The Huron-Perth Healthcare Alliance has submitted a formal self-assessment to the government in anticipation of being asked to establish an Ontario Health Team.
Alliance CEO Andrew Williams said they believe if they can share what they're already doing in Huron and Perth, it might influence the direction the team eventually takes in their local communities. He added they've been told each health team will be developed around the unique needs of the population it serves so each team will be a little different.
Williams added the concept is not entirely new to the Alliance. He said some of the biggest challenges in health care are when people move from one provider to another.
"This is focus will help us deal with those hand-offs and we have, for years, been trying to focus on that right across Huron and Perth and I think the Ontario Health Team model allows us to continue down that road in a more formal way," said Williams. “We're looking at this as a way to better align our organizations around those hand-off points, where people transition, say, from hospital to home care or hospital to long term care or primary care to home care, and make sure that we're doing that as well as we possibly can by working together."
Williams also noted that health care is a $60 billion business and the province has to deal with that financial reality. But he said as far as the Alliance is concerned, the re-structuring is about improving the services they provide.
Williams said, going forward, the government will pick a hand full of the self-assessments that have been submitted, conduct some site visits and invite formal applications. The successful applicants will be announced this fall.