Better Health – Better Futures for Waterloo Wellington
A TIMELINE OF HOW YOUR LOCAL HEALTH SYSTEM IMPROVED OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS 2013-16 Integrated Health Service Plan Achievements
Waterloo Wellington LHIN
2013-16: HOW YOUR HEALTH CARE IMPROVED HERE 24/7 launches: people can get help for all mental health and addictions concerns through one phone number. Since its launch in April 2014, 29,808 people in crisis have received care.
✚ 14,000 more people in Waterloo Wellington have a primary care provider (family doctor or nurse practitioner).
A new stroke program ensures that everyone who has a stroke in Waterloo Wellington gets the same high-quality care. Now more people are better recovering and living healthier after a stroke.
✚ Long-term care residents receive safer care in Waterloo Wellington. We have the lowest rate in Ontario of seniors needing to go to the emergency department as a result of a fall. A program is introduced in long-term care homes to provide people with dementia additional supports. WAIT TIMES: The wait for a non urgent CT scan drops by 78.8% or 104 days.
Since the creation of the LHINs in 2006 great achievements have been made to increase access to care for local residents. Wait times are calculated from when we started to measure.
WAIT TIMES: The wait to have cardiac bypass surgery drops by 78.8% or 115 days.
✚ Respite care that provides family caregivers a break or a brief rest is expanded to seven days a week. Health Links launches. This service helps people with very complicated health needs by providing a coordinated care plan to help them manage their care.
A service that connects people seamlessly to all of the diabetes care and education programs in Waterloo Wellington grows. Now, 10,000 more people in our community are getting diabetes support and education, faster. A program is developed to help patients access four different types of rehabilitation services. This helps them to better recover at home after they leave the hospital.
✚ 296 more long-term care beds added in Waterloo Wellington.
Connectivity Tables launch. These bring together health, police and social services to support people who are at risk, as a team. 316 people and families have been helped so far in Waterloo Wellington. ✚ Construction begins to expand Cambridge Memorial Hospital.
Mobile crisis teams expand across Waterloo Wellington. This program pairs mental health nurses with police officers to provide support and access to care on the spot in crisis situations. Three branches of the Alzheimer’s Society join services and resources. This partnership allows the Society to increase the number of patients and families they support.
✚ $12.5 million is spent to increase home and community care support services. WAIT TIMES: The wait time for residents to receive care and help at home after being in hospital drops by 66%.
2013-2014 TODAY: 978,360 hours less spent in Waterloo Wellington Emergency Departments (ED) with patient flow improvements since April 2008 (when ED wait times were first measured).
WAIT TIMES: The wait to see a geriatrician (a doctor who specializes in the care of older adults) drops by almost 75%.
2014 TODAY: 97% of people in Waterloo Wellington have a primary care provider (family doctor or nurse practitioner) compared to 64% in 2012. We have one of the highest rates in Ontario!
✚ An eHealth Centre of Excellence team is created at the Centre for Family Medicine to help local health care providers choose and use the technology tools that will best support the care of their patients.
Additional funding allows more nurse practitioners to work in the community to support seniors and others who need help. The nurse practitioners provide care, connect patients with specialists when needed, and try to keep people healthy and out of the hospital. ✚ A new health centre is announced for residents of North Wellington. The Minto Rural Health Centre opened in spring 2016 to provide people with access to different care services, all under one roof.
Waterloo Wellington implements a new tool to better identify seniors whose health may be at risk. Since it has been in use, 525 seniors have been assessed. WAIT TIMES: The wait time to have a non urgent MRI drops by 74.6% or 167 days.
2015
WAIT TIMES: The wait for a knee replacement drops by 67.3% or 334 days.
✚ Fewer patients die unexpectedly in Waterloo Wellington hospitals. Our rates are better than those across the province and country and have improved from 127.5 to 87. ✚ The Research Institute for the aging opens at the University of Waterloo in partnership with Schlegel Villages and Conestoga College. Funding is provided to build one system for health care providers to help connect their patients with the health services they need. The system will first connect primary care providers with specialists to refer, view wait times, and share information to improve care.
A computer program, Hospital Report Manager, launches in all Waterloo Wellington hospitals. This program allows hospitals to share information about a patient’s hospital care with their primary care provider, electronically. With this information, family doctors can better support their patients when they leave the hospital.
The Village at University Gates long-term care home opens with 192 beds. This increases the number of long-term care beds available in the City of Waterloo by 54%. Information and resources about end-of-life planning become available to help people discuss and plan with their doctors and care providers. Now, more people are able to plan, receive support and die in a place that they choose. WAIT TIMES: The wait for a hip replacement drops by 47.1% or 197 days.
✚ Stroke patients receive great care in Waterloo Wellington and we are recognized as having the most improved stroke program in Ontario.
Funding for supportive housing helps people in our community with mental health and addictions issues to live independently with support and care. Through this funding, 56 new beds open. ✚ More people in Waterloo Wellington are getting the care they need after a heart attack and are going home healthier. We have the lowest rate in Ontario of patients needing to return to hospital for care. ✚ 27,000 care visits happen virtually, allowing patients to receive care close to home. The Ontario Telemedicine Network uses confidential on-line video to connect people to care providers, specialists and education sessions in other cities. WAIT TIMES: The amount of time that patients wait in an emergency department for a bed and care in another area of the hospital drops by 47.9% or 13.9 hours.
2015-2016 TODAY: People in Waterloo Wellington spent 32,068 fewer days in hospital from April 2012 to June 2015 thanks to Waterloo Wellington LHIN programs that see people get the support they need to manage their health at home.
Visit wwlhin.on.ca to read the 2016-19 Integrated Health Service Plan
CELEBRATING BETTER HEALTH Our mission at the Waterloo Wellington LHIN is to lead a high-quality, integrated health system for local residents and our vision is better health and better futures for you and your family. We plan for improvements in local health services by engaging with the people who live, work and receive care here to better understand what health services matter most to you and where there might be gaps in the system. We then provide funding for programs and services that fill those gaps and meet the unique needs of our local communities. Every three years, we develop a strategic plan, the Integrated Health Service Plan (IHSP), which is the roadmap for improving the local health system. From 2013-16, our work was focused on four priority areas:
YOUR LOCAL HEALTH SYSTEM Your Waterloo Wellington Health System is made up of local community support services, home and community care, hospitals, long-term care homes, mental health and addictions services, and primary care providers. Visit wwlhin.on.ca to learn more about your local health system.
• Enhancing Access to Primary Care • Creating a More Seamless and Coordinated Health Care Experience • Leading a Quality Health Care System Using Evidence Based Practice • Accelerating System Change We are proud of the progress that has been made over the past three years and are excited to celebrate the success of the local health system with the enclosed timeline. These accomplishments would not have been possible without the partnership and shared commitment of local health service providers, governors and other community leaders and the support of local residents. Thank you for everything you do each and every day to make Waterloo Wellington a healthier place to live.
Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network 50 Sportsworld Crossing Road, East Building, Suite 220, Kitchener, Ontario N2P 0A4 Local: 519-650-4472 • Toll-Free: 1-866-306-LHIN (5446) • Fax: 519-650-3155 Website: wwlhin.on.ca • Email: waterloowellington@lhins.on.ca