KIRKLAND AND DISTRICT HOSPITAL

STRATEGIC PLAN 2006

January 2006

 
Our Mission  

“Working Together To Meet YOUR Health Care Needs”

  Our Values

We value our community, our partners and our staff.

In our actions we will be governed by:

Honesty and Integrity

The Pursuit of Excellence

Continual Improvement, and

Open Communication

Our Vision

“The Kirkland and District Hospital will distinguish itself as a leader in rural and northern health care and will be recognized for the commitment of its people and partnerships in providing exceptional service”

NEW VISION

The Kirkland and District Hospital will distinguish itself as a leader in rural and northern health care and will be recognized for the commitment of its people and partnerships in providing exceptional service.

The Kirkland and District Hospital will:

Provide a comprehensive range of core primary and specialty health care services;
Offer other selected specialty services that are responsive to community needs;

Allocate resources to services that provide the greatest benefit to the community;

Support a culture of continuous quality improvement and patient safety;

Be an excellent workplace and an employer of choice;

Collaborate with other organizations to improve services, coordination, and efficiency;

Attain financial stability;

Be ethical and open in all its actions.

Action Plan

1.         Strategic Direction: Core Services Action Plan

a)         For the short term (one to two years) the Hospital will continue the current practice of recruiting locums to assist with providing core services as part of the hospitalist program. Efforts will be made to secure funding for services provided to the community by locums. Hours spent by locums at the No Family Doctor Clinic currently don’t qualify for funding. The goal is to make the use of locums to assist in providing core services more affordable.

b)         The Hospital will continue to fund the use of nurse practitioners to assist with the provision of core services at the Hospital and medical care to the community in general, for another one to two years. Efforts will be made to secure funding for these services, which also are not funded under the hospital umbrella. The Hospital will examine the feasibility of utilizing nurse practitioners to absorb more of the load for providing core services. The goal is to provide health care which is more affordable with professionals who are more accessible.

c)         Core services will be defined in relation to funding received from the MOHLTC and as defined by the Ontario Hospital Association.   “Core Services” not falling within this definition will be subjected to an impact analysis to determine their value to the Hospital and local community. The goal is to obtain funding for unfunded services or to eliminate those that are not considered essential to the operation of a community hospital.

d)         A succession plan will be prepared for core specialty services including the radiology department, the operating room, and internal medicine.  In order to secure the future of these services it is necessary to secure part-time or full-time back-up for the current physicians. Drawing from a pool of regional specialists will be researched. The goal is to maintain these valuable services for the long term and eliminate any short-term interruptions.         

e)         A review of the emergency department’s utilization, public perception, and satisfaction levels of patients, staff, and physicians will be performed. The goal is to improve service and utilize the department appropriately.

f)          Continuity of care is a major concern for staff and patients, especially with the continued use of the locum and hospitalist program. The Hospital will set up a committee to analyze ways to improve the process. The goal is to streamline the process, improve coordination, and subsequently improve patient service.

g)         The Hospital will continue the thrust, in conjunction with the Town and the Physicians Retention and Recruitment Trust, to recruit and retain permanent health care professionals. Without Doctors there won’t be a hospital. With a national shortage of Doctors, written criteria should be developed to define where the Hospital’s dollars will be most effectively spent. Alternate models for the provision of services will be examined. The possibility of acute care nurse practitioners will be considered. The goal is to get a better return on our investment.

2.         Strategic Direction: Specialty Clinics Action Plan

a)         In keeping with the vision to provide specialty clinics to the community and the region, the Hospital will maintain some, or all, of the current clinics being offered. The clinics, in total, are a drain on the Hospital’s resources. An impact study will be conducted on each specialty clinic to determine marginal contribution or lack thereof. The goal is to strike a balance between specialty services provided and resources used.

b)         As part of the vision to anticipate the needs of the community and region, the Hospital will selectively explore additional clinics which may be added to our services. An impact analysis will be conducted on each potential clinic prior to acceptance. The goal is to selectively expand on a greatest benefit basis.

