North East LHN Group Report

The disproportionate, poor health outcomes experienced by First Nations Canadians have been attributed to an uncoordinated and fragmented health care system. This system is rooted in colonial legislation and social policies that have created jurisdictional ambiguity and long-standing confusion among federal, provincial and First Nations governments as to who is responsible for First Nations health care (Kelly, 2011; Lavoie, 2013). The responsibility of healthcare resembles a “political football and while it is being passed back and forth, the health status of First Nations people remains the lowest of any segment of the population (Cook, 2011, p. 40). Despite attempts over the last 40 years to address this pressing social issue, the absence

telecommunications infrastructure and access to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in First Nations and Inuit communities significantly limits opportunities to link federal health facilities to health programs and services delivered through provincial and territorial telehealth networks (Health Canada, 2004).

Health care expenditure accounted for an estimated 11% (214.9 billion) of Canada’s GDP in 2014 (CIHI, 2014). Canada boasts a universal, cost-effective and fair health care system to its citizens (Picard, 2010). However, despite great claims and large expenses incurred Canada’s health care system has been reported inefficient in it’s delivery to the population (Davis, Schoen, & Stremikis, 2010; Picard, 2010). As inconsistencies exist in health care delivery across the country, choosing priorities for the health of the Canadian people becomes of vital importance. In Ontario, progress toward a better health care system has been stated to be moving forward by putting the needs of the “patient’s first” (Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care [MOHLTC], 2015). This policy brief will give a background of health care issues in Canada related to Ontario. Three evidence-based priorities will be suggested for Ontario’s health policy agenda for the next three to five years. Furthermore, through a critical analysis of these issues a recommendation of the top priority issue for the agenda will be presented.

Transportation is one of critical social determinants of health and the availability of convenient transportation impacts individuals’ ability to access quality healthcare (Canadian Institutes of Health Research, 2011). One of the major challenges that rural Canadians face is the lack or limited of public transportation which results in delaying access to health-care services (Canadian Institutes of Health Research, 2011). Canadians who reside in rural communities or small towns generally have to travel long distance to get the health care they need. Transportation is a significant issue for access to health care services, particularly in rural areas where travel distances are required and access to substitute means such as public transit or taxi services is limited or lack (Rural Assistance Center, 2015). Transportation services play an essential role in assisting residents in rural communities, particularly those who are vulnerable and most in need of this assistance to maintain their health and well-being.

In order to sustain the health care system, the Canadian government needs to strategically plan for the years ahead and invest more in preventative care rather than curative care. Canada should enforce non-medical health policies which are not only going to promise healthy living for

This paper will discuss the Canadian healthcare system compared to the United States healthcare system. Although they’re close in proximity, these two nations have very different health care systems. Each healthcare system has its own difficulties, and is currently trying to find ways to improve. Canada currently uses the Universal Health Care system; which provides healthcare coverage to all Canadian citizens (Canadian Health Care, 2007). The services are executed on both a territorial and provincial basis, by staying within the guidelines that have been enforced by the federal government (Canadian Health Care, 2007).

When asked to describe what makes Canada unique compared to other countries, many outsiders might yell out “Hockey!” “Cold Weather!” or “Free Health Care!.” Health care is definitely one of Canada’s most noticeable trademarks when compared to the United States, but the reality is that our health care services are not what they are made out to be. Canadians tend to take pride in the fact that they have a Government funded health care system, but the system is failing at a rapid pace. One can gage the quality of health care in our country while at the emergency ward in any hospital, where most Canadians realize its downsides. The Government spends most of its budget towards health care but Canadians are not feeling an improvement. Waiting

Canada 's healthcare system is praised globally for its universal and free healthcare. It started to take shape after World War II in 1945. Health insurance was introduced and was attempted, but was not successful even though there was an increase in the spending of health related services and goods. Fast forward a few years to 1961 where Tommy Douglas, the premier of Saskatchewan, developed the idea for an all-inclusive insurance plan. He later inspired the Medical Care Act in Canada in 1967, when he pointed out health care is a right for all Canadians. From this one thought, Canada has become of the many countries with a universal health care system. Ever since Tommy Douglas sparked the idea for health care coverage, Canada is praised for the way it carries out its system because of several key features. This system is publically funded, is universal and is accessible to everyone across the nation. Because this is a public system, funding comes from the tax payers and some federal funding, so there is no extra cost for the patients. Also, being a universal system it has offered care to all Canadians, immigrants and visitors. Unlike the U.S who does not provide healthcare to its entire population because it is a private system; access depends on how much someone could afford, and how

