Ultimate Blogging Championship

Tag: Highlights

  • Resources from the Public Services Health & Safety Association

    Ontario’s Ministry of Labour (MOL) is conducting safety inspections at Family Health Teams as part of a health care sector enforcement initiative. The goal of these inspections is ensure compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA). The three priority areas of focus are for these inspections are internal responsibility systems, workplace violence, and needle safety.

    AFHTO has partnered with the Public Services Health & Safety Association (PSHSA) to provide our members with the tools and resources below. We have been working with PSHSA to develop more tools and resources to help you understand and meet your obligations under OSHA. PSHSA is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Labour and works with Ontario’s Public and Broader Public Sector employers and workers, providing training, consulting and resources to reduce workplace risks and prevent occupational injuries and illnesses.

     

    2018-19 Inspection Blitzes

    The MOL began its 2018-19 inspection blitzes on April 1, 2018. You can see the schedule here.

    For Healthcare Organizations

    • Internal responsibility system – workplace violence prevention
      • Phase 1: Compliance support and education | April 1, 2018 – March 31, 2019
      • Phase 2: Enforcement campaign | July 1, 2018 – March 31, 2019
    • Health care high hazards | April 1 – June 30, 2018
      • For Primary Care, the MOL defines Healthcare High Hazards as internal responsibility system, workplace violence, and needle safety
      • The Healthcare High Hazards initiative is a 3-month extension of the 2017-18 initiative

    Relevant Cross-sector Initiatives

     

    resources from the Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA) (March 2018)

     

    Workplace Health & Safety Webinars

    PSHSA holds regular webinars to help employers navigate challenging workplace health and safety issues. Watch this page to see what’s coming up or access past webinars.

    Cannabis in the Workplace

    PSHSA is working with Ontario employers, supervisors and workers to provide information on cannabis and applicable legislation. Some of the areas we are assisting with are around accommodation and suggested control measures for the workplace. PSHSA has partnered with McMillan LLP, a leading business law firm serving public, private and not-for-profit clients across key industries in Canada, the United States and other countries. As the use of medical marijuana in Ontario continues to increase, employers will need to make changing and updating workplace policies a leading priority.

    Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) Assessment Tool: This interactive tool was developed to help JHSCs evaluate and improve their effectiveness (requires Adobe Flash Player)

     

    resources from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) (March 2018)

    • Rate Framework: The WSIB is introducing a new model to set premium rates. It comes into effect on January 1, 2020. This page provides information and updates about the rate framework while WSIB transitions to the new model.
    • Compass: Use this to find Ontario workplace health and safety statistics. You can search by business name, business type, and/or business size.

    Resources from AFHTO

     

    Partnered resources from PSHSA

    Prevention of Workplace Violence is a priority indicator for the 2018 Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) from HQO. The resources on this page will help you address this indicator in your QIP. See also the following documents:

  • AFHTO 2018 Conference: Call for presentation & poster abstracts

    You’re doing the work. Each and every day.

    Now it’s time to share it with everyone.

     

    Present your ideas and initiatives at the AFHTO 2018 Conference: “Relationship Design with Starfield in Mind”

    Thanks to the 4 Cs of primary care, interprofessional teams are dedicated to providing excellent care for their patients on a daily basis. Primary care teams are tireless in their mission and their rewards are healthier patients and healthier communities. But in this complex health system, sometimes more is needed. What if that little program you’re quietly doing, achieving great results, delivering more efficiencies, relieving patients of unnecessary complications, could spread? What if your peers in other small towns could learn more from your trial and error and go straight to better outcomes? What if this happened all across Ontario? It can, if you submit an abstract to present a concurrent session or poster in 6 core themes at the AFHTO 2018 Conference on October 24 & 25, 2018.

    The deadline to submit abstracts for concurrent sessions and posters is May 4, 2018 at 5:00 PM (EDT)

    Review submission guidelines

    Submit your abstract online

    Reduced registration fee for concurrent session presenters: For each approved concurrent session, up to 2 presenters will each be granted a $50 discount off the conference registration fee. Additional discounts apply for patients presenting at the conference. (Discount doesn’t apply for poster displays.)

