Message from CEO

Thank you for visiting the web site of West Parry Sound Health Centre (WPSHC). I hope that you are finding it informative and easy to navigate. This is an important way for us to communicate with our community and we are always interested in your feedback. Please make use of the Contact Us button on the front page of the web site if you have questions, suggestions, or information you would like to share with us.

We are currently going through a period of unprecedented change for Ontarios hospitals. Thankfully, at WPSHC we have been well positioned to meet our new responsibilities. Many years ago WPSHC made a commitment to the community that Accountability is one of the organizations fundamental values. Openness and transparency are important to our delivery of safe quality care and this has enabled us to embrace the recent legislative requirements that are greatly increasing our accountability to the community we are privileged to serve.

Though not the only legislation having an impact, most notable has been the Excellent Care for All Act (ECFAA). A leading requirement under Bill 46 (ECFAA) is the responsibility to create and share a Quality Improvement Plan (QIP). As required, our QIP has been distributed to the North East Local Health Integration Network, the Ontario Health Quality Council, and it has been posted on this website. Our QIP has also been shared directly with staff and physicians. This plan is part of a tiered and integrated network of planning documents and accountability structures that have been created through the work of Staff and Trustees. This begins with our five-year Strategic Plan and two-year Operational Plan. These documents reference all of the elements found in our QIP which is also a framework for our Patient Safety Clinical Action Plan. All of these plans include performance measurements, accountabilities, and regular reporting through governance structures and to the public.

As we are accountable to the public through our reporting of public-sector wages, known most commonly as the sunshine list, it is important to note that our QIP explains how our executive wages will be linked to quality and safety indicators as required by ECFAA. Also under this legislation we have publicly posted our Patient Rights and Responsibilities, and we are working together with the OHA to become compliant by years end with provincial standards related to Freedom of Information.

Concurrent to ECFAA, we are working to meet requirements of the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act (BPSAA, Bill 122). This legislation increases our accountability in areas of procurement and expenses. As required, our expense policy is now publicly posted on this web site and we are preparing for November 30, 2011 when we will also publicly post the expenses of Trustees and members of the Senior Leadership Team.

Recent information now available to the public is in addition to a large volume of clinical reporting that was already being shared: infection control indicators, wait time statistics, and the compilation of data easily accessible at www.myhospitalcare.ca.

Other issues of note that I would like share with you include: physician retention and recruitment, alternate level of care (ALC) patients, and our ongoing engagement with the community.

All citizens in West Parry Sound should be concerned about the long-term stability of local health care services given the aging profile of the areas current roster of dedicated and long-serving Family Physicians. The community is extremely well-served by a group of doctors who are relatively similar in age and who will be slowing down their professional practice over the next five years. Family Physicians work in their own clinics and also provide care to the community in the health centres emergency department, operating room, in-patient units, nursing stations, in long-term care, and they support medical education and training.

Municipal leaders have been asked to consider financial support for a community-based physician retention and recruitment program that will effectively meet this challenge and protect the excellent level of care that has been established in our community.

At WPSHC it is a frequent occurrence that over half of our beds are occupied by alternate level of care (ALC) patients. These are patients who do not require the services of an acute care hospital and perhaps do not require placement in long term care. They could be discharged to either supportive housing or back into their own home with enhanced community supports. In order to find appropriate solutions, we are working with our Local Health Integration Network (NE LHIN), the Community Care Access Centre, long tern care providers, other support agencies such as The Friends, and the District Social Services Administration Board.

West Parry Sounds proportion age-65+ is over 22 percent, one of the highest populations of elderly in the province. In relation to other large hospitals in the NE LHIN, WPSHC consistently has the highest proportion of beds occupied by patients designated ALC. We will continue working with community partners to ensure the appropriate level of care is available in the correct setting when it is needed.

Thank you once again for visiting our web site and thank you for reading this material. At WPSHC we follow a Community Engagement policy that recognizes our need for open interaction with community members and stakeholders. This policy recognizes our responsibility to be both receptive and participatory.

Tell Us What's on Your Mind.
Should you have thoughts, questions or concerns on these topics or anything else concerning our role and /or your experiences with the Health Centre, I would appreciate hearing from you.
Please contact me at (705) 746-9321 ext. 4136 or via e-mail at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Here's to your health!

Donald Sanderson,
Chief Executive Officer.