February 2025 Board of Health Meeting - 2024 Q4 Strategic Plan Progress Report Information Report | The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit

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Meeting Date

February 2025 Board of Health Meeting

Meeting Document Type

Information Report

2024 Q4 Strategic Plan Progress Report

2024 Q4 Strategic Plan Progress Report

WINDSOR-ESSEX COUNTY

HEALTH UNIT

DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

2024 Q4 WECHU Strategic Plan Progress - At a Glance

	Partnerships Advancing meaningful partnerships that focus on health equity and priority populations.	2024 Q1	2024 Q2	2024 Q3	2024 Q4
1.1	Increase the number of collaborations	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track
1.2	80% of emerging public health issues have partners	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track
1.3	90% of partners serving priority populations satisfied with relationship with the WECHU	Progress being made towards achieving objective	Progress being made towards achieving objective	Progress being made towards achieving objective	Progress being made towards achieving objective

	Organizational Development Advancing operational excellence by increasing employee capacity and knowledge, and through continuous quality improvement efforts.	2024 Q1	2024 Q2	2024 Q3	2024 Q4
2.1	Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity (ED&I) framework is developed and implemented by 2025	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track
2.2	Leadership Training Series completed by all managers and succession planning	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track
2.3	100% of departments have a developed CQI plan in place	Progress being made towards achieving objective	Progress being made towards achieving objective	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track
2.4	Leadership Team direct engagement and communication with staff	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track	Progress being made towards achieving objective
2.5	Staff mental assessment score improves year over year	Progress being made towards achieving objective	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track

	Effective Public Health Practice Advancing programs and services through evidence informed decision-making, effective planning, and evaluation.	2024 Q1	2024 Q2	2024 Q3	2024 Q4
3.1	50% of programs w/ integrated priority population steering group feedback into plans & implementation	Progress being made towards achieving objective	Progress being made towards achieving objective	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track
3.2	100% of programs in cost-shared budget have been assessed for requirements, needs, and impacts	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track
3.3	Bi-Monthly Corporate Content Marketing Plan is on track	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track
3.4	Epidemiological report on the incidental impacts of COVID-19	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track	Objective met or is on track

Legend

Work needed towards objective
Progress being made towards achieving objective
Objective met or is on track

PARTNERSHIPS

OBJECTIVE	GOAL	Q4 UPDATE
1.1 Increase collaborations to support equitable long-term approaches to addressing local public health needs.	Increase the total number of collaborations.	Enrolled several new organizations for drug test strip distribution.
1.2 Foster strategic partnerships that advance and support action plans on emerging public health issues that reflect and advance WECHU’s core valuesand priorities.	80% of emerging public health issues have partners. Current emerging public health issues include: Food Insecurity Opioids Respiratory Illnesses School Aged Immunization - HPV STBBI Vector Borne Diseases	83% of public health issues have identified partners (5 out of 6). New partnerships for this quarter include: The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU), in its role coordinating the Windsor-Essex Community Opioid and Substance Strategy (WECOSS), partnered with Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and the Windsor-Essex Ontario Health Team to launch WEC CONNECT. This online platform offers a directory of 122 mental health and addiction service programs at the local, provincial, and national levels, helping individuals easily find services that best meet their needs based on location, type of support, delivery method, and cost.
1.3 Develop and enhance relationships with local priority population groups to address local health priorities.	90% of partners serving priority populations satisfied with relationship with the WECHU.	Formal engagement with partners who serve priority populations underway as part of the Priority Population Engagement Framework pilot project.

ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

OBJECTIVE	GOAL	Q4 UPDATE
2.1 Develop and implement a framework for embedding diversity, equity, and inclusive (ED&I) approaches across the organization.	Under the direction of the Human Resources Department, develop a singular overall ED&I framework for the organization and implement it by 2025.	The EDI Committee continues to work with external consultant on the WECHU staff census that will take place the first week of February 2025. The committee worked with the consultant to edit the census questions to best suit the organization. Staff was informed of the upcoming initiative in early December at an all-staff event.
2.2 Establish a structure for leadership development to ensure continuity of programs and services, supportive environments, and operational excellence.	Completion of Leadership Training Series for all Managers and select staff.	Currently 94% of applicable management staff have completed the Leadership Training Series. Additional staff are being identified as candidates to enroll in this course.
2.3 Incorporate continuous quality improvement (CQI) into organizational processes to ensure effective operations, resource management (human and physical), and adaptation to change.	100% of programs in cost-shared budget have been assessed for requirements, needs, and impacts.	Corporate Performance Management and Quality Improvement Plan has been approved for full implementation in 2025. Annual reporting of departmental program indicators for 2024 is underway.
2.4 Advance internal communications efforts to improve employee knowledge and transparency of organizational goals, objectives, and priorities.	Leadership Team directly engages all staff through various internal communication channels three(3) times per quarter.	During this quarter LT engaged staff on: • Announcing the position of Senior Director. • Holding a Program Director Information Session providing in depth overview of agency reorganization based on the revised 2025 OPHS.
2.5 Support employee mental health and well-being through effective and evidence informed strategies.	Improvement on staff mental health assessment scores.	The WECHU will continue to support the overall objective for this plan through the ongoing provision of support for staff mental and well-being. Staff completed an online CMHA course entitled “Understanding & Navigating Stress at Work”.

EFFECTIVE PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE

OBJECTIVE	GOAL	Q4 UPDATE
3.1 Ensure the inclusion of priority populations in the planning, development, and implementation of programs.	50% of programs w/ integrated priority population steering group feedback into plans & implementation.	Implementation of the Priority Population Engagement Framework is on track with pilot project to engage with identified priority populations underway.
3.2 Evidence-based processes are embedded within the organization for planning, implementation, and evaluation to inform locally relevant programming.	100% of programs in cost-shared budget have been assessed for requirements, needs, and impacts.	The 2024 process of conducting an organizational priority setting exercise to systematically assess program requirements, needs, and impacts is complete.
3.3 Continue to support and advance public communication of local health data and information.	Bi-Monthly Corporate Content Marketing Plan is on track.	Key public health messages for the quarter included food safety around the holidays (Canadian & American Thanksgiving and Christmas / New Years), respiratory illness prevention and vaccine promotion, substance use and harm reduction, and general mental health promotion. Through work with community partners, media events were held to highlight the release of new resources including the SSNAPP Neighbourhood Safety Plans and WEC CONNECT online inventory of substance use and mental health resources. Additionally, the WECHU highlighted components of the Corporate Marketing Campaign to help bring awareness to the programs and services executed by public health in the community. Creative assets ran on social media platforms, digital advertising, and radio.
3.4 Assessing and reporting on disproportionate health impacts related to COVID-19 and other key health indicators.	Complete the report on the Incidental Impacts of COVID-19.	Complete.

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