CCHL National Conference 2024

• Provide a purpose-built community gathering of health leaders;
• Develop essential skills and behaviors to enhance leadership;
• Connect health leaders with their peers, community, and system;
• Inspire participants to lead the future of healthcare collaboratively; and
• Present world-class cutting-edge knowledge, focused on solutions and workplace application.

Registration

Registration is now open! Please use the blue button at the top of the page to register.

Registration deadline: May 31, 2024.

Member Rate
The CCHL National Conference member registration rates are available to members of both CCHL and the Canadian Nurses Association. Join the College today for only $175 for the first year and get reduced rates on CCHL events. CCHL membership details available here.

*For the Patient Representative rate, please send information about the patient organization you represent to conference@cchl-ccls.ca.
**For the student rate, please send information on your current full-time student enrolment to conference@cchl-ccls.ca.

Program-at-a-glance

Title Sponsor: Sodexo
In collaboration with the Canadian Nurses Association

*Program is subject to change without notice. 

Plenary Sessions

Monday, June 3, 2024

09:00 – 10:00

Dr. Alika Lafontaine – Indigenous Physician | Healthcare Leader and Changemaker

Named Maclean’s top Healthcare Innovator of 2023, Dr. Alika Lafontaine has been at the epicentre of healthcare system change for almost two decades. He is the first Indigenous physician and the youngest doctor to lead the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) in its 156-year history, and the first Indigenous physician to be listed on The Medical Post’s 50 Most Powerful Doctors. As an experienced health leader, Lafontaine speaks eloquently and passionately on the politics of healthcare, implementing and scaling equity, effective advocacy, and redesigning health systems.

Working at the intersection of advocacy and implementation, Lafontaine has held both provincial and national medical leadership positions. From 2013-2017, he co-led the Indigenous Health Alliance, growing it into one of the most ambitious Indigenous health transformation projects in Canadian history. At its peak, the Alliance represented more than 150 First Nations and successfully advocated for $68 million in funding. In 2017, the Alliance was recognized by the Public Policy Forum, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau presenting Lafontaine with the inaugural Emerging Indigenous Leader award.

Drawing on the work of the Alliance and his own personal experiences, Lafontaine went on to found Safespace Networks, an anonymous learning platform for reporting racism and healthcare harm. It’s grown to include reporting networks in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Ontario, providing protection for patients and families and assisting them with navigating fragmented and confusing health reporting processes.

During his presidency year at the CMA, Lafontaine was the driving force behind securing the largest nominal Federal investment in healthcare since 2004, breakthrough changes in physician credential recognition in several provinces (including a first-of-its-kind Atlantic physician registry), and strong commitments to national collaboration in managing health data and health human resources between provincial, territorial, and national governments. The CMA also adopted a long-term Indigenous health goal and began an apology process related to Indigenous patient maltreatment in Canada’s healthcare systems, which Lafontaine continues to lead today.

Grounded in a mixed Indigenous ancestry of Metis, Oji-Cree and Pacific Islander, Lafontaine completed his medical degree and anesthesia fellowship training at the University of Saskatchewan before moving to northern Alberta where he has spent most of his clinical career. He was named one of Canada’s “Top 40 Under 40” and is the youngest recipient of an Indpsire Award.

15:45 – 16:30

The problem with distributed leadership… and our solution

• Issues top-of-mind for healthcare leaders – what’s keeping you up at night?
• Gold-standard evidence of how to best to develop leaders and retain key talent, and
• Strategies to achieve full-system, and across-an-organization leadership integration.

Dr. Jaason Geerts – Vice-President, Research and Leadership Development, Canadian College of Health Leaders

Dr. Jaason Geerts is the Vice-President of Research and Leadership Development at the Canadian College of Health Leaders (CCHL) and an associate at the Centre for International Human Resource Management (CIHRM) at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School.

Jaason completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge on leadership for professionals after a teaching degree and two Master’s from the University of Toronto and Cambridge respectively.

Along with being a TEDx speaker and giving keynote addresses at several prominent conferences, Jaason’s work has been featured in international peer-reviewed journals, including BMJ journals, the Globe and Mail, CBC national news, CTV news, and local radio, as well as globally through the International Hospital Federation (IHF).

The model of leadership in a crisis that Jaason created is the theoretical foundation for a recent successful CIHR research grant valued at $450,000 and he participated as an invited international expert advisor for a World Health Organization (WHO) symposium on health system recovery.

Jaason is also a program director and instructor at the Telfer School of Management (University of Ottawa) and the Schulich School of Business (York University).

Jaason is also a qualified teacher and was nominated for the Toronto Star’s Teacher of the Year.

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

08:30 – 09:30

Fireside Chat | Coming together as leaders: Empowering the workforce to better face the headwinds of transformation

How can leaders lead health transformation while keeping a pulse on people, quality, and safety? All voices must be heard, and trust must be maintained and sometimes gained. Join us as a panel of CEOs come together to deliver learnings and insights that will leave listeners energized with new ideas.

