People First - NHH releases new Strategic Plan Framework co-designed with area partners, patients and the community served
The journey to refresh NHH’s Strategic Plan—a multi-year document that guided the organization since 2017—is complete, thanks to a successful collaborative process coordinated by a 23-member multidisciplinary team called the Strategic Planning Collaborative Action Team (SPCAT).
Launched in February 2022 and co-led by President and CEO Susan Walsh and NHH’s Board Chair at the time, Pam Went, the SPCAT included senior leadership, representatives from NHH’s Board of Directors (including Community Members of the Board), Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) partners, physicians, and other front-line care providers drawn from acute and post-acute services, as well as members of the NHH Foundation and the NHH Auxiliary. Forced by the pandemic to connect mainly in a virtual environment, SPCAT members met regularly to analyze qualitative and quantitative data, make meaning of clinical, demographic and socioeconomic data, and explore ideas.
A unique part of the SPCAT’s 2022 strategic planning process was the opportunity to align community consultation with the Ontario Health Team of Northumberland (OHT-N)’s regional strategic planning process, collaborating on external engagement to identify, at a high-level, the health and well-being priorities perceived by area residents and service providers.
This collaboration offered a chance to hear, at a County-wide level, the local health and well-being priorities from a patient and partner perspective, while also cross-sharing information to inform and align multiple strategic plans.
Together with community members and OHT-N partners, NHH’s SPCAT participated in five OHT-N strategy ‘hive’ conversations in May 2022 along with NHH’s own strategy intensives before coming together to identify key themes important to the community at large and define calls to action.
Additionally, SPCAT members directly engaged more than 200 individuals in conversations through a series of high-level strategic questions to identify what NHH should pay attention to, as a hospital, as we plan for the future together. At each point during a process that looked both within the hospital, and beyond, information was distilled and consolidated.
NHH’s previous core values—quality, integrity, respect, teamwork and compassion—were reaffirmed as the values that will guide the hospital, and its strategic priorities, forward.
As the strategic planning work progressed, key themes emerged to inform draft strategic priorities. Through June 2022, separate discussions were held with senior leadership, the NHH Leadership Network, the Medical Advisory Committee, staff and SPCAT to reflect and fine-tune a proposed strategic framework that culminated with a high-level presentation at the June Annual Meeting of the Board.
Finally, the process of validating feedback with staff and members of the community on the proposed strategic priorities and a new shared purpose, “People First,” was completed in August.
“This journey to engage, plan and co-design the next priorities for NHH within the context of our broader network has strengthened NHH’s strategic plan immensely and set the stage for an exciting and increasingly collaborative future ahead,” said Susan Walsh. “It has been a wonderful experience to be part of this collaborative effort with our community and, on behalf of our Board and our team, I thank all who took the time to share input and help us to arrive at our new Strategic Plan Framework.”
Anchored around the acronym “CARE,” and grounded in a shared purpose of ‘People First,’ NHH will be guided forward by four new strategic priorities:
- Connected care close to home
- Accountable care
- Responsive and healthy work environment
- Exceptional care, every time, for every person
“Our work will now turn to operationalizing these priorities,” added Susan Walsh, “and bringing them to life across our organization at a program and hospital-wide level. Additionally, shared ‘swim lanes’ are emerging with the Ontario Health Team of Northumberland and community partners, identifying key areas where we can have the greatest impact on patient care and experience when we work together around specific problems.
For more on NHH’s new Strategic Plan Framework, and high-level goals identified for each, please see the Strategic Plan section of the hospital’s website.
Media contact: Jennifer Gillard, Senior Director, Patient Experience, Public Affairs and Strategic Partnerships, jgillard@nhh.ca or 905-377-7757.
About Northumberland Hills Hospital – Located approximately 100 kilometres east of Toronto, NHH delivers a broad range of acute, post-acute, outpatient and diagnostic services. Acute services include emergency and intensive care, medical/surgical care, obstetrical care and palliative care. Post-acute specialty services (PASS) include restorative care and rehabilitation. Mental health care, cancer and supportive care, dialysis and other ambulatory care clinics are offered on an outpatient basis through partnerships with regional centres and nearby specialists. NHH offers a full range of diagnostic services, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) and mammography. The hospital serves the catchment area of west Northumberland County. A mixed urban and rural population of approximately 63,000 residents, west Northumberland comprises the Town of Cobourg, the Municipality of Port Hope, Alderville First Nation and the townships of Hamilton, Cramahe and Alnwick/Haldimand. NHH employs more than 700 people and relies on the additional support provided by physicians, midwives and volunteers. NHH is an active member of Ontario Health (East)—formerly the Central East Local Health Integration Network—and the Ontario Health Team of Northumberland. For more information, please visit nhh.ca or follow us on Facebook @northumberlandhillshosp or Twitter @NorHillsHosp.