It also provides area residents with an important opportunity to ask questions and provide participating organizations with valuable feedback around how they might be able to better meet the health needs of patients and families in this area.

Together, the Central West Community Care Access Centre (CCAC), Central West Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), Headwaters Health Care Centre, Region of Peel Health Services and William Osler Health System (Osler) have engaged local residents through four Telephone Town Hall conversations over the past two years. The most recent Telephone Town Hall, conducted in October 2014, engaged nearly 8,000 households across the Central West area in a conversation about local health care and seniors services.

While thousands of households from across the Central West area are randomly selected and invited to join the conversation, anyone can participate. Residents are encouraged to check participating organization websites regularly for updated information on the next Telephone Town Hall.

In 2013-14, the Central West LHIN played a key role in the collaborative design and implementation of Health Links, being one of the first of Ontario’s 14 LHINs to fully implement Health Links across the entire geographic area. Five local Health Links were created, each having adopted a common business plan and a standard model of care to ensure a consistent experience for patients and providers. Health Links in the Central West LHIN include Bramalea and Area, Brampton and Area, Dufferin Area, North Etobicoke - Malton - West Woodbridge Area, and Bolton - Caledon Area.

When different health care providers work as a team to care for a patient, they can better coordinate the full patient journey through the health system, leading to better care for patients. Health Links will help to ensure that patients with complex conditions:

• No longer need to answer the same question from different providers.
• Have support to ensure they are taking the right medications appropriately.
• Have a care provider they can call, eliminating unnecessary provider visits.
• Have an individualized comprehensive plan, developed with the patient and his/her care providers who will ensure the plan is being followed.

Health Links encourages greater collaboration between existing local health care providers, including family care providers, specialists, hospitals, long-term care, home care and other community supports. With improved coordination and information sharing, patients receive faster care, spend less time waiting for services and are supported by a team of health care providers at all levels of the health care system.

Health Links puts family care providers at the centre of the health care system. By bringing local health care providers together as a team, Health Links helps family doctors to connect patients more quickly with specialists, home care services and other community supports, including mental health services. For patients being discharged from hospital, the Health Link allows for faster follow-up and referral to services like home care, helping reduce the likelihood of re-admission to hospital.

All Health Links have a coordinating partner such as a Family Health Team, Community Health Centre, CCAC or hospital. All members of the Health Link must be willing and able to collaborate in order to better and more quickly coordinate health care services for high-need patients such as seniors and others with complex conditions.

In addition, Peel region residents can also dial #211 on their phones to get connected to information and referrals to community and social services in their area.

In June 2013, it launched launch new tools to make accessing the Central West CCAC even easier, including a dedicated phone line, website, and electronic news bulletin for primary care providers. The CCAC trusts these tools will be helpful and the organization looks forward to receiving feedback from its primary care partners about how to best meet their needs.

Going forward, the CCAC will continue to build upon this foundation through initiatives such as Health Links, with the goal of making patient care as seamless as possible.

Given the statistics, it is certainly evident that the residents of Brampton and the surrounding area need even greater access to quality health care services, as well as resources and education so that patients can learn to better manage their health and risks of disease.

Osler is currently redeveloping its Peel Memorial Hospital site to open the new Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness. Osler is on track to open the new facility in 2015-2016.

In March 2014, Osler together with Infrastructure Ontario (IO), announced the selection of Plenary Health as the preferred team to design, build, finance and maintain the new Peel Memorial. Following contract negotiations, Plenary Health signed a fixed price contract worth approximately $530 million and construction on the new facility officially began in June 2014.

Osler is also on track to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a new Ancillary Services Building (ASB) in the coming months. Companies will be able to bid on a contract to design and build the new facility that will be home to physician offices, hospital clinics and classrooms for our education partners. The ASB project is part of the first phase of expansion. Osler also recently issued a RFP to identify a successful vendor to supply the new nurse call system at the hospital, and the project is expected to begin in 2015.

At Brampton Civic, the renovation for the Canadian Blood Services Stem Cell Collection room on the third floor Labour and Delivery unit was completed and is now serving as a collection site for a new national public cord blood bank.

The Cardiac Procedures Unit (CPU) is being expanded to provide more recovery space, which will create a more relaxing, healing atmosphere for patients who have undergone a cardiac procedure or treatment. The unit will remain fully operational during the work, which is expected to be complete by June 2015.

In addition to the exciting changes in the CPU, the Tim Hortons in Brampton Civic’s emergency department also has a brand new look. Construction recently wrapped up on this 24/7 location, which is now open and offering a full service menu.