Central LHIN Equity Initiatives in 2010-2013 IHSP

Creating Caring Communities, Healthier People…Together

• Go to Central LHIN website
• Download Central LHIN 2010-2013 IHSP
• See a snapshot from Central LHIN’s previous IHSP

The Central LHIN will strive to reduce health disparities as a shared responsibility with its health service providers by integrating health equity into strategies and activities within its mandate and influence. – Central LHIN statement of commitment for reducing health disparities

The IHSP has 4 priorities:

1. Emergency department wait times and the time that people spend in hospital beds waiting for alternative levels of care (ALC)
2. Chronic disease management and prevention
3. Mental health and addictions
4. Health Equity

One of the LHIN’s priority goals is “reducing health disparities and ensuring equitable access to care in our LHIN by identifying populations that would benefit from focused initiatives” (p.8)

There are 2 planning areas within the LHIN (South Simcoe/Northern York Region and North York West) which have higher numbers of residents with serious chronic diseases and obstacles to accessing primary care.

Central LHIN Priorities

1. More equitable access to health care in all Central LHIN communities
2. Increased outreach and community engagement to target population

LHIN Priority: Health Equity

• “Central LHIN’s health equity priority aims to reduce avoidable health disparities within targeted population groups in the South Simcoe/ Northern York Region and North York West planning areas” (p.18)
• Both are high risk populations because of higher than average incidence of serious health conditions such as hypertension, heart disease and diabetes, and inadequate access to primary care
• In SS/NYR, there is also a high rate of ER use because of the shortage of family physicians, walk-in clinics and community services to treat non-urgent cases
• Efforts to improve health equity must consider language and culture, socioeconomic conditions, family structure, education and other social factors

Goals

• Target investments in health care services in identified geographic areas to address health service inequities
• Improve access to diabetes care and primary care in these areas
• Identify and support an Aboriginal engagement strategy
• Support a French language services engagement strategy
• Monitor the health status indicators in the identified geographic areas (SS/NYR and NYW)

Actions

• Engage target populations to identify health priorities and plan services
• Improve primary care access in planning areas
• Strengthen community service capacity to reduce reliance on the acute care sector and to promote prevention
• Evaluate cross-sector service models for implementation
• Incorporate uniqueness of rural/urban health care settings into planning
• Direct increased efforts and investments to at-risk populations
• Use outcomes to evaluate the degree of change attributed to interventions
• Develop forums to share promising practices

2-year Objectives

• Explore opportunities for additional funding
• Improve access to diabetes care through primary care
• Prioritize areas for new programs/services especially community-based ones with a focus on prevention
• Engage Family Health Teams and other primary care providers in the identified geographic areas
• Foster joint planning through improving linkages with other government ministries
• Engage primary care, public health and other stakeholders regarding population health status and explore opportunities to share best practices and promote knowledge transfer

3-year Objective

• Increase availability of programs and services to meet the needs of the population with approved resources