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georgetown

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Annual Report 2023

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INNOVATING TO CARE

Browse Report
2022/23 Annual Report to the Community

Table of Contents

A Message from Our Leadership CONNECT - Care by Air Drone Project ADVANCE - Patient & Family Advisors: Advancing How We Deliver Care with Lived Experience RESPOND - Accreditation ENGAGE - Health Human Resources Steering Committee Halton Healthcare by the Numbers Thank You! Financials Board of Directors 2022/23 Senior Leadership Team

A MESSAGE FROM OUR LEADERSHIP

This has been a year of rejuvenation. While the veil of the pandemic challenges slowly lifts, our teams have heartily taken on the many other obstacles that arose this past year. Always innovative, there has been no stopping the collaborative efforts of everyone on our team to ensure that we provide safe, quality care to our patients, families and communities.

Last fall, an increase in both patient volumes and acuity in our Emergency Departments, quickly translated into increased volumes in all of our services. An organization-wide campaign engaged staff, physicians and volunteers to offer creative solutions that has led to several changes to improve patient flow and preserve hospital capacity.

To support our people, a renewed focus has been placed on action plans for retention, recruitment, professional development, team well-being and engagement, student placement and academic partnerships. This work is being led by a dedicated, multi-disciplinary team of staff and physicians from across the organization who make up a Health Human Resources Steering Committee. We are seeing some early success, which is largely credited to active engagement of a cross-section of staff and physicians along with patients and families.

From a clinical perspective we had a very busy year, having performed more than 50,780 surgeries, conducting almost 322,000 diagnostic exams and delivering 4,565 babies. Our teams have worked to restore service to pre-pandemic levels in all areas, including diagnostic imaging. MRI wait times, for instance, at both Milton District and Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospitals are exceeding provincial benchmarks thanks to creative solutions to increase capacity.

Late in the year we welcomed five Accreditation Canada surveyors for an on-site survey assessing leadership, governance, clinical programs and services against rigorous quality and safety requirements. The organization performed outstandingly well and we proudly achieved the highest possible ranking of “Exemplary Standing”. This effort speaks volumes about the quality of care that we provide within our communities and our commitment to our purpose ‘To Care’ shines through, thanks to the efforts of our staff, physicians, volunteers and Board members.

As many of the conditions once in place from the pandemic have been relaxed, we have a much clearer picture of the way forward and we’re working to respond in those areas where our communities need us most. We’re poised to once again exchange smiles between colleagues, patients and families as we react to evolving public health guidelines allowing for more choices based on personal health and comfort levels. Our leaders are diving into a clinical service planning process that will determine a roadmap for high quality service evolution and we will welcome a new President and CEO, Melissa Farrell, early in the fiscal year.

Our teams are strong and vibrant and are reinforced by solid connections to each other and our communities. Together we are well-positioned to take on any challenges - we are well equipped for carefully planned advancements and for those that require quick, yet considerate reaction. We are grateful that we have the strength of our team members behind us and we know that in spite of anything that may come our way we can continue to deliver on our purpose ‘To Care’ and our vision of providing exemplary patient experiences, always.
 

Richard Nunn
Chair, Board of Directors

Hilary Rodrigues
Interim President & CEO

Dr. David McConachie
Chief of Staff

CONNECT

Care by Air Drone Project:
Innovation Takes Flight

In a quest to physically connect our hospitals and advance the delivery of care, Halton Healthcare along with partners DSV Air & Sea Inc. Canada, Drone Delivery Canada (DDC), McMaster University and Air Canada Cargo, have launched a pilot project aimed at clearing the path for drone deliveries of medical supplies. Dubbed Care by Air, this project is among the first of its kind in Canada and will enable the next horizon in healthcare delivery.

“Hospitals are impacted by the same challenges as many other service providers – rising fuel costs, supply chain issues and ecological considerations. However, in healthcare even the smallest disruptions can make a critical difference in patient care,” explains Hilary Rodrigues, Interim President and CEO. “The pandemic highlighted the need to optimize supply chains and establish safe, secure and reliable ways to deliver vital or urgent medical supplies. Being at the forefront of an innovative drone delivery system is the ideal way to connect our hospitals and be more responsive to the care needs of our patients, families and communities.” 