    Conference key dates:

    • April 6, 2018: Applications for concurrent session and poster abstracts open
    • May 4, 2018: Deadline to submit concurrent session and poster abstracts
    • Late June 2018: Conference registration opens
    • October 24 & 25, 2018: AFHTO 2018 Conference
    Do you know anyone with interesting and innovative initiatives to share? Please forward this email to your colleagues, community partners and stakeholders to make sure everyone has an opportunity to present their initiatives. And don’t forget, the deadline to join a working group is today, April 6. Come behind the scene and become among the first to learn about new developments in the field, influence conference programming and discover the innovators in your areas of interest. For more information, you can contact us by phone (647-234-8605) or e-mail (info@afhto.ca).

     

  • 2018 Ontario Budget – A Plan for Care and Opportunity

    2018 Ontario Budget – A Plan for Care and Opportunity An overview of the Ontario government budget

    Overview Today the Liberal government released their 2018 Ontario Budget entitled “A Plan for Care and Opportunity”. This “health-focused” budget included significant new investments in health care, child care, home care and mental health with a total budget spend of $20.3 billion over the next three years.  Additional spending was also announced in education, seniors, social services and growing the economy. We were disappointed to see that there were no new announcements made with regards to additional funding to primary care and interprofessional teams but here are some highlights of the budget that may be of interest to AFHTO members. Primary Health Care:  As mentioned above, no new funding was announced in the 2018 budget for interprofessional primary care teams, but the budget did reference the 2017 commitments that were made:

    • $102 million over three years (starting in 2017/18) to support the expansion of interprofessional primary care teams
    • Approximately $330 million over three years (starting in 2017/18) to support recruitment and retention of health care professionals for primary care teams across the province

    Mental Health Matters: In this 2018 budget, the government is making an additional investment of $2.1 billion over the next four years for mental health and addiction services for people of all ages across the province.  This brings the total investment in mental health and addiction services in Ontario to more than $17 billion over four years. Some of the initiatives that will be rolled out include:

    • Increased access to publicly funded psychotherapy (announced in 2017) in primary care settings and through mental health and additions community agencies for patients with mild to moderate anxiety and depression;
    • Investing $570 million over four years to improve community services and mental health services for children and youth;
    • Investing $175 million over four years to expand school-based supports for mental health and addiction services;
    • Investment of $425 million to provide 2,475 additional supportive housing units over four years to reduce homelessness; and
    • Ongoing investments of $222 million (announced in 2017) to combat the opioid crisis in Ontario which includes the development of supervised injection sites and expanding access for naloxone to front-line community organizations.

    Increased Funding for Hospitals: In 2018-19, the province is investing an additional $822 million to hospitals, contributing to a 4.6% growth in funding, which is the largest single government investment in health care in almost a decade. In addition, the province is investing approximately $19 billion over 10 years to build and renovate hospitals across the province. Ontario is also moving ahead with a commitment to invest up to $10 million to create a Centre of Excellence in Health Care Artificial Intelligence, starting with $1.3 million in 2018-19. New Ontario Drug and Dental Program: The government is introducing a new Ontario Drug and Dental Program which will reimburse 80% – up to a maximum of $400 per singe person, $600 per couple and $700 for a family of four with two children – of eligible prescription drug and dental expenses each year, for those without workplace benefits and not covered by OHIP+ or other government programs. Expansion of OHIP+: On January 1, 2018, the government introduced OHIP+, a no cost drug coverage program, for children and youth under the age of 25, regardless of income. Starting in August 1, 2019, OHIP+ will be expanded to seniors over the age of 65 with the elimination of the annual deductible and co-payment for seniors under the ODB program. Home and Community Care: The government is investing an additional $650 million (including $180 million in new funding) in home care over the next three years to provide more access to home and community health care services. This would include 2.8 million more hours of personal support and 284,000 more nursing visits and 58,000 more therapy visits. Over the next three years, the government will invest an additional $23 million to add an estimated 5,500 PSWs to the workforce, especially in underserviced areas such as rural, northern and remote communities. Over the next three years the government will also invest an additional $38 million in education and training for new and existing PSWs to ensure that they have the skillset they need to work in the increasingly complex home care environment. Home and community care investments of $5 million has also been committed to enable better coordination, scheduling and connections between patients, families and caregivers by enhancing digital information and communication tools – this includes provider access to CRIS and further investments in at home technology. Long-Term Care: The government is investing $300 million over three years in new funding, starting with $50 million in 2018-19, to hire a registered nurse for every long-term care home, and setting a goal of increasing the provincial average to four hours of daily care per resident by 2022. The government is proposing to create 30,000 new long-term care beds over the next 10 years, adding 5,500 new beds by 2022. Other Announcements

