The LHIN is requesting that the proposed candidates:

• Have an understanding of the spectrum of health services and health service needs within the South East LHIN area population

• Governance experience

• Connections with community groups and organizations

•The support, respect and trust of decision-makers and organizations within the sector

The team will include members from seven different sectors including hospitals, CCAC’s, long term care, mental health agencies, CHC’s, addiction agencies, and community support agencies.

Representatives for each sector will be expected to “focus on system-wide thinking and discussion,” says Georgina Thompson, the LHIN's Chair.

Team members will be selected by the South East LHIN board of directors.

According to Linda Pierce, a member of the previous Project Work Team who represented long term care, these proposed governance teams represent a consistent, comprehensive approach to reforming health care.

“This continues to promote a collaborative spirit that we’ve been engaging in order to improve health care,” says Pierce, who is also the administrator of Village Green, a 66-bed long term care home in Selby.

“What the LHIN board found with the Project Work Team,” she says, “is that they were productive and valuable and support where we need to go [with health care reform]. They wanted to continue that progress.”

The governance team will meet once a month and initially will run for a duration of a year. The LHIN wants candidate names to be in by October 16th and to begin meeting by December.

The team mandate and role, however, remains malleable, explains Thompson.

“We don’t want to cast things in stone, yet,” she says.