Wellesley Institute

Wellesley Institute works in research and policy to improve health and health equity in the GTA through action on the social determinants of health.

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Wellesley Institute

South West LHIN Equity Initiatives in 2010-2013 IHSP

A Healthier Tomorrow

The South West LHIN is focused on equitable access to services. One of the key challenges faced by providers is the inequitable distribution of health services across the LHIN that pose access challenges for residents, particularly those in rural communities.

The Framework will be applied to SW LHIN’s System Level Goals:  (1) healthier SW LHIN Community; (2) equitable access to services; (3)  quality of care/services; (4) integration of health care delivery; and (5) sustainability of SW local health system

Equitable Access to Services

  • A system level goal that strives to achieve equitable access to services takes into consideration future service needs and the service delivery structures needed to meet those needs
  • The IHSP Blueprint provides substantial detail on the enhancements and modifications needed to obtain equitable access to services across the LHIN
  • Strategies include:
    • a common system navigation framework for service coordination
    • case management and self-management
    • the creation of local integrated health service collaboratives unique to each community
    • standardized tools
    • health human resources strategies
    • information and clinical technology
  • The integrated service delivery approach emphasizes LHIN-wide management of resource capacity to allow people to flow through the system equitably — this approach ensures equitable access by delivering a network of visiting specialists or physicians at the multi-community or LHIN level based on demand and critical mass

System Level Goals

  • Equitable access to services, improved quality and healthier communities
  • Focus on the following populations:
    1. Seniors and adults with complex needs
    2. People living with mental health and addictions challenges
    3. People living with or at-risk for chronic diseases
  • The LHIN seeks to increase supportive housing for people with problematic substance use and concurrent disorders; it also seeks to improve access to community mental health and developmental services for persons with dual diagnosis
  • The LHIN will implement chronic disease prevention and management strategies with an initial focus on the Ontario Diabetes Strategy and extend it to other chronic illnesses where relevant

Acknowledgement of Traditional Land

We wish to acknowledge this land on which the Wellesley Institute operates. For thousands of years, it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.

Revised by the Ceremonial Committee at the University of Toronto Office of Indigenous Initiatives in April 2021.