Together, we are designing modern and co-ordinated care around the needs of patients and their caregivers. We are making it easier to access quality healthcare services that meet patient needs and improve their experiences and outcomes.

By 2028, Niagara Health will:   

• Ensure a positive patient experience with a focus on the increasing demands of our aging community and work with specific patient populations, beginning with Indigenous partners, to improve care;
• Deliver consistent, high-quality care across all sites, using technology and data, which will get easier with the implementation of our new hospital information system;
• Fully transition to a regional model with three hospital sites, including the St. Catharines hospital and the opening of the new South Niagara hospital, as well as the redevelopment of the Welland hospital, which will specialize in same-day surgical procedures; and
• Continue to build an inclusive and collaborative workplace with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.​

This plan aims to improve the patient experience by:

• Ensuring patients receive the right care based on the best evidence.
• Improving communication and connections.
• Building interprofessional teams across all parts of Niagara Health.
• Facilitating smoother transitions in and out of the hospital.

Our efforts to put people first, deliver safe and quality care, and transform how we work will rely on strong clinical teams. Organization-wide priorities will support our clinical work through:

• Retention of existing staff and recruitment of new team members;
• Strategic partnerships to advance care journeys;
• Communication with our team and community alongside public education; 
• Education and growth opportunities for team members;
• Comprehensive, transparent and sustainable project and performance management. 

People are the basis of everything we do at Niagara Health — both patients and our team members. Caring for patients is the reason Niagara Health exists. Connecting with our community and building partnerships with other organizations serving our patients help us deliver better care. Nothing can happen without our team.

To put people first, we are:

• Strengthening our patient-centred culture
  Decisions will be made to optimize patient experience and patient care with initiatives across all levels of the organization being co designed with patient partners. We will also work with specific patient populations, beginning with Indigenous partners, to improve care.
• Building an inclusive and collaborative workplace
  Every team member should feel supported, valued and engaged, understanding how their individual role contributes to the broader vision and culture of Niagara Health. Programs, policies and decisions at Niagara Health will be designed to reflect and enhance diversity, equity and inclusion using the Ontario Health Equity, Inclusion, Diversity and Anti-Racism Framework.
• Equipping our team members with the tools for success
  Programs will be implemented to support the mental health and wellness of all team members. We will provide greater access to education and training opportunities for growth and development.

Our purpose is clear that every person who comes to Niagara Health should receive the best care, every time. We must use all resources available to us to ensure people can access hospital services when they need them, that these services and experiences are consistent, and that we are always striving to do better.

To deliver safe and quality care, we are:

• Improving how patients move across Niagara Health
  Drawing on sector best practices, we will improve our ability to serve people when they need it and enhance how patients access services. We will also focus on creating seamless care for patients as they move in and out of our hospitals.
• Integrating data and research
  As we implement our new hospital information system, we will apply the data and analytics generated to help us make better decisions. We will embed research into our work, using the outcomes to enhance the care we provide.
• Embedding continuous quality improvement
  Niagara Health will build continuous quality improvement capacity and capability across the organization. We will standardize our care and empower our team to deliver the best care to our patients.

As the needs of Niagara Health’s patients, community and team members change, we must transform how we work. We will become one truly regional system, functioning seamlessly across sites. We are updating our physical structures, including building a new hospital, but we are also changing how we organize ourselves and how we use technology to work together and to serve our patients.

To transform how we work, we are:

• Refining our regional model
  As we open the new South Niagara Site, we will shift how and where we work to function as one team serving the entire Niagara region. Patients will know they will get the same standard of care across all of Niagara Health.
• Implementing interprofessional team best practices
  To best use the capacity of our team members and deliver care as efficiently as possible, we will implement best practices for how we set up our teams and how each team member performs in their scope of practice.
• Enhancing and leveraging technology
  We will use technology to enhance how we communicate across teams and with our patients, offering new options for how we provide care virtually.