Leading transformation is no longer an option for health leaders; it's the norm. We are facing unprecedented challenges that threaten the health and well-being of not only individuals but entire populations. Collaborations, partnerships, learning across professions and across the continuum take time, energy, and resources – things that are all in particularly high demand for health leaders right now. However, to inspire action on the real-world problems that are currently on health leaders' plates, we must envision and work within the national and global landscape so we can reframe and reimagine how to advance locally.

There has never been a better time for health care leaders to make a positive impact on the quality of health and care for Canadians. Let us embrace quality as our North Star and heed another insightful perspective from Don Berwick, "The quality improvement movement is about making life better for everyone." There is a lot at stake and no time to waste on the journey toward safer care and a healthier world, for all.

This interactive plenary will share insights from Canadian CEOs leading provincial transformations with a focus on the people and new levers to support this change with actionable data and insights on employee wellbeing, quality, and safety. Preliminary results and data will be shared from Accreditation Canada’s mandatory workforce instrument, revealing the primary national themes. Participants will be empowered to use learnings from simple yet robust tools for insights on workforce wellness, quality, and safety in their transformation journey, fostering leadership through inclusive input from all health professionals and patients.

Moderator

Leslee Thompson – CEO, HSO and Accreditation Canada
Leslee Thompson has over 25 years of senior executive and corporate director experience that spans multiple geographies and sectors including heath care, medical technology, government and retail, Leslee is a leader who makes things happen. She has become internationally recognized for her work on partnering with patients to improve outcomes.

Panelists

Martin Beaumont, FCCHL – CEO/PDG, CHU de Québec - Université Laval
Martin Beaumont has a well-oriented career of more than 25 years in health and social services including graduate and postgraduate university training, practical experience in several health care systems around the world and significant achievements in the field of management. He is committed to innovation and achieving results.

Kelli O’Brien – VP of Quality & Learning Health System, Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services
Kelli O’Brien is the vice president – quality and learning health systems at NL Health Services. She has over 30 years of progressive clinical and leadership experience in health care. In her role, Kelli has provincial responsibility for various program areas including quality, safety, and risk management; strategic planning, performance measurement and analytics; research and evaluation; and process improvement. In addition, she has responsibility for the provincial cancer care program.

Kristin Kennedy – CEO, Erie Shores Healthcare
Kristin Kennedy RN, BSc.N, MHA. She is a nursing CEO from Windsor-Essex at Erie Shores Healthcare. She led the hospital through Covid-19, was the innovator behind brining healthcare to the greenhouses in the area addressing the significant inequities experienced by Migrant worker and undocumented populations in the area. This program grew and evolved into a launch of a fully functioning mobile health clinic staffed by Nurse Practitioners, Nurses, and Physicians that offers a full range of medical treatments from dental care to immunizations. She has also most recently co-led the shared services organization, Transform SSO, through the recent data breach that affected the area hospitals forcing all systems offline.

Lanette Siragusa – CEO, Shared Health Services
Lanette Siragusa has been Shared Health’s Chief Executive Officer since May 2023. She first joined Shared Health in 2017 as the organization’s first Chief Nursing Office and Provincial Lead. Prior to joining Shared Health, Lanette was program director for surgery with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.

15:00 – 16:00

Improving the working lives of nurses in Canada

The toolkit is the result of a pan-Canadian collaboration in partnership with the Canadian nursing community. It was co-created by a diverse group of nurses brought together in June 2023 at the Nursing Retention Forum. The group was comprised of point-of-care nurses, nurse-employers, decision-makers, nursing regulators, union representatives and others. As a resource created by and for nurses, it draws on evidence-based practices, lived and living experiences, and insights from nursing professionals at all career stages, including nursing students. The aim of the toolkit is to provide Canadian nurse-employers and health care organizations with practical strategies and tools to improve retention.

The toolkit focuses on eight core themes that impact nurses’ day-to-day working life in the domain of clinical care and provides corresponding tools that Canadian employers can implement. Themes include: Inspired Leadership, Flexible and Balanced Ways of Working, Organizational Mental Health and Wellness Supports, Professional Development and Mentorship, Reduced Administrative Burden, Strong Management and Communication, Clinical Governance and Infrastructure, and Safe Staffing Practices. Each theme is underpinned by the values of respect, anti-racism and anti-oppression, transparency and accountability. Additionally, each theme has a goal statement and accompanying initiatives that can be used as a guide to support retention.

Nurses are critical in providing high quality care, but they are facing many challenges; high patient workloads, increased acuity and moral injury among other factors are causing many nurses to leave the profession. It is clear that the profession needs support now more than ever. Ensuring a robust and sustainable workforce is essential in increasing wellness in the profession. The Nursing Retention Toolkit is a great starting point to initiate lasting positive change and improve the working lives of nurses in Canada.

