• Quality Advisory Group
• Clinical Quality Table
• Quality Improvement Enabling Framework
• Experience Based Design
• Quality Symposium
• Quality Awards
• Resources

Quality Improvement is a catalyst for change needed to achieve quality care, improved health, and better value. Building a culture of quality improvement, developing capacity, and embedding structured improvement methods into change initiatives has been and continues to be an implementation priority for the South West LHIN and health service providers. Creating a culture that is relentless in its pursuit of quality improvement requires continuous and sustained involvement from all stakeholders, particularly those who use health care services, to develop a shared understanding of the opportunities to improve the experience of care, implement the required changes, study the results and make refinements. These changes often include changing behaviour patterns and how systems operate.

PLAN OF ACTION

• Work alongside health service providers to consistently embed patient engagement approaches (e.g.Experience Based Design) to advance quality improvement.
• Work with health service providers to develop a coordinated approach to engage people who receive services and determine experience of care measures.
• Provide leadership in establishing shared quality improvement strategies through Quality Improvement Plans across and within sectors to advance key priorities.
• Engage a Quality Improvement community of practice to continue to build a culture of continuous quality improvement and broadly share quality evidence.
• Work alongside health service providers to implement best practices (e.g. Quality Based Procedures, Adult Day Program Redesign) and reduce variation within and among organizations to improve outcomes and value for money.
• Encourage health service providers to embed quality improvement within their organizations through processes such as accreditation and use tools such as the Quality Improvement Enabling Framework.
• Work with health service providers to advance quality outcomes for identified priorities and initiatives.
• Continue to integrate and standardize improvement tools and templates into the LHIN’s project management approach.
• Work alongside health service providers to leverage provincial quality improvement learning opportunities (e.g. IDEAS program--Improving and Driving Excellence across Sectors) by implementing an approach and roadmap to identify improvement projects.
• Continue to acknowledge and stimulate quality improvement efforts through the LHIN’s annual quality symposium and awards.

Quality Advisory Group

The Quality Advisory Group guides the South West LHIN’s Quality Improvement approach. The group is comprised of highly-skilled industry leaders tasked with fostering a Quality Improvement culture across the South West LHIN. The group provides expert advice to the Health System Leadership Council and promotes using the Quality Improvement Enabling Framework at multiple levels – within organizations, within various quality improvement initiatives, and at a system level. At a system level, it will identify and advance strategies to strengthen a quality improvement culture across the LHIN and support broader implementation of the Framework.

• Terms of Reference 

Membership

Name	Organization
Mary Atkinson	Listowel-Wingham Hospital Alliance
Linda Adamson	Chartwell London
Shannon Brett	Health Quality Ontario
Mary Cardinal	Huron Perth Family Health Team
Steven Carswell	South West CCAC
Sonja Glass	Grey Bruce Health Services
Catherine Hardman	Choices for Change
Rachel LaBonte	Partnering for Quality
Kim Leuszler	Caressant Care Long Term Care Home
Sue McCutcheon	South West CCAC
Gordon Milak	South West CCAC
Julie Nicholls	Health Quality Ontario
Randy Peltz	Woodstock Elgin Community Health Centre
Linda Sibley	Addition Services of Thames Valley
Carmell Tait	Participation House
Carol Weigel	Home & Community Support Services of Grey Bruce
Kevin De Jong	South West LHIN
Kelly Gillis	South West LHIN
Ashley Jackson	South West LHIN
Nicole Robinson	South West LHIN
Rachel Stack	South West LHIN

Clinical Quality Table

The South West Local Health Integration Network (SW LHIN) and Health Quality Ontario (HQO) are working in collaboration to establish the South West Clinical Quality Table. An Expression of Interest process is now being launched to identify individuals who may be interested in joining the table. We invite you to respond to this call, or share this information with others you feel may be interested in participating in this exciting new leadership opportunity.

The Clinical Quality Table is an action-oriented body that will focus on regional clinical quality challenges and initiatives, as well as connect regional and provincial priorities and structures. It will be developed collaboratively with the LHINs with support from HQO as a mechanism to discuss the foundations for clinical quality, provide the necessary alignment between regional and provincial strategic directions, and to hold an instrumental role in the implementation of clinical quality plans. It will also serve as an important mechanism for leadership to achieve progress and momentum on clinical quality. The ultimate goal of aligning the clinical quality agenda and engaging communities is to support the advancement of key clinical quality priorities within the Integrated Health Service Plan (IHSP), with an initial focus on improving patient outcomes for individuals with selected chronic conditions as well as mental health and addiction related co-morbidities.

Invitation to the Clinical Quality Table

Terms of Reference, Clinical Quality Table

Expression of Interest form, Clinical Quality Table

Quality Improvement Enabling Framework

Developed by the Quality Advisory Group, the Framework was developed to guide the South West LHIN quality improvement activities. It provides a foundation for the work of the advisory group. The framework has been successfully applied at the health service provider level as a way to develop more effective and better aligned initiatives as part of their organization’s ongoing quality improvement efforts.

• Quality Improvement Enabling Framework
• Watch a presentation on the Framework from the 2012 Quality Symposium.

Experience Based Design

Working alongside LHIN residents to find solutions to improve care experiences creates a collective ownership and commitment to continuous improvement. When health service providers learn about care experiences and preferences directly from those people receiving the services, they get the necessary insights to work together to make improvements that matter most to those receiving care. 

Experience Based Design uses experience to gain insights from which you can identify and co-design opportunities for improvement. It is about understanding the emotional journey in our healthcare system and designing an improved healthcare experience. It incorporates the patient voice into health system design by observing and involving patients/clients in the process and asking how they want to be cared for. 

Experience Based Design Workshop and resources
 

Quality Symposium

The Quality Symposium is an annual event that brings together 300-400 health service providers, governors and partners for a day of education and inspiration around quality improvement best practices. This event is accessible and free of charge.

Quality Awards

The Quality Awards recognize organizations that have implemented a sustainable quality improvement initiative by working together to achieve performance excellence. The Quality Awards program is a way to recognize organizations that have partnered together to implement a sustainable quality improvement initiative to achieve performance excellence. To be eligible for an award, the initiative must demonstrate sustainable system change and involve two or more organizations or agencies, at least one of which is LHIN-funded. Cross-continuum collaboration is encouraged. The awards are handed out each year at the Quality Symposium. 

Past Winners