20 Year Vision Strategy

Hindsight from 2030

In 2030, the London InterCommunity Health Centre offers vital services to often marginalized individuals, families and neighbourhoods with a philosophy of care that is uniquely equitable and inclusive. The Health Centre’s Vision, Mission and Values have remained core to our organization in much the same form they were twenty years ago. In 2011-2012, we developed a service model to define the essential services that the Centre offered, and from that point on we have determined our scope of services on a regular, iterative basis. We continue to reach clients that experience barriers to accessing health services and we regularly identify and define the factors that prevent people from accessing care.

Funding and Allocation
We have grown considerably in both budget and resources in response to the needs of the community. Compared to 2010, we have a much more diverse portfolio of funders and less of our budget comes from the Ministry of Health. We are still primarily funded by various government sources but we are now recipients of private funding as well. Our strategic fund raising efforts over the past twenty years, such as our successful capital fund raising campaign, led to the development of a new facility that better serves our clients and community. Clinical and non-clinical services have retained the same relative emphasis that they have had historically. However, we have also invested significant resources in research and training through strengthened ties with academic partners. This enabled us to become internationally known for our contribution to health care research regarding the social determinants of health and factors that influence populations who experience barriers to care.

Human Resources
As a result of a careful reconsideration of staffing models, and the creation of flexible roles for staff, the Health Centre is an employer of choice. Our staff members stay with us longer because of increased opportunities to develop new initiatives, change roles and advance within the organization.

Location and Facilities
We committed to keeping our primary location in the east downtown area and we designed a facility that ensures continuity and recognition for the organization. We established multiple points of presence in key neighbourhoods throughout London by co-locating with partners and establishing satellite locations. In an effort to provide more mobile services to our clients, we also developed alternative service delivery methods that are more portable. This has helped us reach more clients in their own space – especially clients with mobility challenges. One of the greatest successes of the past twenty years was maintaining our grassroots feel so that we can continue to truly participate in, and be a part of, the community. An important contributor to this was our willingness to give satellite sites the autonomy to develop a culture congruent with their respective neighbourhoods.

Research and Innovation

We have prioritized social innovation. Technology has been used strategically and effectively and we have changed programs and resourcing based on a business case analysis of staffing and program reach. We have continued to develop and lead eHealth initiatives for Ontario CHCs. As a result of strategic decisions, we have an operational, community-based, cross-disciplinary academic affiliation that allows us to train students in a wide range of disciplines. We collaborate in research that explores the complexities of the demographic served by our health centre specifically and CHCs in general. These academic partnerships have influenced our practices and created opportunities for research to leverage information collected by our staff as part of our regular programming and operations.

Advocacy

For forty years now, the Health Centre has been a strong and effective advocate at community planning and policy making tables where the decisions that affect community health and the broad determinants are made. We have shaped policies that have increased the health-enhancing qualities of our built environment. We have also constructed community partnerships that enable us to offer economic development initiatives and find sustainable ways to improve our clients’ ability to make a living.

Board
Our Board of Directors has evolved to meet the needs of the Health Centre – collaborating across community organizations, fund raising for programs when necessary, and continuing to represent the changing demographics of our community. Our board members are leaders in the community, advocating for public policy changes and acting as ambassadors of the Health Centre and those we serve.

Download a PDF Poster of our Strategic Plan & 20 Year Vision Strategy