Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) has launched its 2025–2030 Strategic Plan.
The plan was officially launched on Thursday and sets the hospitals' direction for the next five years with a focus on responding to the health care needs of CK communities, according to CKHA.
CKHA said the plan outlines strategic objectives designed to elevate all aspects of hospital operations and care delivery, including the following:
Respond with our partners to the health care needs of the communities we serve by enhancing services focused on Indigenous health, mental health and addictions, women's and children's health, and an aging population, along with improving children and youth mental health care
Commit to being an exceptional place to work by expanding opportunities for training and professional development, along with wellness and recognition
Be responsible stewards of our resources to maximize care by completing redevelopment at the Wallaceburg hospital and start planning for Chatham
Enrich each person’s experience at every interaction by fostering an environment focused on privacy, inclusion, cultural and psychological safety, and comfort
Deliver safe and high-quality patient care by improving timely access to care
Support the experience of credentialed health care professionals by implementing a physician health human resources plan that meets community needs, in other words making it more attractive for doctors to work in CK
Topp told CK News Today there are some service gaps to be addressed, such as the need for a bigger chemotherapy department and emergency department, and lower wait times all around.
"There's wait lists for many surgical procedures. We're doing 20 per cent more surgeries over the last five years compared to what we were doing, yet it still doesn't seem to meet the needs and bring the waiting list down," said Topp. "We need 60 more acute care beds over the next 10 years. Our population is only increasing by 2 or 2.5 per cent, but the proportion of those people that going to be elderly is much higher. So, just to do what we're doing today, we need another 60 beds."
CKHA noted action plans will be developed each year showing how objectives will be achieved.
Topp said that each department will be responsible for creating action plans to improve hospital care.
"We've already started looking at what the capital building needs are for the Chatham Campus. We've already started thinking about what type of footprint we'd like in some of the other communities in Chatham-Kent and we've started some very specific actions," Topp noted.
CKHA said the municipality faces complex health needs tied to lifestyle, chronic illness, and access to care, citing CK has a higher prevalence of smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, and food insecurity compared to the province.
Other challenges include, higher rates of diabetes, COPD, hypertension, above average emergency department visits and hospital admissions, long distances, limited transit, and poor internet access, according to CKHA.
The organization also noted with an aging population, it is shifting toward home and community care to improve quality of life.
CKHA is also concerned with mental health and housing, citing more 20,000 residents live with mental illness. Officials reported opioid overdoses have jumped by 60 per cent since 2020 and 38 per cent of youth rate their mental health as poor.
The plan was developed through engagement with hospital staff, physicians, volunteers, patients, families, community members, and partners.
“We are grateful to everyone who contributed to the development of this plan,” said CKHA President and CEO Adam Topp. “We have created a strategic plan that is big enough to survive five years and is precise enough to be actionable.”
Click here to learn more about the plan.