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2. Building partnerships
CAMH clearly recognizes that its success as an organization is directly linked
to its ability to have meaningful partnerships with others. We have taken a broad
approach to defining partnerships -- from verbal understandings to co-ownership of
liabilities and assets. Effective partnerships help us develop and/or deliver programs,
products and services.
The implementation team working on this strategic direction considered the needs
of a wide range of services within CAMH and made the following recommendations:
- develop a Partnership Resource Guide and an intranet self-study course, for staff,
based on the guide; pilot the guide and make applicable sections available to appropriate
partners
- pilot a staff development partnership workshop to determine training needs of
our staff and later deliver an advanced partnership training workshop
- develop a performance management tracking tool to be used by managers
- build a CAMH-wide database to track current partnerships
- use surveys to determine the effectiveness of our partnerships.
Recent examples of partnerships include:
- partnering with agencies in the Aboriginal community to improve Aboriginal
access to service
- developing pilot projects with five ethno-racial communities (Building Bridges
project)
- working with the Acquired Brain Injury Network of Toronto to develop training
videos and manuals for addiction and brain injury service providers or professionals
- working with Ontario Public Health Association and the Association
of Local Public Health Agencies to develop and disseminate "Low-Risk
Drinking Guidelines" resources
- developing a concurrent disorders
systems model being piloted in Central and Western Ontario.
3. Fostering excellence in research
and scholarship
One of our top priorities is to conduct relevant scientist-driven research. The
goal is to provide greater understanding to ultimately improve diagnosis, treatment
systems, prevention, policy and education.
The implementation team wanted to ensure that research activity at CAMH meets
the highest standards of ethics and scholarship, is at the cutting edge of innovation
and creativity and addresses the present and future needs of the populations it serves.
The team recommended the following:
- establish a current baseline of information about the results of current research,
publications and grants, collaborations and dissemination of CAMH research knowledge
- foster excellence in research and scholarship through staff recognition and clear
research objectives
- give ongoing support by involving stakeholders and partners, provide training
and reward excellence
- measure the outcomes of research and publishing initiatives.
Please refer to the latest annual Research Report, also available at www.camh.net/research,
for specific information about our research initiatives.
Recent examples of fostering excellence in research and scholarship include:
- substantial increases in external funding for research (13 per cent in fiscal
year 2000-2001), including the recent awarding of 11 new Canadian Institutes of Health
Research grants to CAMH scientists
- a new Positron
Emission Tomography (PET) scanner -- one of only two in Canada
- creating six new academic research chairs
- harmonizing research policies between the University of Toronto and its teaching
hospitals.
4. Demonstrating continuous improvement
Continuous quality improvement involves organization-wide participation in planning
and implementation. It enables an organization to meet or exceed customer expectations.
Continuous quality improvement is integral to the culture and activities of CAMH
in our commitment to excellence in understanding, prevention and care.
The implementation team developed the following strategies to demonstrate continuous
quality improvement:
- create an environment and culture that is conducive to improvements
- involve all levels of CAMH in improvement initiatives
- use standardized methods to monitor and evaluate improvements
- provide education and training to support active participation
- build a structure to drive and support ongoing improvement
- define a process to establish improvement priorities
- evaluate improvement initiatives and report annually.
Recent examples of continuous quality improvement include:
- establishing a new Quality Assurance Council
- measuring and acting upon client and staff satisfaction through ongoing surveys
- conducting ongoing Balanced Scorecard reports, which give us a framework to ensure
we are meeting our goals
- standardizing the patient history form
- using the Continuous Observation Project to ensure best practices in the use
of restraints and seclusion.
5. Enhancing health promotion and
prevention
CAMH's commitment to health promotion and prevention is a natural extension of
the commitment of each of the founding organizations. To further develop these concepts,
the implementation team recommended that:
Clinical programs:
- review the program planning skills of all clinical teams, with prevention and
health promotion principles in mind
- identify where clinicians support clients' strengths and identify opportunities
to develop further initiatives
- integrate health promotion interventions such as stress management, relaxation
and recreation therapy to support the overall health of Centre clients
- include clients/patients, family members and community partners/stakeholders
when developing and delivering prevention and health promotion activities.
Community-based programs:
- identify and implement roles for community-based prevention and health promotion
- incorporate mental health concerns into community-based prevention and health
promotion
- ensure that research and community programs collaborate when developing and researching
new prevention and health promotion programs
- develop a partnership between CAMH's Community Programs, Education and Publishing
Services and Clinical Programs to incorporate clinical expertise into our public
education campaigns and prevention and health promotion initiatives.
Additionally:
- train resource people to be champions and mentors within their program areas
- incorporate health promotion values and principles into CAMH's work environment
and culture.