Dr. Leigh Chapman – Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), Health Canada

Dr. Leigh Chapman is committed to advancing the nursing profession in Canada to ensure equitable access to quality care. As CNO for Canada, she provides strategic advice to Health Canada, plays a convening role on key nursing issues, and represents the Federal Government at public forums.

Leigh is a registered nurse (RN) who received her PhD from the University of Toronto's Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing. Over the past 20 years, she has gained a deep understanding of nursing by working in both frontline and clinical leadership capacities. In addition to her role as CNO for Canada, Leigh continues to work at a community-based consumption and treatment site in Toronto, where she provides harm reduction services and frontline care.

Concurrent Sessions

Monday, June 3, 2024

10:45 – 12:15   Concurrent sessions

1. CCHL’s 2024 National Conversation

The CCHL National Conversation is an opportunity for CCHL members from across the country to learn more about and contribute to advancing thought leadership on a priority topic facing health leaders with the intention to support effective health leadership within and beyond the CCHL community.

2024 TOPIC (selected by CCHL Member votes): What role may health leaders play to retain the current health human resource (HHR) workforce, as well as prepare for the influx of a new and younger workforce, so that the health system is sustainable, and the HHR workforce is engaged, empowered, and retained?

CCHL National Conference Concurrent Session

Panel Presentation: How are health care organizations engaging, supporting, and retaining their workforce, and what changes are they making to prepare for a new workforce to ensure health system sustainability and health human resource retention?

A panel of health leaders will share the actions taken by themselves and their organizations to engage, support, and retain their health human resource workforce, identifying what is working and what they might do, or have done, differently. Panelists will also share changes being made to prepare for a new workforce, to ensure health system sustainability, and an engaged, empowered, and retained HHR workforce.

Participants will have opportunities to connect with one another, share their experiences, and reflect on the leadership actions required to promote changes in health organizations to retain the current HHR workforce, and prepare for the influx of a new workforce.

Outputs from the session will be collated and shared with the broader CCHL membership and health system networks, to inform and align health leader actions across Canada.

Speakers:
To be confirmed

2. Organ donation after medical assistance in dying, how to honour patient’s wishes!

A provincial law introduce in 2015; medical assistance in dying (MAID) paved the way for Quebec to be one of a few pioneer jurisdictions worldwide where deceased organ donation after MAID became possible.

Programs in Belgium and the Netherlands had already reported organ donation after MAID, Canadian organ donation organizations recognized the potential for organ donation after MAID as well. What were the obstacles encountered in setting up this innovative practice? How did Transplant Quebec succeed in developing a protocol that honours the wishes of patients pursuing MAID?

The learning objectives of this presentation are as follows:

1. Explains the importance of participative leadership in the development and innovation of organ donation in Quebec.
2. Understand the importance of all key players working together to implement a new practice.

Ethical and logistics concerns were carefully considered during our protocol development for donation after MAID in Quebec, established to be consistent with the best practices in collaboration with other provincial organ donation organizations and care teams in Quebec hospitals.

It’s been more than 5 years since the implementation of the MAID protocol, and we still take time to consult with our partners to improve the practice. However, much remains to be learned regarding how to optimize the system to ensure that donation requests are treated in the most ethical and medically effective way. And above all, we must ensure that all eligible patients are offered the opportunity to pursue donation.

Speakers:
Martine Bouchard – CEO, Transplant Quebec
Marie-Josée Lavigne – advisor to the CEO and manager of education and hospital development

3. Innovation in healthcare, led by nurses 

The healthcare industry and key stakeholders worldwide are demanding novel, impactful, scalable, and accessible solutions for improving healthcare delivery and health outcomes. SONSIEL is dedicated to meeting this call for revolutionary change through nurse-led innovation. The aim of this session will be to conduct a mini-think tank session on how leadership (both nursing and otherwise) and innovate the Canadian health care system.

Speaker:
Mary Lou Ackerman – Sonsiel/SE Health

4. The art of building community health coalitions

The purpose of the presentation is to lead emerging leaders through a scenario-based activity and reflective discussion to better understand the key elements for developing coalitions when designing healthy rural community initiatives. The presenters represent a community partner perspective and will apply their experiences and knowledge developing, leading, and evaluating rural community health initiatives.

The learning objectives for this presentation will focus on a five-step approach developed by Alberta Health Services:

1. Engage & Create Connections
2. Understand Your Community
3. Prioritize & Plan
4. Implement & Evaluate
5. Sustain & Share

This five-step approach focuses on making positive changes to the environments where citizens live, learn, work, play and age. The intention is to be more effective in creating long-term positive health outcomes rather than focusing on behaviour change alone.

The scenario-based activities will ask session attendees to consider key elements while working through the five-step approach, such as characteristics for choosing a champion, understanding community needs, and establishing shared objectives through a collaborative process. Additionally, all attendees will be assigned roles during the scenarios to give attendees a deeper understanding of the broad perspectives that accompany a community health coalition.

