In the face of extraordinary demands, the dedication and resilience that hospital teams
exhibited to anchor Ontario's pandemic response and collaborate with their local
partners have been nothing short of inspiring. At the Ontario Hospital Association
(OHA), we are very proud to serve our members during the most serious health crisis and
civil emergency in our own 100-year history.
Under our previous strategic plan, we made serving the full diversity of Ontario's
hospitals our primary purpose. We enhanced the direct support and value we provide to
members, responding to their most pressing needs, while also maintaining a system
orientation on the questions facing the future of Ontario's health care system. Our work
was made possible by timely and prudent efforts to modernize the OHA's organizational
capabilities and our commitment to fostering strong, trusting relationships with our
members.
We are in a truly remarkable time for our sector and our province.
While the challenges ahead are immense, the pandemic has reinforced that we cannot
return
to
the status quo. We must seek to stabilize our health system and build it back
stronger.
There is an urgent need to build capacity in hospitals and across the continuum of
care
and
find sustainable, system-wide solutions that address serious health human resources
needs.
Experience has proven that hospitals must play a key role in building a reliable,
high-performing health care system for Ontario, and in shaping public conversations
on
health care issues. It also demonstrated the collective strength of the entire
health
system
when government, providers, and organizations across civil society - including the
OHA -
are
motivated by a single aim: protecting and improving the wellbeing of Ontarians.