Officially launched in the fall of 2022, the Care by Air project has defined flight routes from DSV’s Milton, Ontario headquarters to Halton Healthcare’s OTMH using DDC’s Sparrow drone, its DroneSpot® takeoff and landing zones and the company’s proprietary FLYTE software. The project has demonstrated the drone’s ability to transport light medical equipment, like test kits and swabs, as well as its speed, agility and efficiency compared to more traditional transportation methods. The next phase of the project will interconnect the three hospitals with a web of flight routes and seek approval from aviation regulators to transport a wider range of medical products including time sensitive isotopes as supplied by McMaster University.

“Hospitals are impacted by the same challenges as many other service providers – rising fuel costs, supply chain issues and ecological considerations. However, in healthcare even the smallest disruptions can make a critical difference in patient care,”
-Hilary Rodrigues, Interim President and CEO.

Halton Healthcare’s three hospitals stretch across nearly 34km of urban and rural communities from Georgetown Hospital (GH) and Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH), with Milton District Hospital (MDH) sitting at the mid-way point. With specialized specimen testing occurring at the OTMH site, transporting samples from hospital to hospital over that distance means that time is always of the essence.

“We log multiple courier trips from our Milton and Georgetown Hospitals to OTMH each day and this is only going to increase as our communities grow,” relates Shairoz Kherani, Director, Diagnostic Imaging & Laboratory Services. “The financial and environmental costs of that are significant, but what’s even more critical are the potential for delays in clinical results, and therefore care for our patients.”

“The potential for using drones in healthcare is profound. It’s where the future is moving,” concludes Rodrigues. “Once we meet the regulators’ requirement to deliver dangerous goods, it will really open up a lot of possibilities for hospitals throughout the system.”

For more on the Care by Air Drone Project Click Here.

ADVANCE

Patient and Family Advisors – Advancing How We Deliver Care with Lived Experience

Since first integrating Patient and Family Advisors (PFA) into the design, delivery and evaluation of our healthcare services almost a decade ago, the roles of our PFAs have advanced as much as the programs and care they contribute to. Inviting community members with lived experience onto our committees, projects and our day to day activities is effectively enhancing the culture of care among our teams and throughout our hospitals.

“As Patient and Family Advisors we are being involved in processes and procedures that most people never see,” shares Karen Tratt, Patient and Family Advisor. “Our work behind the scenes ensures smooth healthcare experiences for everyone.”

“Our work behind the scenes ensures smooth healthcare experiences for everyone.”
-Karen Tratt, Patient and Family Advisor

Today we have 53 PFAs working in various roles across all sites, all of whom have recent experience (within five years) of being a patient or family member of a patient. As demand for the advice of these patient representatives grows, our program continues to grow. This year alone, the number of PFAs nearly doubled thanks to a program refresh and extensive recruitment campaign. To support the active involvement of our PFAs, we also added a new staff member to the team, a Quality Specialist, whose role includes patient engagement. The PFAs themselves help shape and enhance the patient experience by influencing all facets of our services ranging from patient menus to research and ethics, quality, education, communications and more.

“Listening to our patients and families and collaborating with them is the key to our success and to continuing to advance how we deliver care. They provide us with the perspective we need to reexamine our existing systems and help us rethink our care delivery processes,” says Letitia McDougall, Director Quality & Patient Relations. “They help shape our decisions at both the corporate, project and direct care levels so we can continue to create a nurturing culture with positive patient and family-centred experiences.”

As the consumers of Halton Healthcare programs and services, the voice of the patient and their families is critical. “They offer valuable insight and feedback about their hospital experience and the care they received,” concludes Cheryl Murphy, Patient Relations Advisor, Quality and Patient Relations. “They provide concrete suggestions for our ongoing improvement initiatives. Their voices are critical. We need them at the table at all levels of our organization whether we are developing a policy, vetting a new procedure or brainstorming a new service.”

Interested in becoming a Patient Family Advisor? Learn More Here.

