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University affiliation excites leader of Orangeville’s hospital

May 23, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

Headwaters Health Care Centre has a plan for where it wants to go clinically over the next five years.

Kim Delahunt, the president and CEO at the hospital in Orangeville, met with Mono council on May 14 to discuss the health care facility’s achievements over the past year.

She said the hospital has been accredited with exemplary standing, which is the highest standard possible.

“It’s a week-long sort of like investigation or an audit where a team comes in and looks at all of the policies, all of the practices we have,” Delahunt said. “They actually follow a patient from the time they come in before a surgery, through a surgery.

“The team visits all of our units and there are thousands of standards that have to be met.”

The Clinical Priority Plan, which was launched at the hospital in 2023, identifies the overarching clinical priorities and areas of focus for the hospital over the next five years.

It basically lays the foundation for the renewal of strategic directions next year.

All clinical services and programming were considered as part of the plan, she said. Patient volumes were factored in as well.

“We also looked at all the population projections from all the communities that we serve for the next 15, 20 years,” Delahunt said. “It informed what are the services and programs that we need to offer at the hospital.”

Priority areas include obstetrics, pediatrics, geriatric medicine, mental health and substance use care. The Emergency Department is ever-evolving and steps have been taken toward reducing patient wait times.

Of the values, Delahunt said kindness and teamwork resonate among the hospital staff.

“Our values are what we expect of each other, how we’re going to treat each other, how we want to treat anyone that walks through our doors,” she said. “Ultimately, they’re going to help us achieve all our strategic values.”

A new focus in the strategic plan is something they call their Fundamentals. Those are in three areas, diversity, equity, and inclusion; a safe and healthy environment; and keeping abreast of technology and innovation.

“The diversity in our communities is increasing, expanding, so we want to ensure that we are ready to serve the diverse cultures and individuals,” she said. “We want to reflect the diversity in our staff.”

She said there is much planning taking place at the hospital to ensure a solid, sustainable future for the facility and its medical services.

Councillor Ralph Manktelow, a retired physician, said wait times at the hospital are as much as five hours.

“Not good,” he said.

But you’re put to the front of the line if you walk into the Emergency Department with heart attack symptoms, he said.

“My experience with your hospital has been wonderful,” he said.

Delahunt said the hospital’s recently signed affiliation with the new Toronto Metropolitan University School of Medicine will lead to a “pipeline” for new physicians and ultimately better care for patients.

The university will send the hospital students and resident physicians to various departments yet to be finalized.

“We’re really excited about this partnership,” she said. “I think there’s a number of benefits for the hospital and the community.” 

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