This presentation will serve as an introduction to the art of developing coalitions. Ultimately, all participating delegates will leave the activity with a fresh insight into the opportunities and possibilities of coalitions for producing new and innovative ideas for improving community health.

Speakers:
Zak Morrison – Executive Director, Barons-Eureka-Warner FCSS
Kaitlynn Weaver – Outreach Services Supervisor, Barons-Eureka-Warner FCSS
Myrna Sopal – Family Support Worker, Barons-Eureka-Warner FCSS

5. Your Healthcare Facility, your health teams, and your patients: What keeps leadership up at night? 

Running healthcare facilities across Canada has never been more challenging than now… and it’s not going to get any easier soon. The philosophical shift to patient-focused care within a cash strapped sector trying to support an inventory of outdated, undersized facilities in a post pandemic world with global climate impacts is something administrations never even thought about 3 decades ago. But it’s not all doom and gloom. During this session, we’ll focus on five challenges that keep leadership up at night associated with their patients’ experience while at their facilities.  More importantly, we’ll discuss/ offer a perspective on how this relates to the patient experience and most importantly share approaches that improve/ensure that you are making the best use of your facility and your professional and clinical staff.

The challenges we’ll cover:

1. Are you meeting the scores of targets required of your facility via government, accreditation, codes and standards including understanding the liability and negative impacts of not meeting targets;
2. What is the ability of your Infrastructure/facility to provide a reliable healthcare environment during service or supply outages or under extreme events or environments;
3. How well is you site able to minimize its negative impact on climate and able to withstand these same climate extremes for staff and patients;
4. Are you comfortable that your infrastructure staff have the knowledge and resources and relationships to deliver a safe, efficient healthcare environment; and
5. Related to (4), are you confident in the staffing stability for your people charged with ensuring an optimum healthcare environment.

Speaker:
Roger Holliss – President, Holliss Consulting Inc.

6. Equity, diversity, and inclusion: The role of fire departments in health systems 

In this session, the learning objectives are a) awareness of the Great Canadian Fire Census results and its implications for healthcare systems across the country b) inclusion of a hidden healthcare provider in the fire sector and c) consider the implications of including these unacknowledged healthcare providers in system planning.

For the past three years, the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs has run the Great Canadian Fire Census which paints a picture of the fire and emergency management landscape in Canada. Surveys were administered in each of the last two years and we received a sample of about 540-660 fire departments which include catchment areas for 24M Canadians. We extrapolated the data for the rest of the fire departments by type. The results are available at www.cafc.ca

We learned that 70% of the country's largest cities have fire departments responsible for emergency management. In 2022 and 2023, 126,000 firefighters and 3200 fire departments in Canada, who respond to 2M all hazard calls annually. About 50% of these calls are emergency medical, the majority of which is unreimbursed.

While the fire sector operates on a "call us and we'll come" basis, the demand for firefighter response will increase as climate emergencies and the ability to "fill in for the healthcare system" may wane. Across the country, health service administrators need to be aware of this and plan proactively and inclusively.

Speaker:

Tina Saryeddine – Executive Director, Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs

13:45 – 15:15   Concurrent sessions

7. Wellbeing: Identifying & navigating the occupational hazards in healthcare

This interactive session will discuss the systemic drivers of burnout and turnover in our healthcare workforce. The objectives will include:

1. Identify the fertilizer and the pests that support and thwart health promoting learning & work environments in healthcare.
2. Illuminate the barriers to meaningful change in academic and clinical health care environments.
3. Discuss the systemic and cultural drivers of unhealthy healthcare environments.
4. Review surveillance and intervention strategies to promote wellbeing among the healthcare workforce which in turn supports improved health care economics and patient outcomes.

Participants will review surveillance strategies to monitor environments and tangible interventions for environments that are facing challenges. We will also review wellbeing-centred leadership and its profound impact on learning and work environments.

Speaker:
Melanie Lewis – Chief Wellness Officer, Professor of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta

8. Leadership for change: Toward sustainable health systems

The objectives of this session are to characterize different types of innovations (based on the degree of impact and challenge) and explore the associated leadership challenges and opportunities when implementing sustainability initiatives. We will also aim to strengthen the leadership capabilities of existing and emerging health system leaders committed to promoting high quality, low-carbon, climate-resilient, and sustainable health services, and systems. We will use interactive lectures, structured small group-discussions, and leadership testimonial to reinforce and demonstrate innovation and leadership concepts in practice.

Advancing climate action in the health sector requires that existing and emerging leaders recognize the need for collaboration and innovation and embrace the interconnectivity and interdependency of complex systems. Promoting high-quality, low-carbon, climate-resilient, and sustainable health systems will require innovations capable of improving, changing, and transforming existing processes and practices. Successful implementation necessitates careful consideration of factors such as the level of impact, agreement, certainty, feasibility, viability, and risk.

