This email was sent to EDs/Administrative Leads, Board Chairs and Lead Clinicians of AFHTO member organizations.
Dear triad members,
To help us keep in touch this summer, we had a province-wide ED check-in call with ministry officials on July 22. Here is the follow-up information promised on the call. There were many questions and much discussion, so if you weren’t on the call, you can listen to the recording here.
AFHTO maintains a strong relationship and works regularly with officials to ensure our members’ voices are heard, and we appreciate the time they give us to speak with you directly. Thank you to Allison Costello (Director, OHT Implementation and Supports Branch), Darlene Wong (A/Senior Manager, Interprofessional Programs Unit, PHCB), and Fernando Tavares (A/Program Manager, Interprofessional Programs Unit, PHCB) for being on the call.
Update from the from the Ministry
- The OHT Implementation and Supports Branch provided an update and said there would soon be more information on OHTs. The following day, on July 23, five new OHTs were announced and 17 were invited to full application. Congratulations to teams who are now an OHT candidate!
- On July 23, the government also announced that they will be providing financial support to the 29 OHTs of up to $25.25 million. Of this funding, $9.5 million will be dedicated to virtual care; with the remaining $15.75 million, each OHT will receive up to $375,000. More information is here.
- The Primary Health Care Branch (PHCB) confirmed there will be no additional operational funding available for FHT and NPLC budgets. However, it will be crucial for teams to report Q1 and Q2 accurately and to forecast for year-end to capture any COVID-related costs. The ministry will be using this data to understand the additional cost pressures facing teams, which will then be the basis used for additional funding requests. To help with forecasting the impact of the pandemic on your year-end budget, you can adapt and use the COVID-19 Expense Forecast Checklist.
- A reminder that the 2020-21 Annual Operating Plan Submission package, released July 2, is due mid-September, although this due date is not firm. There is a webinar with the ministry on our site on how to complete AOP and Schedule A that may be helpful – please click here for the recording.
Transitioning to a new normal
- As per Directive #2 and the Ministry’s “Operational Requirement: Health Sector Restart”, it is recommended that each healthcare entity develop organizational and point-of-care risk assessments.
- The CPSO has developed an IPAC checklist to guide individuals in conducting organizational risk assessments in Independent Health Facilities and Out of Hospital Premises.
- Don’t forget to continue to check out the AFHTO website, which is updated regularly. Resources for re-opening continue to be posted here.
PPE
- To enable safe delivery of in-person care, conversations have been ongoing about the need for consistent, affordable access to PPE. An announcement on a provincial strategy to address this challenge is expected in the near future.
- Teams are encouraged to connect with their Regional Table Leads for PPE and Critical Supplies to access this inventory if regular supply chains are unavailable.
- We encourage teams to check out the resources posted on our site.
Virtual care
- AFHTO received feedback on the two platforms that were discussed on the last call. We are now looking into discounts for Microsoft 365 (to enable use of Microsoft Teams) and UpToDate, a computer and mobile device-based clinical reference tool. More information will be shared soon.
- Primary care teams are leading patient-centric innovations in their community. Take a moment and learn more about what teams across the province are doing, and please share your initiatives with us at improve@afhto.ca.
Human Resources
- AFHTO is arranging a webcast for late August that will provide guidance to boards on governance through COVID-19 and beyond. Stay tuned for registration details!
- The ministry has rolled out pandemic pay to hospitals, long-term care homes, and retirements homes, and they are working on Ontario Health and municipalities. Teams that are leading FHT-run assessment centres should connect with their OH contact at MOH.PPInquiries@ontario.ca to seek clarity on receiving their pandemic pay.
- R&R funding was disbursed in April, and teams should be working on reallocating the increases. For guidance, please see the Recruitment and Retention Planning Document and the Compensation Guidance Document for more information. This is the last of the four-year commitment to R&R increases, and we will be looking at future compensation advocacy when the timing is right.
Reminders!
- HR webinar: The third webinar for executive directors on Managing HR through COVID-19 with Maria McDonald of McDonald HR Law is this Wednesday, July 29, at 11 AM. Registration will close end-of-day tomorrow, so please register now if you haven’t yet! This webinar’s for EDs only unless an ED requests otherwise.
- Membership: The deadline for renewing AFHTO memberships is this Friday, July 31. Please contact Paula Myers with any questions. We hope we have proven of value to you this past year, and we will strive to continue to do so throughout the changes we are all experiencing.
- ED interviews: AFHTO is working with our research partners to showcase how primary care has stepped up – and will continue to step up – to support Ontarians and to ensure a sustainable and equitable healthcare system. Thank you to all the EDs who have already had interviews with our researchers, and a reminder to other EDs to please schedule your interview
- East
- North
- Toronto/Central
- West
- Interviews will be held until August 14.
- Conference: The deadline to submit for concurrent sessions and to nominate for Bright Lights Awards is this Wednesday, July 29. More information is here.
- ED Mentorship Program: AFHTO is looking for executive directors to become part of our ED Mentorship Program! More information, including a link to the application, is here.
As discussed on the call, here is a link to Shared Service Agreements that teams can use between organizations and with unaffiliated physicians. These are templates provided by Cottage Country FHT and would require legal review before finalisation for any teams.
Keep checking out our COVID-19 section that we regularly update with news, tools, and resources, including the daily situation reports and regular memos from the ministry’s command table.
We will be in touch late August or early September about resuming monthly regional ED calls in the fall if teams feel they would still be of value.
Please contact us any time. We’re here to support you.
Sincerely,
Your AFHTO Team
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