, this is a large survey. We had staff sessions, interested physician sessions, townhall sessions, one‐
on‐one meetings, interviews and walkabouts. We created on‐line surveys, questionnaires and polls.
It is also important to understand that the input from this consultation will not only serve our redefining exercise. This feedback will be used to inform our strategic plan and other service planning initiatives underway.
Our foundations and volunteer association will also benefit from these consultations. Our fundraising partners secure valuable donations for vital health care services in our community. The feedback will help them identify their fundraising priorities so they can help address those matters most important to the people we serve. Nos Fondations et notre Association de bénévoles – que je veux féliciter et remercier – sont avec nous et bénéficierons énormément de ces consultations. Ces partenaires collectent des dons d’une valeur inestimable pour la prestation de soins de santé dans notre collectivité.
Health Sciences North/Horizon Santé-Nord
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Public want access and quality health care
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Health care system issues:
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Wait times
Emergency Department overcrowding
Physician Shortages
Orphan patients
Alternate Level of Care patients
What we have been doing is not working.
Change is needed.
And what did people say was most important to them? People want access to health care services. And they want those services to be of quality.
This community has had many significant issues with their health care system. There are long waits for surgical procedures and diagnostic tests. There is overcrowding in the Emergency Department. There are physician shortages, especially in primary care, leaving many people without a family doctor. Sudbury is not different from other regions in Ontario, including the GTA.
There are also large gaps in the community system, resulting in post acute care – or ALC – patients having to wait in hospital for placement out in the community. Clearly, what we have been doing is not working. Change is required in our health care system. And change will occur. Health Sciences North/Horizon Santé-Nord
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An academic health sciences network
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New concept for our community
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Institution devoted to health
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Health research
Health learning
Health promotion
Prevention
Application of good health practices
All for betterment of patient care
That is the impetus behind Health Sciences North/Horizon Santé‐Nord.
Il est évident que ce que nous avons fait ne fonctionne pas. Notre système de santé – du moins dans le Nord –
doit changer et c’est le moteur qui soutient le concept de Health Sciences North/Horizon Santé‐Nord. Health Sciences North is an academic health sciences network and it is an entirely new concept for our community. You will note that the word “hospital” does not appear in our new vision. That is because we are an institution devoted to health, not sickness. We are not merely a place that treats illness or disease. We are an institution devoted to health care research, teaching, prevention, promotion and application of good health practices, of which treating illness and disease is one aspect.
In fact, it is our goal to keep people out of hospital for as long as possible and return them home as soon as clinically possible.
Notre cible, c’est de garder les gens hors de l’hôpital aussi longtemps que possible et de les retourner à la maison aussitôt que cliniquement faisable – Ce n’est pas de ne pas les admettre si besoin est.
There are many ways we plan to reach this goal.
Health Sciences North/Horizon Santé-Nord
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Poor northern health status / High rates of:
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Diabetes
Obesity
Smoking
- Heart disease
- Cancer
- Self-harm and suicide
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Goal: help people manage their conditions and live
better quality of life
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Action: Outpatient care a priority – caring for people in
hospital and after discharge
Outpatient Centres created for chronic disease
management and mental health
First, we looked at the health status of northern Ontario which many of you know is not good. We have high rates of diabetes, obesity, smoking and heart disease. Some of our cancer rates are the highest in Ontario. We also have high rates of self harm, and the suicide rate of teenagers amongst our First Nations is alarming.
We knew that if we could help people manage their conditions they could enjoy a greater quality of life and live more independently.
We also knew that if they could get their disease under control, they would not have to come to the Emergency Department or be admitted to hospital. We also wanted to avoid life‐altering outcomes such as amputation and blindness.
We established outpatient care as a priority. We wanted to treat people beyond their acute care episode in hospital. We wanted to treat them after they were discharged.
We transformed the former Memorial Hospital into an outpatient centre. The new Sudbury Outpatient Centre is filled with clinics and services where people with chronic conditions come for care. They receive nutritional counselling, evaluations, foot and eye care, regular testing and screening. We also consolidated our outpatient mental health and addictions services and located this new centre in the downtown core where it is accessible to our clients. We still have work to do in children’s mental health problems.
Health Sciences North/Horizon Santé-Nord
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Use research to help transform health care in the north
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Establish health sciences research institute
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Conduct research on health care issues of the north
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Attract new funding, investments and job creation
Bring benefits of advanced research to our patients
Another approach we are taking in our transformation of the health care system is in the area of research. The impact research has had on modern medicine cannot be overstated. We have eradicated some diseases thanks to vaccines. We have also taken life‐
threatening diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis and made them conditions you treat throughout ones life thanks to new drug therapies.
Évidemment, vous pouvez être convaincu que je dirai que tout cela passe par la recherche. L’influence que la recherche a exercé sur la médecine moderne doit être soulignée avec trois traits. Les vaccins ont mené à l’éradication de plusieurs maladies. De nouveaux médicaments ont transformé certaines maladies comme la tuberculose et le SIDA de maladies mortelles en maladies chroniques. Nous nous devons de cibler les pathologies qui sont les plus prévalentes dans le Nord – le diabète, le cancer, les maladies cardiaques et j’en passe. N’oublions pas de souligner le bénéfice économique de la recherche pour notre collectivité et notre ville.
Our first step in creating a robust research program was in the successful recruitment of Dr. Diaz‐Mitoma as Vice President of Research. Dr. Diaz‐Mitoma, in collaboration with our health care and educational partners, will be establishing a research institute. Initially, the research institute will focus on establishing a solid platform that will then permit the study of the most significant health care issues in the north ‐‐ diabetes, cancer and heart disease. Our aim is to conduct advanced, ground‐breaking research that will improve the lives of northerners living with these conditions.
Governments, research‐granting organizations and drug companies are more inclined to conduct and fund research projects at an academic health sciences centre that is affiliated with a medical school and university. Indeed, to quote Paul Levesque, CEO of
Pfizer‐Canada in yesterday’s Globe & Mail: “The best research is often done at home.” They know the infrastructure, expertise and credibility exists to conduct advanced research. These opportunities are not available to community and regional hospitals.
In addition to the benefits our patients will receive from our clinical trials, new drug therapies and innovative techniques and
technologies, research is also a powerful economic engine, attracting millions of dollars in local investments and job creation.
Health Sciences North/Horizon Santé-Nord
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Learning another vital component to transforming health
care in northern Ontario
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Working in collaboration with educational partners
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Sharing knowledge, infrastructure, students and
teachers
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Provide learners with hands-on medical, clinical and
research opportunities not found in community hospitals
Learning is another vital component to our health care transformation and our evolution towards becoming an academic health sciences centre.
Health Sciences North is working in close collaboration with our educational partners ‐ the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Laurentian University, College Boréal and Cambrian College.
We are sharing knowledge, infrastructure, students and teachers.
Students at these post secondary institutions complete their education by spending time with us. We provide these learners with hands‐on medical, clinical and research opportunities that they would not receive at a smaller regional hospital. Many of their teachers also have clinical practices here. They are treating patients, doing research, and teaching staff all at the same time. This greatly enriches patient care, as well as professional skills and development, which is then passed on to the students. It’s a circle.
I want to add that our host today, Science North, is also an important component to the educational mandate of our academic health sciences centre. Public education on health promotion and prevention will become increasingly important. We look forward to the development of programs, exhibits, tutorials and interactive learning with Science North.
Que dire de l’enseignement – Vous voyez ici quelques‐uns de nos partenaires les plus importants – L’Université
Laurentienne, l’École de Médecine du Nord de l’Ontario, Science Nord et il y en a d’autres.
Je veux souligner l’apport que Science Nord fait et fera au mandat educationnel de notre centre académique. L’éducation du public en promotion de la santé et en prévention devient de plus en plus important et essentiel. En collaboration avec Science Nord, nous développerons des programmes, des expositions, des séminaires et des cours interactifs. Health Sciences North/Horizon Santé-Nord
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Academic health science centre offers new medicines,
procedures, techniques and technology
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Attracts physicians, nurses, researchers, other allied
health professionals
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Recruited 45 new physicians since 2010
New physicians say increased emphasis
on academic health sciences
deciding factor to practice in Sudbury
Because an academic health sciences network has the physical infrastructure and a broader range of expertise to draw upon, it becomes a more suitable testing ground for new medicines, new surgical procedures, new models of delivering health care and new initiatives for good health promotion.
All of this helps to attract more medical professionals to our city.
Physicians, nurses, researchers and clinicians are more likely to choose a place where they have access to a health sciences centre, medical school, university and college.
Last year we recruited 22 new physicians to Sudbury. This was a significant increase from past years where the numbers ranged from 10 to 12 new physicians annually. This year, we have recruited 23 new physicians. I have met the new doctors and they have told me that our increased emphasis on the academic health sciences, such as research and teaching, was a deciding factor in their decision to practice here.
In fact, many of the new physicians are already involved in teaching medical students and residents.
Health Sciences North/Horizon Santé-Nord
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Academic health sciences network attracts new funding
and investments
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Learners Space capital project and funding approved
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Simulation Lab
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Medical Equipment
Just recently, the provincial government approved our capital expansion plans for a Learners Space, which will see 20 thousand square feet of space devoted to learners. This new space will feature a simulation lab where learners and our existing staff can enhance their skills by learning new techniques and technologies.
Another benefit of an academic health sciences centre is you can make a stronger argument for new funding and equipment than you could as a regional hospital. For example, an academic health sciences centre may have surgeons with special areas of expertise who need equipment to perform procedures for patients within their region. A strong research team with a proven track record can make a strong argument that new lab space or equipment is needed to conduct ground‐breaking, life‐saving research.
Health Sciences Hub of Excellence
Top Two Questions……
Institutions that make up the Health Sciences Corridor
Sudbury Mental Health & • Integral to the HSN conceptAddictions Centre is the Sudbury Health Sciences
Cedar Street
Corridor
– Acute care facility as the hub with physical and organizational
Sudbury Mental connection with our facilities and partners:
Health & Addictions – Northern Ontario School of Medicine
Centre Kirkwood
Sudbury Outpatient – Centre
Laurentian University
– Complex Continuing Care
Centre
Science North
– Kirkwood Place - Mental Health Facility
Laurentian St. Joseph’s Villa/ University
– Research Institute
Health Sciences North
Continuing Care Centre
Sudbury & District Public Health Unit
Northern Ontario School of Medicine
These are some of the reasons why Health Sciences North is good for patients and good for our community. This is also why the monies that were spent on the redefining exercise should be viewed as an investment in front‐line patient care – not a cost.
There is an interesting parallel to be drawn from Science North’s experience. Science North may have begun as just a tourist attraction, but over time it has evolved to become a leader in science education, recognized internationally for its innovative approach to promoting science. I believe, with the community of partners before you today, we can transform our health care system to create a hub of excellence in the areas of patient care, research and learning.
Notice I said a community. This evolution is not something that can be accomplished by one institution alone.
Je crois sincèrement qu’avec la collaboration de cette collectivité de partenaires, nous pouvons – nous devons – transformer notre système de santé – nous devons créer un carrefour d’excellence en soins de santé, en recherche et en enseignement. Noter que j’utilise l’expression collectivité. Cette évolution ne peut pas se faire sans l’apport de tous.
It is a community‐wide mindset we need to embrace. We can make the City of Greater Sudbury a place where the future of health care is practised today.
Thank you.