For Immediate Release
June 29, 2005
McGUINTY GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES LEADERSHIP OF SOUTH EAST LOCAL HEALTH INTEGRATION NETWORK
LHINs Will Allow Greater Community Involvement In Local Health Care Decisions
KINGSTON – The McGuinty government today named the three founding board members of the South East Local Health Integration Network who will lead the start up of the network in their community. Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) will be responsible for planning, integrating and funding local health services to make it easier for patients to access the care they need.
“We are creating LHINs because local health services are best planned at the local level, by people familiar with the needs of a community,” said Jim Brownell, Parliamentary Assistant to Health and Long-Term Care Minister George Smitherman. “You can’t micromanage a $33 billion health care system from an office in Toronto. We need local expertise from right across Ontario to help plan and co-ordinate the health care services that are right for people in different communities.”
Brownell today announced that Belleville will be the location of the headquarters for the South East Local Health Integration Network. The LHIN, which includes the counties of Hastings, Lennox and Addington, Prince Edward and Frontenac, and the City of Kingston, as well as a portion of Leeds and Grenville and Lanark County, is expected to open later this summer.
“The creation of the South East Health Network is good news for Kingston, it will allow community residents to have a say in how health care is delivered in our community, said Kingston and The Islands MPP John Gerretsen. “This network will serve our residents through improved care, reduced wait times and better access to services”
The South East LHIN is one of 14 being created in Ontario. LHINs are local entities designed to plan, integrate and fund local health services – including hospitals, community care access centres, home care, long-term care, mental health, community health centres as well as addiction and community support services – within a specific geographic area.
Brownell announced that Georgina Thompson of Thurlow will be the LHIN board chair, with Florence Campbell of Kingston and Ian Wilson of Amherstview serving as founding board members. The government proposes that each LHIN board would have a full complement of nine members by the end of the year.
- 2 -
In her first official duty as chair, Thompson announced that Paul Huras been selected as the CEO.
“Paul is an outstanding leader with significant experience in the health care field,” Thompson said. “His experience will be vital as we establish the South East Local Health Integration Network.”
“I am delighted to have been chosen as the first CEO of the South East Local Health Integration Network,” Huras said. “I’ve worked in health services management and clinical education for 20 years, and I am looking forward to the challenge of bringing some of that experience to the launching of this new local health organization.”
The roles of LHINs will be phased in over time. Subject to the passage of legislation, they would begin by working with the local community and health care providers to set priorities and plan health services in their area. They would then move to integrating and co-ordinating local health services, and eventually, to determining and providing funding and resources.
“LHINs will make it easier for patients to access all of the different health services they need in their own communities, because these services will be co-ordinated in those communities,” said Brownell.
This initiative is part of the McGuinty government’s plan to build a system that delivers on three priorities – keeping Ontarians healthy, reducing wait times and providing better access to doctors and nurses.
- 30 -
