2016 - 2017 Annual Report | Northern Health

A message from Cathy Ulrich, President and CEO

Cathy Ulrich

2016-17 was a very busy year as Northern Health moved forward with projects focused on putting new services into place and strengthening health care in the North. These included beginning the implementation of a new model of primary and community care, the launch of new Indigenous health initiatives, opening a new hospital and health centre on Haida Gwaii, and seeking improvements in child and youth health.

After several years of planning, a new approach to care delivery centred on the people we serve and their families has started in the North with the creation of interprofessional teams in various communities. These teams are beginning to work closely with physicians and nurse practitioners, and are made up of nurses and other health professionals such as social workers and physiotherapists. Teams will differ somewhat from community to community in order to address unique local health needs. Over time, this new model of primary and community care will help improve service quality and health outcomes for northern people.

In 2016, we continued our work and partnerships with Indigenous people, communities, and organizations, including the First Nations Health Authority, to further develop and support culturally safe services. Our Indigenous Health program launched a new website offering a range of health care resources, including an interactive map of health contacts in the North. A new video and accompanying booklet on cultural safety in health care were also introduced.

Improving the network of care in the northwest took a big step forward with the opening of the Haida Gwaii Hospital and Health Centre - Xaayda Gwaay Ngaaysdll Naay in late 2016, the first Northern Health facility to have both an English and an Indigenous name. The hospital’s long-term care rooms provide separate space for each resident, and the new labour and delivery area helps more mothers stay on the island to give birth. Last September, the world’s attention was on the new facility when it hosted the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The royal couple met with dignitaries, hospital residents, and staff, and unveiled a plaque celebrating the completion of construction.

Another 2016 highlight was the board consultation series, “Growing Up Healthy”, which focused on the health and well-being of children in the North from conception to age 17. The series built on information from our Chief Medical Health Officer’s Child Health Report released in April 2016. Community meetings, stakeholder and youth sessions, and an online form (new for this year) helped gather feedback from across Northern BC. The consultation’s findings will help with future planning and partnership work around child and youth services.

2016 was also the first year of implementing Northern Health’s 2016-21 Strategic Plan - Looking to 2021. This plan continues our goal of transforming health services across the region to improve the health of northerners, as part of three key priorities: Healthy People in Healthy Communities; Coordinated and Accessible Services; and Quality. These are supported by two enabling priorities: Our People, and Communications, Technology, and Infrastructure. We invite you to learn more about the progress made this past year in this 2016-17 annual report.

At the end of June 2017, Northern Health’s Board Chair Dr. Charles Jago stepped down after 10 years of exemplary leadership. Charles leaves a legacy of program and service accomplishments, and infrastructure improvements, that have been made possible through his commitment to organizational partnerships, collaborative relationships, and innovation.

I count the opportunity I have had to work alongside Charles, and to learn from him, a highlight of my professional career. He has been a partner in leadership, an inspiration, a mentor, and a friend. He will be missed, and Northern Health wishes him the best in his future adventures.

I would also like to express my appreciation for the many staff and physicians who provide exemplary services on a day-to-day basis to the people who live across northern BC. We look forward to continuing with our work to enhance service delivery and to enable the people across the north to improve their health and wellness.

Regards,
Cathy Ulrich

Healthy People in Healthy Communities

Northern Health will partner with communities to support people to live well and to prevent disease and injury.

We will:

Seek to understand the health assets and needs of each community, including the rural areas in Northern BC, and use this information to address health inequities and improve health outcomes.
Partner with First Nations and Indigenous Peoples to develop and implement the First Nations Health and Wellness Plan.
Partner with communities, industry, and other organizations to respond to the health and health service impacts of shifts in economic development.
Align population health activity with the Primary Care Home to address health risk factors and support healthy living.
Address the needs of a growing senior population by supporting age-friendly communities, identifying frail seniors as early as possible, and taking a rehabilitative approach.
Partner with communities and organizations to improve the health and wellbeing of Northern children and families.
Promote and protect healthy environments.

Visit the Healthy People in Healthy Communities page to learn more.

Coordinated and Accessible Services

Northern Health will provide health services based in a Primary Care Home and linked to a range of specialized services which support each person and their family over the course of their lives, from staying healthy, to addressing disease and injury, to end-of-life care.

We will:

Embed a person- and family-centred approach in everything we do.
Implement interprofessional teams to support Primary Care Homes in providing health services for people and their families over the course of their lives.
Implement specialized services teams connected to specialist physicians, with service pathways for the person and their family between the Primary Care Home and these specialized services.
Partner with First Nations communities and the First Nations Health Authority to establish culturally safe pathways between First Nations services and Northern Health services.
Describe and establish the rural and Northern network of services, built on the foundation of Primary Care Homes, balancing local access and quality.
Improve systems and methods for sharing and protecting health information. Each person will be known across the system and will be able to access their own health information.

Visit the Coordinated and Accessible Services page to learn more.

Quality

Northern Health will ensure a culture of continuous quality improvement in all areas.

We will:

Develop the ability of staff, physicians, and managers to undertake continuous quality improvement action at the service delivery level.
Establish quality improvement goals and continuously measure, monitor, and improve performance.
Encourage and enable local teams and departments to design and test innovative solutions.
Engage in research, education, and quality improvement partnerships with academic organizations to create a learning environment throughout Northern Health.
Identify and manage risks to the organization and to service delivery.

Visit the Quality page to learn more.

Our People

Northern Health provides services through its people and will work to have those people in place and to help them flourish in their work.

We will:

Understand our workforce and plan for future needs within the context of the Northern population.
Design and implement an innovative recruitment and retention strategy that addresses current and emerging workforce needs in Northern and rural communities.
Improve our capacity to support each other through change, with particular attention to the changes required to implement interprofessional teams linked closely with the Primary Care Home.
Foster a workplace culture of health and safety.
Implement processes that enable Northern Health’s staff to be more culturally reflective of Northern communities.

Visit the Our People page to learn more.

Communications, Technology and Infrastructure

Northern Health will implement effective communications systems, and sustain a network of facilities and infrastructure that enables service delivery.

We will:

Create innovative approaches for engaging communities in two-way communication, and for building meaningful relationships with staff, physicians, the public, and community partners.
Continue to use traditional communication methods and tools while enabling staff, physicians, and the public to leverage emergent methods that are appropriate to our Northern and rural region.
Use technology to reduce the impacts of distance and time in bringing health services to people and their families.
Implement electronic health records to improve continuity of care from the Primary Care Home to specialized services, and to increase people’s access to their own information.
Using technology, deliver a range of clinical and diagnostic services to support primary care, community services, and specialized services.
Build, maintain and manage facilities and infrastructure in support of service delivery.

Visit the Communications, Technology, and Infrastructure page to learn more.