As an outcome of this session, attendees will understand leadership capabilities and practices that can help advance systemic transformation for climate-resilient and sustainable health systems.

Speakers:
Fiona Miller – Director, CASCADES
Arianna Cruz – Innovation and Strategy Lead, CASCADES
Dr. Sean Christie – Executive of CASCADES | The Board of Directors of the Canadian Coalition for Green Healthcare

9. Learnings in the journey to develop and implement the British Columbia Cultural Safety and Humility standard

By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to apply lessons from the innovative development and implementation of the world’s first cultural safety and humility standard to their work in Indigenous health and anti-racism.

From 2018 to 2022, the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) and Health Standards Organization (HSO) partnered to develop the BC Cultural Safety and Humility standard. The standard was developed by a 16-member Indigenous-led technical committee, including thought leaders, patient partners, Knowledge Keepers, clinicians, and academics. The committee also received extensive feedback through a national public review of the standard.

The standard was published in June 2022 and sets a clear standard of care for health care systems and organizations to ensure Indigenous people living in BC have access to culturally safe care and services. The standard also advances the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Through the development of the standard, FNHA and HSO learned valuable lessons on blending Indigenous ways of knowing and doing with Western methodologies and processes through a two-eyed seeing approach and consensus-based decision-making.

In 2023 and 2024, FNHA and HSO, alongside Métis Nation BC (MNBC), have been preparing and testing the standard for use by health and social services organizations across BC to advance system-wide change for cultural safety and anti-racism through accreditation.

Drawing on the lessons learned from BC, HSO is scoping the need and design of a national cultural safety and humility standard in partnership with the Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association.

Speakers:
Vishal Jain – Director, Cultural Safety and Humility, Health Standards Organization
Stephen Thomson – Director, Health Governance, Métis Nation British Columbia
Danielle Prandoczky – Acting Manager, Standards and Accreditation, First Nations Health Authority

10. Mastering and improving crisis response with leadership and innovation

On October 3^rd 2023, Cambridge Memorial Hospital’s staff and leadership resilience was pushed to the limit in response to a fire evacuation and loss of essential hospital infrastructure. During this crisis, hospital staff and leaders had to mobilize quickly to ensure staff and patient safety and to evacuate impacted patient care areas. This session will demonstrate the importance of leadership in managing a crisis and leadership’s vital role in:

1. Critical decision making
2. Coordination and communication during a crisis
3. Mobilization of teams to respond and ensure staff and patient safety
4. Supporting teams to maintain focused and remain calm
5. Support ethical decision making
6. Enabling learning and continuous improvement

This session will showcase our incident debrief framework and how innovative tools such as augmented intelligence and quality improvement tools were used to identify critical improvements in our emergency response framework.

Learning objectives:

• Importance of a structured Crisis Management Framework
• Illustrate the vital role leaders play in emergency response
• How insight can be gleaned from a structured debrief following a critical event
• Showcase the application of quality improvement and project management tools to support continuous improvement efforts

Understand methods to solicit feedback and how augmented intelligence can be used to quickly analyze mass.

Speakers:
Kyle Leslie – Director of Operational Excellence, Cambridge Memorial Hospital (CMH)

11. Leading transformation in care, safety, and efficiency through Increased Health Data Literacy

87.5% of Canadians expect professionals who touch their health data to be certified. Certified Health Information Management (CHIM) Professionals is Canada's gold standard for professional health data literacy. Recognized and trusted, a certified workforce is deemed essential for enabling care, informing policy, and underpinning funding decisions across the industry.

A person’s journey to care for themselves and their loved ones depends on accurate data.

This presentation will focus on the modernization of the profession and the interdisciplinary intersection of how certified professionals play a role in the healthcare system.

Speaker:
Jennifer Bennett – Director of Analytics and Innovation, Shannex Incorporated

12. LEADS in action

Leaders and leadership in healthcare matter now more than ever. Explore how the LEADS in a Caring Environment framework can contribute to a sustainable and effective health care system.

This session will familiarize participants with the LEADS framework, facilitate discussion about leadership implications for organizations moving strategy forward, and discover potential leadership development programming for individuals and teams.

 Speaker:
Doug Miron – MA Leadership CEC PCC CHE & Fellows Program Coach | Canadian College of Health Leaders, Leadership Faculty |LEADS Coach and Facilitator

13. Coaches’ Corner

Take your leadership to the next level. Come and speak with leaders from across Canada in a one-on-one setting. Hear personal leadership stories, ask questions and gain valuable advice. Leaders of health regions, hospitals, private sector and community organizations, from coast to coast, will be available to provide armchair coaching in relaxed surroundings. This session is ideal for emerging or mid-career leaders looking for advice and feedback from some of Canada’s most respected health leaders.

Note that pre-registration will be required to attend the Coaches' Corner Sessions.