    • Launching a new caregiver organization in the Spring of 2018 that will provide support across Ontario, including a single access point for information and resources to help caregivers in their roles.
    • Investment of $75 million over three years to strengthen and expand palliative and end-of-life care, including support for up to 20 new hospices across Ontario.
    • In 2019-20, the government proposes to introduce the new Senior’s’ Healthy Home Program which would provide $1 billion over three years to help seniors with the costs of maintaining their homes, translating to up to $750 per year for every eligible household led by seniors who are 75 years or older.
    • Starting in September 2020, Ontario will implement free licensed child care for preschool-aged children from the age of 2.5 until they are eligible for kindergarten, an investment of $2.2 billion over three years.

    Relevant Links:

  • Ministry- FHT contract news and updates

    MOHLTC-FHT contracts expired on Mar. 31, 2016. The templates developed to replace them could significantly reshape the relationship FHTs have with the Ministry. The ministry has looked to AFHTO, in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders, to recommend performance measures aligned with the ministry’s focus on enhancing access/integration and supporting quality and sustainability in primary care. As a collective, we will continue to identify manageable and meaningful measurement and demonstrate the value and impact of interprofessional primary care as we work towards the next ministry contract. Please see below for relevant updates. Updates:

  • The Emerging Role of Social Work in Primary Health Care: Study

    The Emerging Role of Social Work in Primary Health Care: A Survey of Social Workers in Ontario Family Health Teams

    Article published in Health & Social Work (February 2018)

    Abstract

    Primary health care systems are increasingly integrating interprofessional team-based approaches to care delivery. As members of these interprofessional primary health care teams, it is important for social workers to explore our experiences of integration into these newly emerging teams to help strengthen patient care. Despite the expansion of social work within primary health care settings, few studies have examined the integration of social work’s role into this expanding area of the health care system. A survey was conducted with Canadian social work practitioners who were employed within Family Health Teams (FHTs), an interprofessional model of primary health care in Ontario emerging from a period of health care reform. One hundred and twenty-eight (N = 128) respondents completed the online survey. Key barriers to social work integration in FHTs included difficulties associated with a medical model environment, confusion about social work role, and organizational barriers. Facilitators for integration of social work in FHTs included adequate education and competencies, collaborative engagement, and organizational structures. Note: An invitation to participate was sent to the Mental Health and Social Worker CoP mailing list. Authors:

    • Rachelle Ashcroft, PhD, University of Toronto
    • Colleen McMillan, PhD, University of Waterloo
    • Wayne Ambrose-Miller, PhD, University of Windsor
    • Ryan McKee, MD, The Centre for Family Medicine FHT, McMaster University
    • Judith Belle Brown, PhD, King’s University College, Western University

    Click here for the full article

  • ARTIC 2018 Call for Proposals

    Announcing 2018 Call for Proposals ARTIC Implementation and Spread Funding

    Health Quality Ontario (HQO) and the Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario (CAHO) have announced ARTIC’s 2018 Call for Proposals. Supported by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, ARTIC (Adopting Research to Improve Care)’s goal is to accelerate the spread of evidence-based health care across Ontario. Each year, ARTIC issues a Call for Proposals for high-impact clinical interventions or practice changes that are proven to work and are ready to spread across the province. This year, they’re calling for proven interventions or practice changes that align with HQO quality standards.

