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August 12, 2020

2019-2020 in review: A message from the HQC CEO

Author
Tracey Sherin
Reading Time
3 MINS

Read our 2019-2020 Annual Report Here

I am honoured to have commenced service as the CEO of the Health Quality Council this year. It is a privilege to work alongside a talented, courageous, and dedicated staff who come to work every day to help make change happen faster for better health and health care for the people of Saskatchewan.

We place enormous value on our relationships with other organizations in the health and human services sector. We believe that we are all at our best when we think and act as one. We have aligned our work to support the health system’s strategic priorities where it can make the most impact to achieve Better Health, Better Care, Better Teams, and Better Value. As a collaborative and agile organization, the nature of our work means that we must be nimble and willing to adjust to support our partners which is reflected in parts of our work this year.

In 2019-2020, we continued our new direction of improving the factors that contribute to good health for all peoples that call this land home. This year, we focused on building relationships with other organizations and communities, making connections and collaborations between sectors, and using research and analysis to evaluate and inform change. We are continuously humbled by those we meet and are committed to bringing people, communities, and organizations together to help the people of Saskatchewan live healthier, happier lives.

We remain committed to working with our partners to continuously improve health care delivery in Saskatchewan by using our skills in quality improvement, research and analytics, collaboration, and skill-building. Some highlights from this past year include:

  • Collaborating with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) to develop measures to track progress toward key outcomes
  • Working alongside the Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) to develop and launch the Quality Improvement Learning Collaborative, focused on improving access and patient flow in physician clinics participating in the Unified Medical Group in the Prince Albert-Shellbrook area
  • Working with eHealth Saskatchewan to produce panel reports for primary care physicians that help them to understand the needs of their patients and improve the care they provide
  • With the SMA and Ministry of Health, completing the third and launching the fourth cohort of Saskatchewan’s Clinical Quality Improvement Program (CQIP), a training program for physicians and other clinicians that prepares them to lead quality improvement
  • Working with the SHA and the Ministry of Health to support the design and development of an Advanced Quality Improvement Training Program to advance continuous improvement knowledge in the health system.

At the close of 2019-2020, our health system faced an unprecedented challenge – the COVID-19 pandemic. Our health system has shown remarkable resilience and resourcefulness in adapting to the large volume of changes that needed to be made. Disruption and change will continue to be part of our environment, and we are committed to adapting our products and services to accommodate new ways of working and new needs that emerge. While the way we work may change, our commitment to driving improvement in health and health care in our province will not.

Tracey Sherin

Chief Executive Officer