Sponsored by: Roche

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

10:15 – 11:45   Concurrent sessions

14. An interactive, insightful, and practical session post-plenary: Maximizing new workforce wellness data-driven approaches as levers to support effective action planning and strategy

The Why

Health Human Resource is a challenge all health leaders are facing while balancing the need to continue operate and lead transformations. There is no quality without a healthy, competent, and engaged workforce. We also can’t manage what we can’t measure thus the link between workforce, quality and health transformation is paramount.

Step into an immersive journey that seamlessly extends the morning's dynamic plenary session! This concurrent session is designed to transition to thought-provoking discussions in an interactive experience tailor-made for Canadian Health Leaders.

The interactive discussion with CEOs and your peers, will be delving into the art of leveraging new workforce wellness data to tackle transformation head-on. Our goal isn't just to share leadership wisdom—it's to spark meaningful dialogue among conference attendees so you leave you energized and equipped with learnings and insights to support transformation and change in your organization.

Background

In 2024, Accreditation Canada is set to unveil its latest initiative: Health Standards Organization (HSO) Global Workforce Survey. This mandatory update supersedes previous tools focusing on workforce wellness and safety. There are many flexible ways Health Leaders can use this new data to inform decision making, monitoring of operations, or transformations. Organizations and governments from around the world are invited to use the survey instrument at local, national, and international levels for benchmarking and generating actionable changes that enable a stable and thriving global workforce and improve the safety and quality care for all.

The What

Drawing from an initial implementation phase with over 10,000 responses, valuable data will be presented during the conference. Through concrete examples, you will be engaged in an interactive session aimed at driving meaningful dialogue. Key themes to be explored include workforce tenure and retention, Indigenous health, inclusion, diversity, equity, and access, and location comparisons to support urban versus rural settings and other site comparators.

A list of comparators is provided in advance to prepare attendees for the dynamic discussions and reflections.

Regional comparators (EX: Organization or worksite (for orgs with multiple sites) retention)

• How long worked (tenure) in organization?
• How long worked (tenure) in current unit/work area.
• Age group
• Employment status (FT, PT, causal, etc.)
• Usual work schedule
• Usual number of hours worked per week.

Other

• Job category (nurse, doctor, volunteers, etc.)

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access

• Indigenous vs. Non-Indigenous (self-reported)
• Gender
• Identifies as a member of a visible minority group.
• Identifies as a person with a disability.

The segmentation of data can be applied against the overall workforce wellness, quality, and safety responses for detailed insights against specific strategic initiatives.

Organizations will have the ability to add optional additional questions tailored to their unique requirements and interest. During the session, participants will delve into the possibilities of leveraging insights, exchanging ideas on maximizing their value and applicability. The future tool’s dashboard will also enable benchmarking (within organization, against National average), trending, baseline assessments, follow ups for specific cohorts, etc.

The How

Leslee J. Thompson will moderate this dynamic session and involve you as an active participant. Previous plenary speakers will be present in the room amongst other esteemed Canadian health Leaders. Expect regular polling, reflective moments, and open mic opportunities to interact with CEOs, experts, and peers alike.

As an active participant, you can expect to leave with tangible and actionable insights from peer participants and expert CEOs. Participants will discover how Accreditation Canada’s new workforce survey instrument can assist them in leveraging their workforce data as a lever to support specific action plans, strategic planning and change management.

Moderator:
Leslee J. Thompson – CEO, HSO and Accreditation Canada

Panelists:
Martin Beaumont, FCCHL – CEO/PDG, CHU de Québec - Université Laval
Kristin Kennedy – CEO, Erie Shores Healthcare
Kelli O’Brien – VP of Quality & Learning Health System, Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services
Lanette Siragusa – CEO, Shared Health Services

15. Enabling aging in place: System planning done differently – Beyond LTC beds

Learning objectives and relevance to the selected topic:
Most Canadians want to age at home which is challenging given the lack of formal
supports to do so safely. This session will focus on increasing awareness of promising practices that support aging in place and their impacts on key health system metrics; and engage participants to identify opportunities to plan differently for the care of older adults, beyond building new LTC beds, by shifting care to community.

Activities, methods, innovations;
This session will focus on sharing promising practices that respond to the priorities and preferences of older adults to age in place with dignity. Participants will explore health system planning assumptions, funding models and structures that influence how care of older adults is organized, funded and delivered to meet their health and social needs. The discussion will lead into the co-design of system planning strategies, with a strong focus on measurement frameworks that demonstrate the impacts of health and social innovations on health systems, that support the sustainability of integrated models of care.

Outcomes, results;
This session will equip decision makers with evidence to shift health system planning and develop coalitions for integrated models of care that prioritize health and social needs of older adults and their caregivers as part of the journey towards health system transformation.

