Today's issue brings you an update on LHIN governance, the LHIN Community Workshops, a summary report on all of the 14 workshops held between November 19 and December 10, and next steps for the LHIN communities.

LHINs will be governed by an appointed Board of Directors and bound by performance agreements with the Ministry. The Boards will be appointed by an Order-in-Council. Board members will be selected using a merit-based process, with all candidates assessed for fit between skills and abilities of the prospective appointee and the needs of each individual LHIN. The appointment process will be transparent and consistent – with clear and understandable guidelines applied consistently to all Board appointments.

Board members will be expected to possess relevant expertise, experience, leadership skills, and have an understanding of local health issues, needs and priorities.

Profiles and details on how to apply for the positions of LHIN Board Chair or Member are now posted on the Public Appointments Secretariat Web site at www.pas.gov.on.ca. In accordance with the established process, all persons applying to serve on any government Agency, Board or Commission must apply through the Public Appointments Secretariat.

Recruitment is underway by a national executive search firm for the 14 LHIN CEO positions. Advertisements in national and regional newspapers will be placed in early January. At that time, a link to a copy of the advertisement will be posted on the LHIN section of this web site.

The ministry sends sincere thanks and appreciation to all individuals and organizations who participated in the LHIN Community Workshops and helped make them a great success. In total, approximately 4,000 participants attended the 14 LHIN workshops, including representatives of patient advocacy and community groups, the public, health care providers and provider organizations, health-related associations, and Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

In each of the 14 LHIN workshops, participants appreciated the innovative Open Space format for the day-long workshops, and embraced the opportunity to self-organize to identify integration initiatives. Many attendees openly commended the ministry for leveraging each community's knowledge and experience in integration, and for empowering them to move forward. All participants truly appreciated the opportunity for networking and establishing relationships within their LHIN.

At each workshop, participants identified integration priorities important for their particular LHIN and voted at the end of the day for the Top 10 Integration Priorities in patient care and administrative/support services.

While the uniqueness of each LHIN was acknowledged by workshop participants, some themes were common to over half of the workshops. The table below outlines those themes that were cited as priorities in more than 7 of the 14 LHIN workshops.

Other topics included : primary care reform within LHINs and citizen engagement with LHIN governance.

For a listing of the Top 10 integration priority opportunities identified for each LHIN, as well as other information regarding the workshops, please click here for the Report on Community Workshops

Work is currently underway in each of the 14 LHIN communities to prepare and submit their Integration Priority Report. Twenty individuals were self selected from each workshop to lead the development of the Reports in conjunction with their communities. To assist communities with this task, the ministry has provided relevant tools and information, such as the summaries of the work completed at all 14 workshops, demographic information relevant to the population of each LHIN, as well as a listing of health care providers in that LHIN. It is the ministry's expectation that, in this process, members of the public and the full spectrum of health care providers in each LHIN community be engaged in the work.

Each Integration Priority Report is due for completion 75 days after the date of the respective Community Workshop. The 14 completed Integrated Priority Reports will then be made available to the inaugural LHIN Board meetings, scheduled for April 2005, and will form the foundation for LHIN integrated health system planning.

The completion dates for each LHIN's Integration Priority Report are as follows :

In support of the ongoing work on the development of Integration Priority Reports in LHIN communities and the leadership of the individuals who are helping move this work forward, the ministry will hold a workshop with the planning contacts for all LHINs during the week of January 10, 2005 in Toronto. The workshop will provide a forum for sharing ideas, experiences and learning among representatives of all 14 LHIN communities to facilitate the work on preparing the Reports.

It is not too late to participate in the development of your LHIN's Integration Priority Report. If you wish to become involved, please get in touch with the appropriate contact people for your area. For a complete list of the planning contacts for your LHIN please click on the appropriate contact list below.

Once again, the ministry extends a sincere thank you to all who took the time to participate in the workshops and who will be moving forward with this important work in their communities.

We wish everyone a safe and happy Holiday Season!

Please look for the LHIN Bulletin on the 15th day of every month. Also, LHIN-related updates and reports will be posted on this site on the 1st day of every month, if necessary.

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