3.         Strategic Direction: Collaboration and Partnerships Action Plan

a)         There are notable differences in health status issues between the north and the rest of the province, as there have been for years.  Participating in the Northern Advocacy effort is integral to operating in Northern Ontario .  As important are benefits that may be derived from hunting as a pack.  Although the Under-serviced Area Grants (UAG) program currently does not encourage this approach, “system integration” is a key priority for the new government and will be especially prominent in our diverse region.  The Hospital accepts that they do not have the critical mass to be a regional referral hospital and will strive to obtain the most for the community hospital from regional efforts. The goal is to participate more actively in, and work more closely with, regional initiatives to bring Health Care professionals and specialty clinics to the region, and as a spin off, to our community hospital.

b)         In support of the vision to collaborate with other organizations, the Hospital will rejuvenate its relationships with community partners. The goal is to offer a wider range of services with the same total dollars.

4.         Strategic Direction: Finance Action Plan

The Hospital’s cash reserves will disappear quickly under the previous strategy and spending patterns.  The government has set new priorities of “accountability, system integration and enhanced efficiency”.  Funding and financial planning must give consideration to these stated priorities.

a)         You will prepare an annual and three year cash flow projection based on eliminating the deficits over the next three years.

b)         Spending on recruitment and retention will be analyzed to eliminate expenditures on efforts that are not producing results.

c)         All services offered outside the core services will be scrutinized to determine which ones are not funded.  An impact analysis will be prepared to determine the cost of each unfunded service.

d)         Capital expenditures will be measured against a pre-determined set of criteria prior to purchase.

The goal is to attain financial stability.

5.         STRUCTURE

Strategic plans must ensure that the organization has a structure that facilitates the execution of the strategy.  An organization’s structure shows the composition of the organization’s roles, responsibilities, and relationships.  It is used to indicate the duties of team members and how these duties will integrate with one another.  Structure follows strategy.

        Action Plan

1.         Senior management will review the organization chart based on the functions that need to be carried out to implement the strategy, with the main focus being on documenting functions rather than writing down people’s names in this step.

2.         The Hospital will develop skill requirement profiles to establish exactly which skills are relevant to each position and conduct a skills audit to establish if the incumbents possess these skills to the necessary levels or require training to upgrade.

3.         Once the functions have been identified that require an accountable team member, the next step is to assign a person to each function.

4.         A revised organization chart will be prepared that documents the roles and responsibilities of each team member.  You will organize a team meeting and communicate the new organization structure to team members.

5.         It is necessary to develop a formal management succession plan taking into account the possible number of retirees over the next five years.

6.         The Hospital will identify and empower emerging leaders.  You will instill the confidence to step up when the time is right.

7.         The Human Resources Department, along with senior management, will complete the job description updating project.

8.         Senior management, in conjunction with the Human Resources Department, will identify staff that have not received timely performance reviews and set up a schedule to complete this task.

The goal here is to ensure that a strong structure is in place to facilitate the execution of the chosen strategic option.

6.         CULTURE

Culture in an organization is the way people behave, what they value, how they are treated, what is important, how things get done, and the general atmosphere and environment. It can be summed up as “they way we do things around here”. It is not visible but it drives the way an organization behaves and performs. There is a strong relationship between culture and success.

Action Plan

1.         Management will foster an atmosphere of empowering team members to take responsibility for their functional areas. Empowerment does not mean giving up authority. It does not mean shuffling off all the executive or governing responsibilities. It does mean sharing some authority and responsibility with team members at various levels. It means developing the intellectual capital of your organization and giving team members a greater feeling of involvement. It means enriching their jobs by giving greater scope and depth. The goal is to give managers, at all levels, time to change.

2.         The Hospital will emphasize a client service focus, which occasionally becomes diluted in efforts to focus on internal goals. The goal is to exceed patient expectations.

3.         The Hospital will continue to recognize and reward the value of staff contributions in order to meet the vision of being an excellent workplace and an employer of choice. The goal is to retain staff and provide a desirable climate for recruiting new health care providers. 

4.         The Board and Management will ensure that systems and processes are in place to ensure patient/staff safety. The intent is to develop a culture through leadership where patient/staff safety is foremost in our everyday actions. Priorities will include; safe use and administration of medications, preparation for disasters and emergencies, control of infections, risk management and safe workplaces. The goal is to provide the safest possible environment for patients and staff.