Leadership lessons learned; and
Sustainable funding of integrated health and social models of care is not widespread across Canada. Health system leaders have an opportunity to influence the funding, planning and delivery of care with and for older adults and their caregivers to enable aging in place, which is a key and shared priority across the country.

System change(s), conclusion.
Currently, 1 in 10 newly admitted LTC residents potentially could have been cared for at home if they had formal supports. Shifting care to community has the potential to address major healthcare system issues including ALC patients in acute care as well as avoidable emergency room visits which continue to be a challenge across the country. Promising approaches exist and can be shared and spread.

Speakers:
Tanya MacDonald – Healthcare Excellence Canada
Dr. Kate Mulligan – University of Toronto

16. Tackling racism and racial discrimination in Canada 

Jointly with CNA, Dr. Dordunoo is undertaking a CIHR funded study focused on tackling racism and racial discrimination in nursing in Canada. The concurrent session would discuss the findings of phase 1 and 2 of the study, with an opportunity for breakout groups to discuss potential phase 3 interventions and strategies.

The aims are:

(a) to investigate the nature (type) and distribution of systemic racism experienced by nurses across Canada,
(b) to investigate, assess and characterize the impacts of COVID-19 on ethnic minority nurses including systemic disparities
(c) to develop or inform interventions and/or strategies such as justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) frameworks, to address reported negative impacts such as nurse attrition and hence improve nurse and patient outcomes.

Speakers:
Dr. Dzifa Dordunoo – University of Victoria
Tim Guest – Canadian Nurses Association
Damilola Iduye – Dalhousie University

17. Certified Health Executive (CHE) Bootcamp

Currently enrolled in the CHE Program? Or interested in pursuing your CHE? The CCHL national office is pleased to present this information session to provide an insight and guidance for those currently enrolled in the CHE program and for those looking to apply in the future. The session will offer an overview of the CHE program and application. A graduate of the program will share their experience and a CHE evaluator will communicate what they look for when reviewing the LEADS in Action Project and Candidate Self-Evaluation. There will be time for questions and answers during the session.

Speakers:
Stéphane Joannette – Director, Professional Certifications and Strategic Alliances, The Canadian College of Health Leaders

18. Convening for action - Applying emergent approaches for leadership

There is much research and theory around large scale change and system innovation in health care, but fewer examples of impactful application in Canadian health systems.  Our observation is that health system leaders desire system change, but are hampered by limited capability, capacity and critical mass of aligned support. This session will draw on our experience in Saskatchewan of creating programs that allow leaders at all levels to convene, collaborate and act on system innovation and large scale change.

This session fits under the implementation and onboarding of innovation topic. By the end of the session, participants will:

• Experiment with the power of human centered design as a key foundation to large scale change and innovation approaches, which integrate emergent leadership concepts for system transformation
• Define collaboration and convening as emergent approaches for lasting, impactful change and innovation
• Summarize examples of how Saskatchewan Health Authority is operationalizing a culture of innovation and large scale change, including applying lenses of equity, diversity, and inclusion, and fully involving the patient voice
• Examine and apply our lessons learned from building SHA’s Innovation and Large-Scale Change programs to participants’ personal work situations

The session includes empathy mapping and crowdsourcing activities that will actively engage participants.  Take-aways for participants include curated ideas for action and collaboration that are applicable to their own work environments.

Leadership lessons and reflections focus within 3 specific LEADS capabilities (domain): Build teams (Engage Others); Purposefully build partnerships and networks to create results (Develop Coalitions); and Demonstrate systems/critical thinking (Systems Transformation).

Speakers:
Kerilyn Voigt – Director, Strategy and Innovation, Saskatchewan Health Authority
Adrienne Danyliw – Director, Strategy and Innovation, Saskatchewan Health Authority

19. How will your story be told?

The proposed session is to relate personal stories and health information, highlighting the importance of a complete health record. The overall topic would be regarding interprofessional relationships or partnerships in today's healthcare, emphasizing the need for a coming together of senior-level leaders and health information management professionals for our patients and families.

The goal of this session is to provide the participant some time to reflect on their story in life and relate it to their personal health record story. Are both where they want it to be? What needs to change in either life or health to have the conclusion they seek?

In the session, each participant will have the opportunity to craft their life book or story to include a title, themes and chapters, and then structure the same for their personal health record. Recognizing it won't be complete in a 90-minute session, the hope is that it will help emphasize the importance of health information at the patient care level as well as other uses of health information. High level identification of redundancies in health information and how duplicate information can be wasteful of time and resources will call attention to the need for healthcare professionals to come together.

The overall outcome is to help bridge the gap in relationships between leaders and health information management professionals. The system changes we would like to see after this session are a better awareness of health information and support in helping encourage stronger health information practices.

