Engaging

Today for a Healthier Tomorrow: Working Together to Achieve

Health Outcomes for Nova Scotians
Better

In a time of transition, change and fiscal constraint coupled with increasing rates of chronic conditions
aging population, how can emerging and existing health leaders work together to achieve better
and an
health outcomes for Nova Scotians?


On April 13, 2016 Emerging Health Leaders Nova Scotia, in partnership with the IWK Heath Centre,

hosted a panel discussion to discuss the current challenges and opportunities that exist in the Nova
Scotia health care system.

Over 7 7 emerging and existing leaders, community members, students, researchers, and community
partners from a variety of sectors and backgrounds were in attendance, making this a highly successful

and engaging
discussion.

Keynote Address


The keynote speaker was Steve Ashton, Vice President of People and Organization Development, at
Health Centre. The keynote address reminded the audience of:
the IWK
The current health status of Nova Scotians: More Nova Scotians have high blood pressure,

arthritis, cancer and respiratory disease than other Canadians and our life expectancy is two
1
years less on average than Canadians living elsewhere.
The current resources devoted to health in NS: Nova Scotias spends $4.1 Billion (41% of the
budget) on healthcare every year2 [and] 72,400 people work in the healthcare and social
assistance sector in Nova Scotia3.


Mr. Ashton
encouraged all leaders, including emerging leaders, to:

Be Bold this is not about incremental change.

Make Evidence-informed Decisions we have enormous data sources, but we need to turn that
into useful information (importance of measuring outcomes)
Engage patients, families, staff, physicians, volunteers, learners, researchers, community
partners(e.g. Engage4Health).
Prioritize and Allocate Resources Accordingly if everything is important, nothing is important.
Learn how to Lead and Support Change Learning how to lead and support change is one of
the most important skills /competencies for emerging leaders
Then.Just Do It!

Nova Scotia Health Authority Talk About Health engagement sessions

NS Government Budget Primer (2015/16) http://novascotia.ca/budget/budget-primer/
3
Statistics Canada http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/labor21a-eng.htm
2

Panel Discussion: Advice from key leaders working to achieve

better outcomes for Nova Scotians

Key Messages for Emerging Leaders:

Health is about more than care an understanding and

acknowledgement of the broad social determinants of health is crucial

Working and partnering with communities is required if we are going to

change to the health system and improve our health outcomes in NS.
Engagement of patients and the public is critical for change.
Partnerships and collaboration are essential need to take the time to
build trust and creditability to sustain partnerships with teams, partners,
and with communities this is hard work and requires dedicated time.

Reinvestment of resources is needed if we are going to do things

differently requires bold action and conviction on behalf of leaders to
do the right thing
Need to focus on understanding data & evidence and what it is really
telling us. Making research a priority will contribute to the evidence base
and engaging key stakeholders in the beginning will help to ensure

knowledge translation.
As leaders, our language / terminology that we use and how we frame
upstream conversations is extremely important
We are all emerging leaders! Never stop the journey of lifelong learning
Take risks and ask the questions: As leaders, we need to be comfortable
in areas of complexity and greyness as emerging leaders you have a
unique opportunity to ask the critical questions about why we are doing
things the way we are
Take time to reflect what can you do personally, what can be done at a
system level, and what can be done at a societal level to improve the
health care system tomorrow?
Education and mentorship are very important keep learning and keep
asking questions

Panelists included the following leaders:
Lindsay Peach, Vice President, Integrated Health Services Community Support
and Management, Nova Scotia Health Authority
Dr. David Anderson, Dean of Medicine, Dalhousie University
Dr. Robert Strang, Chief Public Health Officer, Department of Health and
Wellness

Become a Member of EHL-NS Today

Visit our website: www.emerginghealthleaders.ca and sign up to become a member today.

To learn more:
Join us on Facebook
facebook.com/emerginghealthleadersnovascotia
Follow us on Twitter
@EHLNS

Vision
Engaging today for a healthier
tomorrow

Mission

To provide opportunities to
support the development of
emerging health leaders in Nova
Scotia through the creation of
opportunities for knowledge
exchange, educational events,
mentoring relationships and
informed health care and related
discussions

Values

Inclusive and Authentic We

welcome and engage the full
diversity of emerging and current
health leaders to participate in
genuine conversations and
supportive interactions

Innovative We promote a culture
of learning and inquiry to generate
fresh perspectives and creative
solutions

Effective We demonstrate
accountability to our stakeholders
by using resources efficiently to
deliver meaningful opportunities
for engagement and capacity
building

Collaborative and Cooperative
We foster supportive partnerships
and linkages with health
organizations and other
stakeholders to advance our
shared goals and objectives
----------------------------------------------

Do you have an idea for a

future event?
We want to hear from YOU!

Send us an email if you would like

to discuss your ideas for a future
EHL event

ehlnovascotia@gmail.com