    • Proposed interventions or practice changes must have already been proven and successfully implemented in at least one site.
    • ARTIC will be funding at least one initiative over a 19–24 month period, with maximum available funding of $1,000,000.

    ARTIC provides health care teams with funding and active support over approximately two years to ensure their interventions or practice changes are successfully spread to other health care providers across Ontario. ARTIC also works to ensure that initiatives it supports are sustainable beyond the two-year period and that they can continue to spread to more and more health care providers across the province. The 2018 Call for Proposals package, Letter of Intent template and online submission tool are available on the HQO and CAHO websites. Submissions will be accepted beginning April 30, 2018. Letters of intent are due by May 25, 2018. If you have questions, please contact artic@hqontario.ca. Two webinars will be held on March 26 and April 19 to outline the application process and address any questions applicants may have. Please contact the ARTIC Program Team for webinar access information. Relevant Links:

  • AFHTO 2018 Conference: Sign up to help create the conference program by April 6

    Announcing the theme for the AFHTO 2018 Conference

    Relationship Design with Starfield in Mind

    Dr. Barbara Starfield was a pioneer in identifying why primary care was so foundational to the health system – we know this as the 4Cs of primary care:

    • CONTINUITY through better relationships,
    • COORDINATION of better transitions,
    • first point of CONTACT into the health care system, and
    • COMPREHENSIVENESS by providing a wide range of services that deal with a broad range of patient problems and needs (‘womb to tomb’ care of the WHOLE person).

    Learn more about The Starfield Model adopted by AFHTO. You can play a vital role in shaping the conference by joining a working group today. Come behind the scene and become among the first to learn about new developments in the field, influence conference programming and discover the innovators in your areas of interest. Working group members also receive a $50 discount off their registration fee. Please extend this invitation along to your patients, colleagues and staff. Having diverse voices, especially patients, in the working groups helps us build a varied and relevant program.

    Conference Themes

    Working groups are being set up for each of the six concurrent streams and for the Bright Lights Awards program. The six concurrent streams will focus on:

    1. Mental health and addictions
    2. Healthy relationships, healthy teams
    3. Expanding your reach
    4. The “How to” stream
    5. Why hasn’t this expanded: scalable pilot programs
    6. The future of the regional approach to healthcare

    (Click here for descriptions)

    Working Group Details

    Concurrent program working group members: The task requires a total of 4-10 hours of effort between April and May, specifically:

    • April 6 to May 4: AFHTO staff will manage the call for proposals process.
    • Week of April 16: working groups will have an initial teleconference to brainstorm ideas on specific topics and speakers to contact/encourage to submit a presentation abstract.
    • May 8 to 22: each working group member individually reviews and scores presentation abstracts for their program.
    • May 23 to 30: working groups will teleconference to review scores and determine the program for this theme.

    Sign up by April 6, 2018 to confirm participation and select your conference theme.

    “Bright Light” Awards Review Committee: The task requires a total of 6-12 hours in July and August, specifically to individually review and score nominations followed by a group teleconference to determine the award winners. Sign up by April 6, 2018.

    Volunteers will also be needed at the conference itself (e.g. at the registration desk). There may be other duties as we update our conference program but like other volunteers described above, onsite volunteers will receive discounted conference registration. Sign up today. Registration Fees for Conference Working Groups:

    • Conference working group members and presenters receive a $50 discount off their registration fee.
    • We understand patients face additional financial and time pressures and do not want the registration fee to limit participation in a working group. Patients participating in full in a conference working group will be eligible for complimentary registration (to be determined once the working group task is complete).
    • AFHTO members still receive a 50% discount on conference registration fees.

