The Centre of Excellence for Rural Health and Education
Centre of Excellence Fact Sheet (PDF)
The WDMH Board of Directors is pleased to announce that it is moving forward with the concept of a Centre of Excellence for Rural Health and Education in Winchester. At its meeting on June 21, the Board endorsed the concept and related initiatives to realize this exciting rural health care transformation in Ontario - bringing together care, education and research.
The message from our local communities was clear - local citizens want local health care close to home and they deserve nothing less. The Board of Directors agrees, and it appears the regional and provincial planners are listening as well.
The Centre is part of the Board’s ongoing strategic plan within the context of an increasingly changing health system. “Our recent stakeholder consultation process provided three distinct messages and these have been incorporated into all of our planning,” noted John Polak, Board Chair. These messages include:
- Local communities will not consider any change to emergency department services
- Local identity is very important and concern about being ‘swallowed’ is real
- WDMH will forge its own future and not wait to be told
As a result, the Board has endorsed the Centre of Excellence for Rural Health and Education. It brings together specific health care providers, educators and researchers – and then adds other key providers that have impact on the health of our rural communities.
At the local level, the Eastern Ontario Health Unit; the Champlain Community Care Access Centre; and Job Zone d’emploi have signed on and others are pending. These local partners and the hospital are aligned. The next key step is to generate fast ‘highways’ to regional providers such as The Ottawa Hospital. Finally, partnerships with universities and colleges will allow health professional students to train in rural areas and eventually return to these rural roots.
Over the next few weeks, planning for the Centre will continue and further announcements will be made about other partners and plans.Our focus remains on providing the very best for our local communities. We recognize the unique needs of rural health care and the new Centre will bring partners together to ensure these needs are met – close to home. Thank you for you for continuing support and passion for Winchester District Memorial Hospital.John PolakChair, WDMH Board of Directors
Key elements in the plan include:
- WDMH will remain a community general hospital with a teaching mandate and 24/7 Emergency Department
- Affiliations with health and community agencies, such as the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, the Community Care Access Centre and Job Zone d’Emploi, and others who will be located in an office building on the WDMH site
- Affiliations with family doctors who are key to the interconnectivity of our health care system and teaching mandate
- Continued planning for the integration of organizational plans for care of the elderly
- Continued development of academic (teaching and research) affiliations with a particular emphasis on rural population health research
WDMH invites The Ottawa Hospital to be part of the Centre of Excellence for Rural Health and Education
As part of its ongoing strategic plan to develop a Centre of Excellence in Rural Health and Education, the Winchester District Memorial Hospital (WDMH) Board of Directors has signed a Letter of Intent with The Ottawa Hospital. The letter signifies the intent of both hospitals to continue discussions about potential projects that would support and enhance the Centre concept. This initiative is a key step in the development of the Centre of Excellence. The Centre concept will result in an inter-connected health care system for our rural population that brings together key local health care services as well as connections with the more complex hospital system and the health care education system.
“The WDMH Board has been exploring opportunities for system enhancements to address WDMH’s longer term future which includes: the acute care hospital; complex continuing care and long-term care as well as the continued development of our relationship with family doctors as well as our colleges and universities,” explained John Polak, Board Chair. “We are pleased to be moving forward with discussions with The Ottawa Hospital as many of our patients are referred here and this partner was most often noted in our recent consultation process.”
“This is a win-win relationship,” said Phil Murray, Board Chair of The Ottawa Hospital. “Our visions are aligned and we already have many shared programs such as dialysis and chemotherapy. We are excited about the opportunities to work more closely to maximize services at WDMH and establish a Centre of Excellence that will include enhanced clinical programs, professional training and research with a commitment to local communities.”
“It should be clearly understood that WDMH moves forward with these strategic initiatives under its own independent Board,” added John Polak. “Our communities felt strongly that WDMH should not ‘wait and see’ but should instead, be proactive in planning its future. We are leading the way by developing an inter-connected health care system.”
Next steps include continued discussion to further define potential projects. “A Letter of Intent outlines the general terms and “intention” of both organizations to enter into an agreement. It is not binding on either party and is only an expression of intent to continue discussions in good faith,” explained Polak. “A set of principles and system conditions to guide the two Boards, and subsequently a Steering Committee’s deliberations, have been identified.”
Alex Munter, Chief Executive Officer of the Champlain Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) supports this new direction in rural health care: “It’s easy to see why people in Winchester and surrounding communities are proud of ‘their’ local hospital – it is a modern, hi-tech building delivering community-focused quality care. But it’s a lot more than a building. It’s becoming a health hub that will bring together a full range of health and social services to not only help people when they are ill or injured but, long before that, help them stay healthy and independent.”
“Our focus remains on providing the very best for our local communities,” summed up John Polak. “We recognize the unique needs of rural health care and the new Centre will bring partners together to ensure these needs are met – close to home.”