RESPOND

Accreditation 2023: Responding with a Commitment to Exemplary Care, Always

Responding to the call for quality care, Halton Healthcare teams have been awarded Accreditation with Exemplary Standing by Accreditation Canada.

“The Accreditation Canada survey is one of the most comprehensive external reviews of health organizations,” says Joan Jickling, SVP Patient Engagement and Chief Nursing Executive. “It provides our patients, families and the community at large with assurances that we are meeting or exceeding national standards of quality in patient care.”

“It provides our patients, families and the community at large with assurances that we are meeting or exceeding national standards of quality in patient care.”
-Joan Jickling, SVP Patient Engagement and Chief
Nursing Executive

Accreditation is an ongoing process of assessing healthcare organizations against standards of excellence to identify what is being done well and what needs to be improved. Led by an external non-profit organization, these peer reviews serve to assess and improve the services that we provide, based on set standards.

This spring we welcomed five Accreditation Canada surveyors who conducted an on-site survey assessing the organization’s leadership, governance, clinical programs and services against rigorous quality and safety requirements.

During their time, the surveyors visited all three Halton Healthcare Hospitals and engaged in frank, probing conversations with patients, families, community partners, staff, physicians, volunteers and Board members. The “tracer” methodology was used during their visit to give a real-time experience of how a patient moves through the organization and how services are delivered to them.

“The achievement of Accreditation with Exemplary Standing is a testament to the dedication and commitment of everyone involved in helping us achieve our vision to provide exemplary patient experiences, always,” concludes Hilary Rodrigues, Interim President & CEO. “ This insightful process gives us the opportunity to demonstrate how well our team responds to the call for quality care and offers a thorough look at our work and accomplishments.”

The final report confirmed that we achieved a perfect score on the 28 Required Organizational Practices (ROP) and met 99.8% of the 2,026 criteria that are used to measure an organizations compliance with Accreditation Canada’s Qmentum standards. These are exceptional results and reflect the expertise, knowledge and commitment our teams have to quality and for providing our patients, families and communities with the best care possible every day.

ENGAGE

Engaging Our Teams – Health Human Resources Steering Committee

In recognition of the health system capacity challenges and the impact 
being placed on our teams, a reconfigured approach to our human 
resource strategy was launched this year in the form of the Health 
Human Resources Steering Committee (HHRSC). The committee is 
overseeing the development and execution of robust health human 
resources plans.

The steering committee is working through eight subcommittees to make recommendations to support, retain and recruit staff, while maintaining a work environment that fosters individual and team well-being,” says Michele Leroux, Chief Human Resources Officer. “We’re engaging staff at varying degrees of experience, from all departments and all professions to take part along with the input of a patient and family advisor. Getting input from team members across the board is key to this process.” 

Among the early success of the HHRSC are enhanced recruitment strategies with targeted advertising campaigns inviting professional and support staff to in-person and virtual hiring and job fair events. One such event netted nearly 100 applicants in the first hour and resulted in the hiring and onboarding of dozens of new team members across the organization.

Further action plans have been developed for retention, professional development, team well-being and engagement, student placement and academic partnerships. This includes the launch of a Learner Engagement Survey for clinical students, which has showed that 85% of students who responded would recommend the organization to their classmates and an overwhelming majority – 90%, would like to work at Halton Healthcare after graduation.

“The steering committee is working through eight subcommittees to make recommendations to support, retain and recruit staff, while maintaining a work environment that fosters individual and team well-being.”
-Michele Leroux, Chief Human Resources Officer.

This winter alone, Halton Healthcare welcomed 475 students to the team including a notable 382 nursing students. The increased number of students allowed us to expand the number of placement opportunities into more areas of our hospitals including the specialty areas of Outpatient Oncology, Critical Care Resource Nursing and Special Care Nursery. Further encouraging results are enhanced partnerships with post-secondary institutions, such as McMaster University, where a dedicated cohort of Accelerated BScN students will complete all five of their clinical placements at Halton Healthcare and graduate as Registered Nurses by next spring.

