With our organization’s inaugural strategic plan coming to a close in 2023, Scarborough Health Network (SHN) has been dedicated to “Reimagining Care” to refresh and refocus our Strategic Plan for 2024 and beyond. With the ever-changing healthcare landscape, including the evolving needs of our community and health system partners, it is vital for us to continually assess, identify and prioritize what is most important for delivering exceptional quality healthcare for Scarborough.
One of the ways we accomplish this is by engaging the very people who will be accessing, delivering, or partnering with our services in some way, over the coming years. This includes Scarborough residents, health system partners and providers, as well as our staff, medical staff, learners, and volunteers.
Among these engagement sessions included held two “Reimagining Care: Strategic Planning Process” events for community members in November, hosted by David Graham, SHN president and CEO, and Andrea Gates, Associate Vice President, Strategy and Information Management. Each event began with an informative presentation by SHN’s Strategy team, followed by interactive opportunities for sharing feedback and asking questions.
What We Heard
SHN’s perception across the province is largely positive, with big wins for the COVID-19 vaccine rollout as a marker of its strong community relationships and partnerships, and strong brand recognition in part resulting from SHN Foundation’s “Love, Scarborough” fundraising campaign. But as SHN serves a large and diverse population with complex social and health needs, more work must be done to support the growing needs.
Keeping Scarborough’s needs at the forefront
The community agrees Scarborough’s diverse population, with its complex healthcare needs, is a leading priority. SHN must continue to tailor our services to the specific needs of our community, by listening to the voices of our 850,000-strong catchment area and analyzing census and other data to inform evidence-based solutions. SHN must also actively engage newcomers to Canada and other marginalized groups to build trust in SHN and the broader health system, and deepen collaboration with local, community and faith-based organizations to better support specific communities.
Seamless transitions across healthcare services
Right now, the heathcare journey remains fragmented across various care settings and locations, making it difficult to navigate for patients. Putting the people of Scarborough first means working with our partners to bring seamless care close to home. Our goal is to enhance the patient experience by improving patient access to services in the most appropriate setting with seamless and safe transitions. SHN will continue to empower patients and families, from sharing information to inform care decisions, enabling patients to proactively manage their health, and more.
SHN is well-positioned to drive positive impact
The new corporate strategic directions presented at the community forums were viewed as appropriate areas of focus for SHN, meaning they reflect key community needs. The strategic directions include:
- System Integration and Transformation
- Population Health and Equity
- Research and Education
- People and Culture
- Quality and Patient Safety
System Integration and Transformation and Population Health and Equity are critical to delivering safe, high-quality care, and supporting improvements and access to primary care must be an immediate focus. Simultaneously, Research and Education is recognized as a clear enabler of system integration and health equity. Overall, SHN must balance “outside-our-walls” efforts with upholding exceptional quality care and excellence in patient safety, inside our facilities.
Next Steps
We thank everyone who attended these sessions for your feedback. Together, we will implement a robust action plan to deliver short- and long-term goals that improve access and quality of care access across Scarborough and beyond. Look out for our new Strategic Plan 2024-2029 coming this January!