The Chatham-Kent Ontario Health Team is planning for the future.
The agency, which is made up of 15 local health care organizations, unveiled its 2021-24 strategic plan this week.
Melissa Sharpe-Harrigan, Executive Transformation Lead, says over 1700 residents provided input over the last few months to help shape the OHT’s plan.
“When asked what the number one priority was for members of our community in Chatham-Kent, having access to a primary care physician or nurse practitioner was something that came out very loud and clear for us as a priority,” Sharpe-Harrigan says. “So, thinking about strategies for physician recruitment and access to primary care were also something that we saw loud and clear and wanted to include in our strategic plan.”
The organization has outlined five primary goals: population health, health equity, CK-OHT maturity, community, and performance.
“We have worked very hard to create a strategic plan that has been guided by patients and healthcare providers and look forward to leveraging our strong relationships within our Chatham-Kent Ontario Health Team to achieve our goals over the next three years,” Dr. Briana Yee-Providence, Physician Co-Chair, CKOHT says. “Transforming care at the local level we will focus on navigation of the healthcare system with improved access to care that is patient focused and strives for equality.”
Sheila Satchell, Patient and Family Advisor Co-Chair says from a patient perspective, it means a more streamlined process when accessing health care.
“When we transform our health care system, we have to look at it strategically to make sure we have all things in place,” Satchell says. “But from a patient or family perspective, we’re hoping we can navigate through the system much easier and have one point of access so that our story will follow us and we don’t have to repeat our story over and over.”
The organization was formed in late 2019 and like everyone in health care has been focused on the pandemic for the last year and a half. Officials say the inaugural strategic plan will help guide health care in Chatham-Kent into the future.