Agenda

Many factors affect the health of a population. This session will examine global influences on the health of all populations as seen through the geopolitical lens of the last twenty years.

Access to health care when and where people need it is an ongoing challenge not only for our rural and northern communities. The expanded use of virtual care has gained remarkable acceptance and provided everything from simple checkups to speciality consultations.

Delivering higher levels of virtual care will also help ensure a stronger future for the health of rural and northern communities.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• How virtual care is improving access to healthcare in remote communities
• Provide improved health outcomes, higher patient experiences, and better cost-effectiveness.
• How community organizations can increase their use of virtual care, particularly with respect to home and long-term care options

The Rapid Access Addictions Medicine (RAAM) teams supports the Thunder Bay clinic, the City of Thunder Bay and Fort William First Nation. Additionally, they support the Greenstone clinic, which in turn supports Longlac, Geraldton, Long Lake 58 First Nation and Ginoogaming First Nation.

Each RAAM support team consists of RNs, NP/MDs, social workers and peer support workers.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• Why was the partnership created and how was it developed
• What is RAAM, how did the team work together to engage the communities, including First Nations communities
• What mental health and addictions successes have been realized to date, and what are the next steps

Digital transformation is in full swing for rural and northern health teams, but the security those systems require must also be factored in. There has also been an explosion of hyper-connected IT, IoT (Internet of Things) and IoMT (Internet of Medical Things) devices and, with it, a greatly expanded cyber-attack surface.

With constant transformation and the explosion of interconnected devices, how do you even begin to plan for a zero-trust architecture beyond the managed users and workstations?

Key Takeaways and Learning Objectives Include:

• What is Zero Trust and how do you get there
• Some of the common pitfalls to avoid
• Why Zero Trust doesn’t stop at managed users and workstations – IoMT devices must be included in the architecture planning up-front

Land-based detox models are now a legitimate avenue to treat addictions for First Nations. Though this was not always the case. It took many years for Indigenous Services Canada to recognize its use and successes, but finally the funding models are being revised to expand the treatment options.

With a 7-day treatment and ceremony period with trauma informed counselling, First Nations patients are reconnecting with their culture and experiencing great results in achieving long-term sobriety.

Key Takeaways and Discussion Topics:

• Hear how the program developed, and the support it achieved in producing results
• Understand what the program entails, how it’s delivered, and why graduates succeed
• Learn what the long-term prospects are for patients, and how patients are cared for throughout their recovery
• What the next steps will be, and where their biggest challenges lie, including meeting demand

Although there are associations and working groups of emergency managers, there are none that are specific to the challenges health care emergency managers face.

With differing coding systems and communications challenges, there are many ways a cohesive member-based association could move the community forward in a more deliberate way.

We will lead a discussion on whether there is a need for a formal Canadian Healthcare Emergency Management Association. CHEPA (our current group) is a loose, grassroots movement having informal conversations of whether it would be beneficial to formally become a recognized association.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• The goals of the association and where best to focus its energy
• Ways we can establish best practices and develop certification criteria unique to our industry
• If an association were to be formed, how could it gain traction

To support all residents of Renfrew County, a community-based, hybrid model of in-person and virtual care was launched in March 2020. This innovative initiative has improved equity in access to traditionally underserved populations.

VTAC combines virtual care with in-person care, care from family physicians with care from paramedics, and care at home with care in clinical assessment centres.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• How was the system was introduced, promoted, and evaluated
• How did the hybrid model perform, from emergency department visits to healthcare costs
• How was the primary care role integrated, and what were patients’ responses to the hybrid model
• What are the next steps for the program, and how and where will it be expanded
• What are the lessons learned over the past couple of years

Collaborative care and integrated care have become the preferred model for healthcare providers across Canada, with the goal of improving patient outcomes and experiences.

North Bay Regional Health Centre has experienced some success in this area, and continues to branch out, integrate, and innovate to provide the right care to the right patient at the right time.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• Why we need to focus on growth with a critical thinking lens to build better collaborative care
• The importance of process improvement philosophy and working through problems
• Speeding up the decision-making process to build good will in the community
• Some of the positives and drawbacks and how to approach them to ensure long-term success

Healthcare continues to become more complex, and home and community care organizations are seeing this play out daily. To provide better care, it is becoming more important to have the tools necessary to provide the most effective standards of care.

With the multitude of technological tools available, choosing the most appropriate technology for your patients requires a specialized knowledge many don’t have.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• How effective home-based monitoring systems improve health outcomes, decision support and saves you valuable resources
• What remote monitoring can and can’t do for home patients with complex health needs
• How remote monitoring improves record keeping and accountability

Rural and northern health care providers are focused on providing the highest quality of care to all their patients. Yet there are multiple challenges due to available resources as well as cultural considerations and geographic distances.

Delve into some key insights on how to improve the indigenous patients experience with the with respect to cancer screen, treatment, and health outcomes.

Key Session Takeaways include:

• Best practices with engaging Indigenous Patients and being sensitive to traditional healing methods
• How to effectively engage with Indigenous Patients and Elders
• How to discuss screening of various cancers, differ treatment options, and outcomes, while being culturally sensitive

We know from research that as distance to health services increase, we see a corresponding decrease in use of those services. Distance to much needed services can be a contributing factor in deciding to seek treatment, in part because of the extra costs incurred on patients and their families.

As services become more centralized, as a cost concern, added costs are passed onto the patient in terms of travel. And although Provinces provide some reimbursement, it varies greatly across the country. How then, should Provinces respond to provide equal access to care for rural and northern residents?

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• How provincial travel subsidies are provided for rural patients
• The beneficial role of technology in building access to care
• Alternative needs-based models to access subsidies
• How subsidies improve access to care – and healthcare outcomes