On November 24, George Smitherman, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care introduced Bill 36, the Local Health System Integration Act 2005. Second Reading was debated on November 29, December 5 and 6, and was carried on December 7. Bill 36 has been referred to the Standing Committee on Social Policy, a committee comprised of members of the provincial parliament for all three parties. It will be up to the committee to decide if and when there will be public hearings, as well as the number and location. If you would like to find out more about the Standing Committee on Social Policy, please visit the Legislative Assembly web site at www.ontla.on.ca/committees

More information about Bill 36, including news release, compendium (plain-language version of the Bill) and a copy of the legislation, are available on this web site. Links to the legislation can also be found on the LHIN web site at www.lhins.on.ca under News/Media.

In addition to their active roster of community engagement activities, the Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) have been hard at work recruiting and hiring staff and settling into their new offices.

All LHINs now have Executive Assistants and Office Managers in place and are in the final stages of hiring Senior Directors of Performance, Contract and Allocation and Senior Directors of Planning, Integration and Community Engagement.

The Health Results – Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) Team is pleased to announce that all LHIN offices are now ready for occupancy. While some LHIN staff members are still moving into their offices, most LHINs are ready and open for business.

In order to open 14 LHIN offices, the LHIN Team was required to follow government guidelines and directives and to work through several government services on implementation:

• Ontario Realty Corporation – managed the construction.
• The Ministry’s Facilities Management Services – coordinated the lease search, design, construction and furniture for all LHIN offices. This included the management and coordination of several third organizations such as design firms, construction contractors and landlords.
• The government’s Human Services Cluster, Information & Information Technology – implemented phone and data lines for the communications network
• Smart Systems for Health Agency (SSHA) – provided Blackberries, internet domain, email, wide area network, and hosting services for the LHIN public web site.
• LHIN Information Technology (IT) Team –provided and supported LHIN desktops, notebooks and printers; desktop applications, local area network, file and print services; backup services; and, remote access services. The LHIN IT team has been working closely with SSHA to oversee this implementation and will continue to provide help desk and on-site support

Below is the updated contact information for all LHINs, including addresses and telephone numbers. For more information, please visit the LHINs web site at www.lhins.on.ca

As this is the final bulletin for 2005, the LHIN Team would like to take this opportunity to wish you a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year.

Please look for the LHIN Bulletin mid-month, every month. Also, LHIN-related updates and reports will be posted on this site at the beginning of every month, if necessary.

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