    Conference key dates:

    • April 6, 2018: Applications for concurrent session and poster abstracts open
    • May 4, 2018: Deadline to submit concurrent session and poster abstracts
    • Late June 2018: Conference registration opens
    • October 24 & 25, 2018: AFHTO 2018 Conference

    For more information, you can contact us by phone (647-234-8605) or e-mail (info@afhto.ca).

  • D2D 5.1: Getting Started and Changing Gears

    AFHTO members have just released the 7th iteration of their performance measurement report, Data to Decisions 5.1. Voluntary participation in team-level measurement remains high. 90% of members have contributed so far, with over 60% in D2D 5.1. This makes D2D 5.1 a unique picture of primary care across the province, at the LHIN level, and (for the second time) at the sub-region level. Many AFHTO members are going even further than that. 43 teams chose to unmask themselves and are again openly sharing their data with their peers. Some are even putting their reports out on their public websites or sharing them in social media! AFHTO members have clearly gotten started with measurement.

    The North Stars

    The FHTs of the North East LHIN are a shining example of where measurement can take us. The Northeastern Ontario Family Health Teams Network (NEOFHT) continue to lead the way in D2D. 17 of their 27 teams participated in D2D 5.1 – the fourth time in a row they had the highest number of participating teams in the province (the runner up was South West LHIN at 13 teams). Several of our tiny-but-mighty regions are also shining bright; 100% of the teams in Waterloo-Wellington and 86% of the teams in Mississauga-Halton contributed data.

    With this level of sustained commitment, it is not surprising that the 27 NEOFHT teams are taking some big next steps together.  Having seen how D2D helped them compare at a team level, they wanted to do more. They wanted to be sure that any patient going to any team in the North East could expect to have the same kind of care, no matter where they went. In partnership with their QIDSS, the FHT Executive Directors started by agreeing on common indicators to track how they are doing on the 9 most common programs offered in their teams. The impressive thing is that they’re not just talking about it; they’re putting their money where their mouth is. They’re combining QI forces and resources to bring all 27 teams up to the same level in technical tools and training. This ensures that everyone can capture all the data the same way, making it not only possible but easier and more efficient to compare progress and learn from each other.

    The North East LHIN teams are not alone. The Champlain LHIN teams have also invested in sharing common program-level data between their 21 teams. The teams of ESC openly share their quality improvement projects to learn from each about what is working to improve care among their 9 teams. These are clear signs that measurement is becoming a part of the AFHTO culture across the province.

    Changing gears: Learning from each other

    AFHTO members are proud of their progress in building measurement into their culture, and they are dissatisfied that this has not yet led to improvement in performance across all teams. AFHTO members are not content to come in 9th place[i], after the gold, silver and bronze medals have been handed out. We are not content to get the participation ribbon. Measurement is the starting gate for improvement, but it is not the finish line. AFHTO has made it a strategic priority to demonstrate the value of team-based primary care in Ontario. That is where D2D started. Now AFHTO is ready to change gears and take on the improvement challenge in earnest.

    We are not starting with an empty tank. AFHTO members have strong relationships with their patients and with each other. As Barbara Starfield observed, relationships are the unique and powerful contribution of primary care to a sustainable healthcare system. AFHTO will be leveraging the networks built over the past five years in the form of at least ten leadership committees involving members from teams across the province. These long-standing relationships give AFHTO members a solid grounding to support their improvement efforts. Those relationships are already paying off.

    • OntarioMD has been partnering with AFHTO from the beginning when they produced D2D 1.0. Since then, AFHTO and OntarioMD have been working together to improve access to EMR data to help teams improve the health outcomes of their patients.
    • Through partnerships with Community Health Ontario and LEADS Canada, AFHTO is investing in leadership, which is just as important in improvement as measurement.
    • AFHTO has partnered with private and not-for-profit companies alike to offer LEAN and practice facilitation training to AFHTO members (from KM&T and the Centre for Effective Practice, respectively).
    • Research partnerships continue to buoy AFHTO’s efforts. Most recently, AFHTO has partnered with Dr Judith Belle-Brown (president-elect of NAPCRG and long-standing primary care researcher from Western University) to help members learn from each other what it is about teams with high and ever improving performance that other teams can replicate to have similar outcomes.