“The HHRSC is committed to asking the right questions for meaningful engagement,” concludes Elaine Do Rosario, Director, Human Resources, Recruitment and Organizational Development. “It’s the only way to see that our people have the tools, skills and supports they need to continue to provide the exemplary care that we offer at Halton Healthcare.”

 

Halton Healthcare - By the Numbers

1,177 Volunteers
5,178 Staff
968 Medical & Professional Staff (physicians, dentists & midwives)
321,895 Diagnostic Imaging Exams
797,178 Patient Meals Served
23,580 Oncology Visits
161,554 Emergency Department Visits
50,780 Surgeries
38,259 Dialysis Visits
25,927 Fracture Clinic Visits
4,565 Babies Born
55,511 Mental Health & Addictions Ambulatory Care Visits
3,227,438 Laboratory Tests

COVID-19 Activity

(March 1, 2020-April 17, 2023, unless stated otherwise)

16,895 Virtual Visits
6,400 Number of patients cared for in OTMH & MDH Field Hospitals
195,276 Vaccine Doses Administered(December 2020 - May 2022)
2,821 COVID-19 Patients(March 2020 - March 21 2021)
237,659 Testing Centre VisitsMarch 2020 - January 2023)
505 IMS TransfersNovember 2020 - November 2022)

Our hospitals are fortunate to be supported by the energies of three distinct community-centred Volunteer Organizations along with three individual Foundations at each of our hospitals.

Volunteer services are very active across Halton Healthcare and we have the privilege of working with nearly 1,200 volunteers who donate their time and talents throughout our three hospitals. These caring and compassionate individuals enhance the patient experience by extending the person-centred element to the care provided by our teams. Each of our three volunteer organizations are also registered charities raising funds to support the purchase of equipment for their respective hospitals.

Our three Foundations are also actively supporting our hospitals in their fundraising efforts. We are always grateful for the very generous spirit of our communities. Donations and the philanthropic nature of our neighbours and our foundation teams are critical to supporting the innovative care provided to our patients and families.

The community support we receive from our volunteers and Foundations is fundamental to our services – we are forever grateful to our volunteers and Foundations for their unwavering commitment and dedication to our communities.      

 

FINANCIALS

Statement of Operations (expressed in thousands)

For this year ended March 31, 2023

Revenue  2023
 Ministry of Health and Long-Term care (note 10)$527,213
 Interest income 5,821
Other operational income 73,127
Deferred grant amortization 13,890
   
  620,051

 

EXPENSES 2023
Salaries, wages and benefits$448,502
Supplies and other expenses 101,000
Medical and surgical supplies 34,035
Drugs 25,833
Equipment amortization 16,394
  625,764
   
Excess of revenues over expenses before building interest and amortization (5,731)
Building interest and amortization, net (note 15) (2,483)
Excess (Deficiency) of revenues over expenses $(8,196)

 

Audited financial statements for the year-ended March 31, 2023 are available here

BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2022/2023

Officers

  • Richard Nunn, Board Chair
    Samantha Horn, Vice Chair
    David Bronicheski, Treasurer
    Hilary Rodrigues, Secretary

Directors

  • Pankaj Arora
    Bob Aziz
    Dr. Blair Baker
    Sharon Barkley
    Charlotte Burke
    Mayor Rob Burton
    Dr. Meghan Daly
    Dr. Hanif Jamal
    Joan Jickling
    Karen McClure
    Dr. David McConachie
    Ken McDermot
    Stacey Nagle
    Riccardo Trecroce

SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM

  • Hilary Rodrigues, Interim President & CEO
    Dr. David McConachie, Chief of Staff
    Joan Jickling, Senior Vice President, Patient Engagement & Chief Nursing Executive
    Al Coady, Senior Vice President, Redevelopment, Facilities & Retail Operations
    Dr. Daniel Edgcumbe, Vice President, Medical Affairs
    Brendan Kwolek, Chief Information and Digital Officer
    Michele Leroux, Chief Human Resources Officer
    Cindy McDonell, Senior Vice President, Clinical Operations
    Monica Bettazzoni, Chief Operating Officer, Georgetown Hospital
    Carole Moore, Chief Operating Officer, Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital
    Janet Skupsky, Chief Operating Officer, Milton District Hospital