Recent examples of health promotion and prevention include:
- launching a multi-year public education strategy
- developing healthy public policies to help remove barriers facing people seeking
treatment for addiction and mental health problems
- creating youth-directed programs, including school-based prevention programs
and Virtual Party, a Web-based resource
developed by youth, for youth
- integrating health promotion strategies into clinical programs, such as a resiliency
program within the Substance
Abuse Program for African Canadian and Caribbean Youth; sessions on coping strategies,
family support, social support and wellness within the General Psychiatry Program;
needle exchange and condom distribution in the Addiction Medicine program; and a
self-help manual for newcomers to Canada.
6. Renewing CAMH's provincial role
Our provincial role has two primary goals:
- to enhance the capacity and quality of health services and systems throughout
Ontario to deal effectively with addiction and mental health issues
- to enhance the capacity of communities to carry out prevention and health promotion
initiatives related to substance use, gambling and mental health.
To support these goals, the implementation team recommended that CAMH:
- maintain and improve the way we deliver programs and services outside the Greater
Toronto Area (e.g., the Psychiatric
Outreach Program, Education and Training Programs)
- co-ordinate and integrate provincial initiatives in various departments (e.g.,
increase funding for the Development and Dissemination Fund, which encourages cross-functional
collaboration within CAMH)
- provide a broad provincial focus to address overall community needs
- further develop CAMH's role in the mental health system at the local, regional
and provincial levels, including ongoing negotiations with other mental health and
addiction organizations
- develop a process to support research for community-based initiatives
- expand our use of technology to reach stakeholders and clients across the province
through the Internet, televideo conferencing and distance education.
Recent examples of renewing our provincial role include:
- focusing our role and identifying provincial priorities (for the next three to
five years, these will be youth, concurrent
disorders and diversity)
- developing and disseminating evidence-based materials and training programs (such
as the new Grade 9 - 11 curriculum
support materials on addiction and mental health)
- working with the addiction treatment system to implement objectives in "Setting
the Course"( a framework for integrating addiction treatment services in Ontario)
- working with the mental health system on mental health reform and public education
- delivering training sessions on assessment tools and admission and discharge
criteria
- leading the Ontario Working Group on Early Intervention in Psychosis
- sponsoring a mobile Summer Institute in the North, East and Western Regions
- developing new software to collect and report client-use data.
7. Supporting the Centre's people
CAMH is committed to supporting its people; this is one of our core values. To
ensure continued support to staff, physicians, students and volunteers, the implementation
team recommended that CAMH:
- identify and review suggested competencies and skills identified for staff and
managers
- develop a mentoring program
- oversee diversity in the workplace
- implement the Statement of Desired Culture
- set priorities based on results of bi-annual employee surveys
- review policies, procedures and processes to ensure staff are aware of their
collective responsibility for safety and managing risks at CAMH.
Recent examples of supporting Centre people include:
- ongoing surveys for staff and clients
- a new harassment and discrimination policy
- a comprehensive staff development program, including leadership training
- a staff recognition program
- diversity training and awareness for staff.
8. Public policy development
Public policy is often related to government legislation. Helping to develop public
policy gives CAMH a chance to respond to issues that affect clients (e.g., homelessness,
privacy of health records) and to offer direction for action. By influencing change
through public policy development, CAMH fulfils its vision of providing leadership
in creating better understanding, prevention and care.
Before adopting the Public Policy Strategic Direction Implementation Task Force Report,
much of our work in policy development was reactive and informal. The implementation
team helped establish a framework to guide and monitor CAMH's public policy process
and to ensure policy is broadly communicated.
CAMH also helped develop alcohol and tobacco policies in municipalities across
the province. For copies of recent policy papers, please visit our Web site at www.camh.net/best_advice.Recent examples
of public policy development include formulating and distributing position papers,
best advice papers and discussion papers on:
9. Overarching issues
Our original strategic planning identified issues that were not strategic directions,
but still needed a CAMH-wide commitment. These "overarching issues" are
related to the four major determinants of health, and include housing, employment,
social support and income support.
Four work groups, one for each major determinant of health, identified similar themes
and recommendations:
- use the expertise of Centre clients and staff to create a resource hub that will
provide up-to-date information for staff, family and clients
- establish protocols so all clients at CAMH can have their issues in employment,
housing, income and social support addressed at the earliest possible time
- ensure programs are flexible to respond to diverse needs
- involve CAMH in community initiatives to enhance supports and to increase the
system capacity to meet identified needs in each of the four determinants of health
- monitor government initiatives that affect stakeholders and take action when
obstacles develop
- facilitate best practices, develop research, disseminate knowledge and establish
leading-edge policies and practices within CAMH
- continue to advocate for public policies that promote health, reduce stigma and
promote the four determinants of health as important priorities of CAMH.
Recent examples of what we have done to address overarching issues include:
- expanding the Income
Maintenance Advocacy Program
- divesting a hospital program (the Out of This World Café & Espresso
Bar at the Queen Street site) to an independent consumer-run business, now operated
by the Ontario Council of Alternative Businesses
- developing and distributing a Housing
Resource Guide
- conducting a systems planning project in Ottawa that involved people who are
homeless and have addictions
- establishing a program called Buskers
in the Mall at the Queen Street site.
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1-800-463-6273