    D2D was AFHTO’s way to get started by measuring. AFHTO is now changing gears to move beyond measurement to improved outcomes. We’re continuing on our journey to excellent team-based care for #EveryCommunityEveryPatient in Ontario.

    See an infographic summary of the D2D 5.1 results here.

    See the aggregate data for each LHIN region here.

    [i] In 2017, Canada came in ninth out of eleven countries (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, and the US) in the Commonwealth Fund’s annual Health Care System Performance Rankings.

  • City of Lakes FHT Receives Community Builders Award

    On Mar. 1, 2018 City of Lakes FHT was recognized for its contribution to healthcare at Northern Life’s 15th annual Community Builders Awards of Excellence. The award came soon after the team celebrated its 10th anniversary. “What’s happened in the last 10 years, not just locally but across the province, there’s been a transformation,” says Dave Courtemanche, the team’s ED. “Primary care is being seen across the province as the centrepiece of the health-care system.” Relevant Links:

  • Central Lambton FHT & St. Clair Child and Youth Invest in Mental Health

    Central Lambton Family Health Team getting help from St. Clair Child and Youth Services

    Sarnia Observer article published Feb. 28, 2018. Article in full pasted below.

    Tyler Kula, Sarnia Observer

    Petrolia is getting more staffing for a deluge of youngsters seeking mental health help. Demand among youth – mostly 8-16-year-olds – had spiked over the last five months to the point where two social workers at Central Lambton Family Health Team could no longer keep up, said Sarah Milner, executive director of the 14,500-patient facility. “We were having to try to extend the days, fit them in over lunch hours,” she said. “We don’t want to have children and youth having to wait for several weeks to get in to see someone.”

    There is no money for a new hire, so the health team appealed to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to reallocate money and pay a child and youth worker from St. Clair Child and Youth’s Point Edward office to assist four days a week. The health team tapped underutilized “dietary needs” funding in favour of boosting mental health services, Milner said. “This was just standing out as a priority area that we couldn’t ignore,” she said.

    The clinician is expected to start seeing patients next week, including one-on-ones, and group support sessions with families, she said. The addition also will mean educational workshops on mental health subjects for the community, she said. After five months, plans are to evaluate the pilot, she said, attributing the recent surge to increased awareness and people being more willing to get help for mental health. “People are becoming familiar and we are trying our best to address those issues,” she said.

    St. Clair Child and Youth also runs drop-in clinics out of the Petrolia site twice monthly and is the lead agency for youth mental health in Sarnia-Lambton. It runs similar clinics at its Point Edward office and other locations in Sarnia-Lambton. In general there aren’t enough clinicians to meet demand, said Teri Thomas-Vanos, director of clinical services. “It’s not always possible to get into Sarnia for service, so we’re bringing services closer to home for families,” she said.

    The staff shuffle has meant juggling in Point Edward, she said, noting she hopes doing so results in fewer people from central Lambton having to travel to St. Clair Child and Youth for help. “We continue to review our service structure and we try to be as responsive to what the community tells us the needs are,” she said. St. Clair has 65 front-line staff and a $4.6-million budget, she said. Wait times vary but mostly people are being seen inside of three months for longer-term services, she said.

    “The biggest barrier is adequate resources to provide those services,” she said. How much more funding is needed is a work in progress, she said. “We are some mapping about realigning, but I think it might be a bit premature to say that.” For more information on services, contact St. Clair Child and Youth Services at 519-337-3701, or the Central Lambton Family Health Team at 519-882-2500.

    Click here to access the Sarnia Observer article.

    Relevant Link: