We spent an afternoon at St. Lawrence College's Innovation Centre, learning about how we can better work with our education partners in order to to continue training the healthcare providers of tomorrow.
Credit
Matthew Manor
Since September of 2017, teams at KHSC have been working to develop the strategic plan that will guide the day-to-day decision making and future plans of Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) over the next five years. Now, as part of a newest round of engagement, hospital leaders are turning to partners and community members to provide input on the strategic directions that will shape the future of KHSC.
“It’s very exciting that we have reached this stage together as a newly integrated health sciences centre,” says KHSC’s President and CEO Dr. David Pichora. “Our strategy will help provide us with organizational focus. We have an important role in the region to support the local hospitals and their patients who need very complex or specialized services and we want to ensure that we are a trusted partner in this work. We also believe that we have an opportunity to position ourselves as being a system leader in building a healthy community, and to optimize our academic role.”
During a number of engagement sessions, including ongoing meetings with healthcare and social service partners, patient and family advisory councils, community groups, members of the francophone community, the Indigenous Health Council, education partners and more, people have been given the opportunity to share their thoughts on what’s most important with respect to their hospital care, what existing strengths we can build on and where we have opportunities to do new and different things to best meet the needs of patients and families across our region.
“There are many factors to consider when thinking about developing a strategy for a public healthcare institution upon which our entire region depends,” explains Dr. Pichora. “This is why it is essential for us to hear from our community and our partners about the things they’re counting on KHSC to deliver.”
Members of the general public have an opportunity to shape the future of KHSC in a survey that asks participants to comment on how we can provide better care, create better health outcomes, inspire joy at work, and do this as stewards of public dollars. These four big aims are part of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) quadruple aim, which we are following as a framework for our strategic plan.
This phase of community engagement builds on many similar conversations within the KHSC community itself. As part of the strategic planning process, KHSC also worked closely with those who work, learn and volunteer within the hospitals to develop its first set of mission, vision, and values.
“It has been incredibly valuable for us to draw on the experience our own people and hear their perspectives on how we should define KHSC, and what values should guide us in our daily work” says Dr. Pichora. “Now, we are broadening the conversation and asking for more input on where we need to focus in order to be a trusted partner in a system of care.”
Click here to take the survey and shape the future of KHSC.
Learn more about the strategic planning process here.
Gallery
While engaging with our partners in the health and social sectors, we learned about the complex needs of our patient population and came up with new and innovative ways to collaborate and serve them better.
While collaborating with our partners in the health and social sectors, Dr. Meredith Mackenzie gave a compelling overview of the healthcare challenges that many of the patients in our region are facing.
We spent an afternoon at St. Lawrence College's Innovation Centre, learning about how we can better work with our education partners in order to to continue training the healthcare providers of tomorrow.