This paper will focus on the Central West LHIN because the LHIN provides services according to the regions in Ontario. The Central West LHIN’s mandate is to “plan, integrate, fund and monitor the local health care system for the regions of Brampton, Caledon, Dufferin, Malton, North Etobicoke and Woodbridge with over 840,000 local residence” (Together, making …, 2014, para. 1). The Central West region is a very diverse community with people from different cultural background.

Centura Health had the opportunity for a workshop presentation by Dominique Morgan-Solomon, a population health expert. Dominique Morgan-Solomon, MPH, works as a consultant in health care delivery, device management, and for health care organizations on population health strategies and program implementation. Prior to consulting, Dominique was the Chief Operating Officer of Steward Medical Group and Vice President of Population Health for Steward Health Care from February 2012 until October of 2015. She was responsible for the strategic planning and execution of its quality performance, clinical integration care management, and population health programs. Last year she was awarded “Young Healthcare Executive of the Year” for her leadership in this promising field by the National Association of Health Service Executives (NAHSE). She has exceeded in her career after receiving a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University in Biology and Political Science and a Master of Public Health in Health Policy from the University of Michigan.

     In the past, Canada’s government-funded, universally accessible, health care system has been praised and admired both at home and abroad as one of the finest in the world. A great source of pride and comfort for many Canadians is that it is based on five fundamental principles. Principles that are a reflection of the values held by Canadian citizens since the formation of Medicare in 1966. These principles were reinforced in the Canada Health Act, (CHA), of 1984 and state that the Canadian system is universal, accessible, portable, comprehensive and non-profit.

There is increasing awareness that number of population are undeserved by the health system in Canada because sometime

Access to the communities is provided year round by Wasaya Airline and airstrips that are maintained by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. Of course, each Aboriginal community is unique with its own set of traditions and ways of healing but my observation after working within the communities for over ten years is that they all suffer from improperished conditions and substandard housing. The local economies are primarily based upon government services (Indian and Northern Affairs) (INAC) and small business. Most of the reserves have six hundred people or less, and each community has a nursing station. The nursing stations are well-maintained functional buildings built in or about the early 1960’s and are maintained by Health Canada. First Nations and Inuit Health (FNIH) maintains responsibility for primary care services in the majority of the northwest Ontario reserve communities. In the north, nurses are the primary care givers working in an extended scope of practice, and client care is centrally coordinated by nurses working within interdisciplinary teams. The majority of the nursing and medical staff working for FNIH in the Sioux Lookout zone are Caucasian and do not come from local communities. This could outwardly appear as a reinforcement of power relations in the racial identities. There is only very limited cultural training given to employees when they are employed by FNIH. Medical advice and

At some point in time, we all must have had a chance of sitting in a waiting room of a hospital. I had a chance to visit the doctor last week and it was horrible, I had to wait to meet the doctor for around 4 hours While I was dying of pain. That made me to curse the whole hospital system in Canada and that 's the main reason that lead me to prepare this essay . British Columbia health care system with emphasis on " Providing " patient-centred care". which is defined as "Shifting the culture of health care from being disease-centred and provider-focused to being patient centered". This represents a great polished political language which they use to make people feel content and confident by confusing without them knowing that they are being confused.

In the Harvard Business School case study of Intermountain Health Care (IHC), we learned about the efforts made by IHC to adopt a new strategy for managing health care delivery that is focused on improving care quality while simultaneously saving money. Beginning in 1986 as a series of experiments tying cost outcomes to traditional clinical trials, IHC’s approach to delivering care became known as “Clinical Integration” which “referred to both an organizational structure and a set of tools” (Bohmer, 2002). The organizational structure required a departure from the traditional administrative management model to one that “involved administrative and medical