LHIN meeting signals start of more collaborative relationship, says OMNI CEO
Tuesday, November 8, 2005 --Craig Anderson
A recent meeting at Village Green with the CEO and chairperson of the South East Local Health Integrated Network (LHIN) and long- term care providers in the region showed a willingness “to engage in a whole new mindset,” says Fraser Wilson, OMNI CEO.

“I think they really want to make a difference,” says Fraser, referring to Paul Huras, CEO, and Georgina Thompson, the chairperson. The two, he adds, gave an “impassioned” presentation at the meeting, which was initiated by Linda Pierce, Village Green’s administrator.

“They’re really listening to the providers out there, knowing that they want to take things to a new height. They truly want to break down barriers, and move away from the old protectionist territorial mindset. You can start to see the free flow of information and relationships, without costing any more money, and having a far more collaborative health system,” he says.

Most notable, and a harbinger of coming structural changes, says Fraser, was the transparent spirit in which the LHIN representatives approached the issue of long term care.

“They were open about the fact that they aren’t fully aware of the changing role of long-term care,” says Fraser. “One of the reasons for them coming out and meeting with us is to understand the strengths and skills – and potential – of the health care providers.

The LHIN’s representatives also made it clear, he adds, that they wanted to meet individually and equally with all the requisite parties comprising the health care system in the South East region, which covers a large territory including Prince Edward County, Lanark County and Kingston.

The current system, Fraser notes, is hospital and doctor-centred, and it follows that the contributions of other providers are often undervalued.

“The current power base acts as a detriment to the other providers in the system, and so by opening the doors and encouraging participation by other health care providers, it starts to speak to the potential of these providers. This potential is actually dampened right now because there is this control at the centre,” says Fraser.

Fraser, along with Robert Berg, vice president at large of MetCap living, is an acting ‘mentor’ through the OLTCA. Their role, says Fraser, is to “help position long-term care within the new system.”

Accountability within the LHIN framework was also discussed at the meeting. Fraser hopes that individual LHINs will move away from judging performance merely by relying on statistics and numbers, and instead focus on the impact long- term care has at the individual and community level.

Linda Pierce, who is a designated area 10 LHIN lead along with Marilyn Benn, administrator of Extendicare Kingston, felt the meeting, and a follow-up booked for Dec. 13, signals a new beginning, the building of a relationship with a collaborative emphasis.

“Our common goal is to look at how well we deliver health care,” she says.