2020 Annual Report

The year between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020 was filled with great achievements, as well as great challenges. Once again, the staff, volunteers, partners, and community responded to the challenges and ensured that the work of the Centre held a strong focus on health equity, inclusion and areas impacting on the social determinants of health.

April to June 2019

In the spring, at the urging of many community partners, the six Ottawa Community Health Centres decided to move ahead with leading an Ontario Health Team in the City of Ottawa. Along with five other Convening partners, and 50+ signatory partners, we submitted a self-readiness assessment which demonstrated our desire to lead and support health system transformation. Our application highlighted our goal of reimagining the way health services and supports would be accessed and delivered throughout the Ottawa region. The underpinning of our application was to support people in leading healthier lives, getting the care they need, in the communities they live.

In late June, we welcomed our new Director of Community and Social Services - Amanda Bonacci. As a seasoned, bilingual health care leader, Amanda eagerly joined the team and hit the ground running. With over 18 years of experience in strategic partnerships, project management, quality improvement and leading cross functional teams, Amanda brought new energy and ideas to the senior leadership team.

July to September

While summer months tend to hold fewer meetings and events, this past year was a busy time for the Centre. We were chosen by the Ministry of Health to go to full proposal for the Ottawa Health Team/Équipe Santé Ottawa. We launched full steam ahead with stakeholder meetings and visioning of what could be different in our local health care system. At the same time as planning for our year one initial populations, we continued learning about system transformation and building relationships with partners in health, mental health and addictions, and community support.

In late July, we hosted our last ever SEOCHC Charity Golf tournament with Whispers Pub & Eatery. We had full registration, a beautiful day and raised over $14,000 to support youth programs at the Centre. We are very grateful to Paul and Tracy from Whispers for all their efforts over the years to support children and youth in our community. This would also be the last event for our Communications & Resource Development staff Suzanne O’Byrne who in less than seven years raised over $125,000 for SEOCHC and we are grateful for her dedication and years of service.

Over the summer, we also experienced a significant shift in our service for families with children aged 0 – 6 years old as we said goodbye to the Better Beginnings, Better Future (BBBF) program, and hello to the new EarlyON Child and Family Centre programming. With the changes in funding, and consequently, program offerings, we also said goodbye to long term staff that had dedicated 25+ years to the children and families of the BBBF neighbourhoods. There is no doubt that these individuals and the BBBF team left an indelible mark on the lives of thousands of children in our community. It was a difficult time and transition for everyone, and we are grateful for the contributions and dedication of this staff, which made a difference in the lives of children and their families.

Another major transition in the early fall was the switch in our electronic medical record from Nightingale on Demand to Telus PS Suites. After weeks of cleaning up files, staff training and preparing computer systems, we made the change on September 16th. It took some time for everyone to get accustomed with the new system, but staff continued to provide exceptional service to clients while learning how to record information in a new system.

October to December

In the fall, we created a new position in the Centre to assist with ensuring that we were operating at maximum efficiency, providing quality care while at the same time preparing for health system transformation. In late October, Emma Sobel joined the Senior Leadership Team as the Manager of Organizational Effectiveness, and immersed herself in learning about the organization and creating processes for staff input into changes. In a few short months, Emma made great strides in strategic and operational planning.

At the same time, the Board of Directors decided to sunset the Community Relations Committee and the Program Consulting Committee, and launch the Equity and Advocacy Committee. This new committee was tasked with reflecting on current issues, strategies, and initiatives related to human rights, equality and advocacy that may have an impact on the Centre. The Committee also has a mandate to provide guidance and advice on advocacy initiatives and communications to support the Centre in its operations and efforts to promote diversity, health equity and social inclusion.

January to March 2020

With the onset of the new year, no one could have predicted the challenges that lay ahead for our community. At the time, our centre was busy adjusting to new staff, a new EMR and planning new directions for the organization. Furthermore, we were also contributing to health care transformation under the OHT with the goal of simplifying the system, and improving health care for everyone. As Covid-19 became a greater threat and in mid-March when the province ordered shut downs, our staff continued to go to work. Day in and day out they continued to provide service to our most vulnerable clients (albeit in a different way), and they pivoted from their normal duties to ensure that our clients had access to the essentials – food, counselling and connections. It was no surprise that our staff rose to meet the crisis head on, and we could not be more proud of our people and the work that they do.

In the days and months that have followed and as the COVID-19 crisis continues, we are proud of the work we have done with our community and with our partners. We are committed to health equity and ensuring that those most significantly impacted are the focus of our time and resources.