This email was sent to EDs/Administrative Leads, Board Chairs and Lead Clinicians of AFHTO member organizations.

Dear triad members,

We held our fifth round of regional ED calls on June 29 and 30. We’ve been holding these calls since March, and we will be pausing them for the summer as people break and prepare for the fall. We will look at resuming regular calls in September. To ensure we keep in touch, we will be arranging a province-wide ED call with ministry officials for the end of July or early August. Stay tuned for details!

A third webinar for executive directors on Managing HR through COVID-19 with Maria McDonald of McDonald HR Law has been confirmed for July 29. Please see the HR section of this communique for registration details.

Below is information on the topics discussed on the recent calls and on supports that we heard would be helpful.

Update from the Primary Health Care Branch

• The 2020-21 Annual Operating Plan Submission package was released on July 2 with a due date of mid-September. In recognition of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry is being flexible with the timeline and is not imposing a specific due date. A few years ago, AFHTO held a webinar with the ministry on how to complete AOP and Schedule A that newer EDs may find helpful – please click here for this archived recording.
• It is going to be crucial for teams to report Q1 and Q2 accurately and to forecast for year-end as best they can to capture any COVID-related costs, such as PPE and IT. The ministry will be using this data to understand the additional cost pressures facing teams. This will be the basis used for additional funding requests. To help with forecasting the impact of the pandemic on your budget, you can adapt and use the COVID-19 Expense Forecast Checklist.
• The FHT contract is set to expire in 2022. We hope to start work in the fall with the ministry to scope out opportunity for change and improvement through modifications to the contract.
• AFHTO is also hoping to meet with the anti-racism directorate at the ministry to explore ways AFHTO and teams can help further address anti-racism and social determinants of health.

Transitioning to a new normal

• As per Directive #2 and the Ministry’s “Operational Requirement: Health Sector Restart”, it is recommended that each healthcare entity develop organizational and point-of-care risk assessments. We heard many teams have completed or are in the process of completing these. For teams who have these in place, please consider sharing them with AFHTO to post for others to use as templates and for guidance.
  • Here is a sample risk assessment from Ingersoll NPLC.
• AFHTO has been compiling re-opening resources that teams may find useful as we transition to this new normal. As things progress, we’ll be posting other resources and checklists to support teams through this transition. Recent additions to this list of resources include:
  • Guidance for Primary Care Providers Resuming Cancer Screening (Released by Ontario Health – CCO, June 30)
  • Operational Requirements for In-person Care and Readiness Assessment for Delivering In-person Care. (Released by The Centre for Effective Practice, June 25)
  • Preparing to Resume In-person Care. (Released by the OMA, June 11)
• All resources for re-opening are posted here. This page is updated regularly.

PPE

• PPE supply remains a concern. Many teams indicated they have a 1- to 3-month supply, but many others also indicated only a 1- to 3-week supply. Most teams expressed concern about PPE quantity for increasing in-person visits and a possible second wave in the fall.
• Primary care is now included and recognized as a priority sector in the in OH’s ethical framework document used to guide distribution of the provincial PPE supply. However, the process for acquiring PPE through the regional tables appears to be inconsistent across the province, and even within regions. OH North has initiated a primary care PPE start-up allocation, and primary care entities in OH West have been successfully receiving PPE supplies regionally; however, access seems to vary across sub-regions.
• Teams are encouraged to connect with their Regional Table Leads for PPE and Critical Supplies to access this inventory if regular supply chains are unavailable.  
• AFHTO will continue to advocate for a consistent and sustainable long-term approach based on regional coordination.
• We encourage teams to check out the resources posted on our site.

  Virtual care

• AFHTO is looking at possible discounts for two platforms for teams:
  • Microsoft Teams is becoming a preferred platform for virtual meetings, including with the ministry and Ontario Health. Microsoft Teams comes with the purchase of Microsoft 365. If there is enough interest in licenses, we will ask about a reduced rate for bulk purchasing of Microsoft 365.
  • UpToDate is a computer and mobile device-based clinical reference tool. AFHTO has been speaking with UpToDate and there is potential for a discounted rate for teams; however, it depends on uptake. Please let us know if you are interested. If there is enough interest, we will arrange a contract with UpToDate.
  • If you are interested in Microsoft 365 and/or UpToDate, please complete this survey by Friday, July 17.
• For providers working remotely, more information can be found here to help with privacy and security concerns, as well as some of the VoIP options that teams are using.
• The ministry is seeking feedback for its Digital health interoperability – proposed amendments to O. Reg. 329/04. The deadline for feedback is July 22, 2020.
• The ministry is seeking feedback on Amendment of Regulation O. Reg. 329/04 (General) under the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA) regarding health information custodians. The deadline for feedback is this week on Friday, July 10.
• Primary care teams are leading patient-centric innovations in their community. Take a moment and learn more about what teams across the province are doing, and please share your initiatives with us at improve@afhto.ca.

Human Resources

• On June 24, AFHTO circulated a Temporary Pandemic Pay update and confirmed that eligibility of workers does include primary care team members who are redeployed to the COVID-19 assessment centres and other eligible workplaces (i.e. hospitals, long-term care homes, retirement homes).
• The ministry will be rolling out pandemic pay funds through existing TPAs shortly. Teams that are leading FHT-run assessment centres should connect with their OH contact  at MOH.PPInquiries@ontario.ca to seek clarity on receiving their pandemic pay.
• There will be two webcasts this summer:
  • There will be a webinar for EDs on Wednesday, July 29, at 11 AM with Maria McDonald, McDonald HR Law, to discuss ongoing topics of concern around employer obligations, including matters related to staff challenges with childcare and mental health. A portion of the webinar will be to address pre-submitted questions. You can register for the webinar and submit your questions here. Webinar registration will require approval, which EDs will receive from AFHTO within 24-48 hours of registration. Registration will close end of day Tuesday, July 28.
  • AFHTO is organising a webinar that will provide guidance to boards on governance throughout COVID-19 and beyond. This will include guidance on the role of the board in resumption of services, what governors should know about the direction of OHTs, and where to go from here. Stay tuned for details!
• A reminder that R&R funding was disbursed in April, and teams should be working on reallocating the increases. For guidance, please see the Recruitment and Retention Planning Document and the Compensation Guidance Document.

AFHTO is working with partners to showcase how primary care has stepped up – and will continue to step up – to support Ontarians and to ensure a sustainable and equitable healthcare system. We have received ethics approval from the Office of Research and Innovation at the University of Toronto to proceed with our research project entitled COVID-19: Understanding how primary care teams stepped up to help support their communities and patients.

We ask all EDs to spare up to 30 minutes for an interview with one of the researchers who is working with us on this project. We will send a poll out shortly to schedule a time for a call. The calls will happen throughout July and August.

Keep checking out our COVID-19 section that we regularly update with news, tools, and resources, including the daily situation reports and regular memos from the ministry’s command table.

Please contact us any time. We’re here to support you.

Sincerely,

Your AFHTO Team