Ontario's Small, Rural and Northern Hospitals
Listowel and Wingham Hospitals Alliance
What We Do
The Core Service Role of Hospitals in Ontario report, which explores the central role that small hospitals play in delivering health care in small and rural communities, was recently released by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care through the Joint Policy and Planning Committee (JPPC).
The report catalogues services currently provided by small hospitals and, based on those findings, makes recommendations regarding what core services could be offered. It also looks at the role that could and should be played by small hospitals in the years ahead.
The report also acknowledges the distinct challenges that small hospitals often face, particularly with respect to recruiting and retaining health professionals, geographically-dispersed populations, and serving populations that are, on average, less healthy than those in more urban areas.
The need for community-specific, collaborative planning between hospitals, LHINs and community-based health providers is a key finding of the report, which was meant to provide broad guidance to health system planners in this respect.
A full copy of the report can be found on the JPPC website at http://www.jppc.org/ and a key messages and “Question and Answer” document can be accessed by clicking on this link.