Strategic Plan

We are reshaping the future of health care.

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Welcome to The Ottawa Hospital’s strategic plan

A message from Cameron Love, President and CEO, Dr. Virginia Roth, Chief of Staff, and Michael Tremblay, Chair, Board of Governors.

We are pleased to share our strategic plan for The Ottawa Hospital, developed with the input of staff, physicians, patients, their families, and community members. 

This is an iterative plan that will continue to evolve in response to our ever-changing social realities and priorities. This need to embed resilience and agility in our DNA was driven home by the pandemic, which also led us to rethink and reimagine The Ottawa Hospital’s role in our community, and in the health-care system itself.

In the coming years The Ottawa Hospital will take a leadership role in helping reshape the future of health care to reflect 21st-century needs and innovations, looking beyond ‘the patient in the hospital’ to also support ‘the person in the community’.

We will attract more of the world’s best clinicians and researchers to care for you and your loved ones. They will come because of our growing global reputation as a leader in the fights against cancer, neurological diseases, and other illnesses, and because we live and work in one of the most livable cities in the world. And as a major teaching hospital, we will continue to train the next generation of top-notch health-care professionals.

The eventual opening of our new Civic Development will further cement The Ottawa Hospital’s status as a truly world-class hospital in our community. It will give every resident across our region – and from as far away as Nunavut – access to a new state-of-the-art trauma centre, a cutting-edge neurological research centre and much more.

Even as we work toward that exciting goal, we will continue to explore new ways of working with our community, and of working to improve your care, so that all our patients always receive the same care and compassion that we would want for our own loved ones.

The Ottawa Hospital is already one of the best hospitals in Canada. In the coming years we aim to earn our place in the very top tier of global health-care leaders. As dedicated health-care professionals and as everyday people we want the best in health care for our neighbours, families, and friends.

We believe Ottawa can – and should – be one of the healthiest communities in the world, and we are committed to leading the way as we work together towards that goal.
 

Illustration of group of people work in the hospital

We are the people who care for you and are there for you, whenever you need us.

We are your neighbours, your family, your friends.

Our vision is to provide each patient with the world-class care, exceptional service, and compassion we would want for our loved ones

At The Ottawa Hospital, we don’t just serve this community-we belong to this community, and that insight is at the heart of our ambitious plan for our shared future.

We are your doctors and nurses, your orderlies and technologists, your therapists, social workers, clerks, and custodians. Nearly 17,000 professionals in all, we represent an enormous diversity of expertise, experience, and cultures. In the coming years, The Ottawa Hospital will help reshape the future of health care to reflect 21st-century needs and innovations, looking beyond ‘the patient in the hospital’ to also support ‘the person in the community.’

Strategic Direction 1

ENRICH the Quality of Care for Patients

We will help grow a healthy system based on integrated care for patients across our network of health and social partners.

  1. Strategic priority – Enhance our culture of patient partnered-care and meaningful engagement – Empower patients and their care partners as active participants in the care that we provide and entrust everyone working at The Ottawa Hospital with providing the best possible patient experience.
  2. Strategic priority – Improve access to care for all patients – Spearhead the development of new and innovative approaches to the delivery of care and leverage local partnerships to ensure our patients have access to the care they need, when they need it.
  3. Strategic priority – Expand partnerships across the care continuum – Build a strong, integrated system for regional health-care delivery in collaboration with a wide range of partners to address the needs of the communities we serve.
  4. Strategic priority – Drive the digital evolution in health care – Enhance health outcomes for the populations we serve through safe automation of care and business processes.
  5. Strategic priority – Expand infrastructure development and modernization – Develop and maintain world-class infrastructure to support the needs of our community and advance health-care delivery. 
An illustrated person using a wheelchair sits on a large open hand, surrounded by green plants, symbolizing support and care.
Strategic Direction 2

IGNITE the Power of People

We will foster an environment that inspires people, so they are filled with pride, affinity, and accomplishment at work.

  1. Strategic priority – Create leaders of tomorrow – Develop human-centered leaders that live The Ottawa Hospital values and vision by actively engaging staff, physicians and volunteers in development, and by supporting them through continuing education, learning and mentorship.
  2. Strategic priority – Advance workforce planning and sustainability – Drive the future of health-care delivery through innovative models that support high-functioning team members to work to their full potential.
  3. Strategic priority – Support engagement and well-being to maintain a healthy workforce– Build an inspiring, engaging and safe environment where all team members can connect to the purpose and meaning of their work aligned to The Ottawa Hospital’s vision of caring for people like they would for a loved one. 
An illustration of three staff members standing together: a maintenance worker holding a broom, a healthcare worker in scrubs with an ID badge, and a food services worker wearing an apron and holding a tray with an apple. They stand side by side with supportive, friendly body language.
Strategic Direction 3

NURTURE Our Social Responsibility

Everything we do in health care is engrained in a profound social responsibility to our community. We will provide leadership in navigating a complex health system to improve the health of our diverse population and contribute to a healthier planet for all.

  1. Strategic priority – Advance Indigenous engagement – Continue on our journey to reconciliation to address the systemic racism, discrimination, and inequities pervasive in the health-care system and advance a culture of belonging so that everyone has equitable access, without discrimination, to safe health care that respects Indigenous People’s traditional and living knowledge in all aspects of their health.
  2. Strategic priority – Advance equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility – Address the systemic racism, discrimination and inequities pervasive in the health-care system and advance a culture of belonging for everyone where we foster accessibility, equity, diversity and inclusion that reflects the people we serve.
  3. Strategic priority – Lead environmental stewardship in health care – Become a leader in sustainable health care, applying principles of planetary health to improve the well-being of our patients and our community, and contribute positively to a healthier planet.
  4. Strategic priority – Ensure financially responsible stewardship and sustainability – Preserve financial strength and flexibility to enable world-class care through strategic financial planning and partnerships that support economic opportunities.
  5. Strategic priority – Harness community support – Acknowledge the trust and endorsement of a generous community and together with The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, build on this spirit of philanthropy and voluntarism to ensure that our community continues to have access to world-class care. 
An illustrated healthcare professional wearing a lab coat listens to a globe with a stethoscope, symbolizing global health and care for the world.
Strategic Direction 4

ACCELERATE Discovery

We will pursue impactful, cutting-edge research to pioneer new treatments and tools that benefit patients and elevate further our leadership role in research and education globally.

  1. Strategic priority – Create hope for patients through a commitment to leading-edge research – Give our patients and their loved ones new hope through research that is making tomorrow’s health care possible today by focusing on breakthroughs by design and practice-changing research.
    1. Ottawa Hospital Research Institute Strategic Plan
    2. Ottawa Hospital Research Institute Strategic Research Priorities
  2. Strategic priority – Advance multidisciplinary education – Train the next generation of health professionals through excellence in multidisciplinary, team-based learning, learner experience and knowledge dissemination in collaboration with our educational partners.
  3. Strategic priority – Lead the innovation platform – Lead innovation in health care while advancing Ottawa as a thriving innovation ecosystem. 
An illustrated scientist wearing a lab coat and blue gloves looks into a microscope while adjusting its controls, representing research and scientific discovery.

Resources

Print the Strategic Plan poster

Strategic Plan and Priorities - 2023 and Beyond

A doctor in blue scrubs explains a medical image on a monitor to a patient wearing a hospital gown in a medical examination room. The screen shows a round, red and white image.

Get Involved

The Ottawa Hospital strives to be an active part of our community and you can play an integral role in helping make that happen. By donating, volunteering or participating in research, you’re helping The Ottawa Hospital deliver the kind of health care we all want for our loved ones.

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