Speakers:
Gennie Walton, CHE – Business Administration Student
Helen Beaumont – Manager of Community Engagement, Canadian Health Information Management Association

20. Coaches’ Corner

Take your leadership to the next level. Come and speak with leaders from across Canada in a one-on-one setting. Hear personal leadership stories, ask questions and gain valuable advice. Leaders of health regions, hospitals, private sector and community organizations, from coast to coast, will be available to provide armchair coaching in relaxed surroundings. This session is ideal for emerging or mid-career leaders looking for advice and feedback from some of Canada’s most respected health leaders.

Note that pre-registration will be required to attend the Coaches' Corner Sessions.

Sponsored by: Roche

13:30 – 14:30   Corporate spotlight sessions

21. Practical applications how healthcare command centers are helping caregivers save time and simplifying care orchestration

Health systems are beyond stressed with overburdened caregivers and with patients not receiving the right care in the right setting at the right time. While digitization is a helpful first step toward improving clinical and operational outcomes, if it does not create leverage and synergy for care teams, the net effect is more work and more fragmented care. This session will examine how command centre technology creates automated, workflow-relevant intelligence about patient care delays, risks, barriers and emerging pressures, and how it is used by care teams for proactive interventions, for better collaboration in rounds and huddles, and for more impactful staffing, patient placement, capacity management and other complex decisions. With this technology, essential care orchestration activities are easier, faster, smarter, consistent and connected between disciplines or levels of care.

The first big impact is saving time. Replacing aged bed availability reports with current actionable information saves time. Replacing sticky notes, whiteboards, spreadsheets, printed EMR reports and phone calls saves time. And minimizing chart diving, information gathering, updating information, analysis to connect the dots, and manual report generation saves time. Saving time translates into care providers working to the top of their licenses, fewer patient care delays and more timely interventions. In this way, healthcare command centres are helping hospitals and health systems achieve a cascade of benefits for their patients and for staff, including among many things a more accessible front door, balanced utilization between facilities, shorter patient stays, and more even-paced workflow for clinicians.

Participants will advance their knowledge about healthcare command centres as the presenters (a) explore a wide range of applications of this technology in acute care and other levels of care, (b) unpack the differences between command center software, EMRs, BI tools and other analytics and (c) poll the audience and invite discussion about current uses of real time data for daily care coordination, capacity management and quality and safety management.

Speakers:
Zahava Uddin – GE HealthCare
Paul Jarvis – GE HealthCare
Marianna Johnson – GE HealthCare

22. Managing healthcare innovation through change management

Join Prosci to engage in a real-world conversation about the role of Change Management in Healthcare. Change Management is like preventative medicine helping organizations improve the health of projects and other change initiatives. Successfully navigating change in healthcare is inherently challenging due to the unique dynamics of a laser focus on patient care with the added stresses of resource pressures, technology advancements, regulatory compliance, attracting talent and more!

Prosci offers a clear plan for managing change, concentrating on both practical and people aspects. This helps healthcare organizations adjust to changes smoothly and succeed in a constantly evolving environment.

In our session we will explore a real-world project in healthcare through a case study and the application of thoughtful Change Management. We will move past the “technical solution” and into the people side of Change, which is where change happens - at an individual level.

Together we will apply the Prosci approach with the case study, to help guide you through each stage of Change, from building awareness of the need for change through to sustaining the new ways of working. We will consider the impacted people and those in the role of supporting the change. The Prosci ADKAR Model will be at the foundation of the workshop.

Speaker:
Angela Burton – Senior Change Advisor, Prosci

Optional Events

Please review the optional events below in addition to the CCHL National Conference 2024. Note that there may be additional costs to these optional events.

Optional Event: ACHE Workshop

The human margin: Building foundations of trust
08:30 - 11:30 | Sunday, June 2, 2024

Between employee burnout and disengagement, and staff departing from the healthcare field altogether, fostering a healthy and flourishing workforce is one of the biggest hurdles facing organizations today. But the research on what’s driving turnover, burnout and disengagement is not what it seems.

The cost to attend this workshop is $185 (plus tax).

Optional Event: CCHL Leadership Integration Forum

A preview of the CCHL Leadership Organization
12:00 - 16:30 | Sunday, June 2, 2024

To effectively achieve strategic priorities and to tackle challenges such as staff burnout, recruitment, and retention, organizations are placing a heightened emphasis on the integration of leadership and leadership development.

We are thrilled to offer this sneak peek of the CCHL Leadership Organization (the CLO) at the 2024 CCHL Leadership Integration Forum, prior to the CCHL National Conference. The CLO is a ground-breaking initiative that marks a significant milestone in organizational leadership, providing a recognized standard for excellence. Join us in Halifax on June 2, 2024, for an enriching half-day event designed to ignite inspiration among participants and provide them with tangible strategies to enhance their organizational leadership capacity and performance.

Regardless of your organization's current starting point, this event promises to deliver insights and clear action steps for advancing leadership integration within your context. Don't miss the opportunity to be part of this historic launch and take your organization's leadership to new heights.

Speaker
To be confirmed

Attendance at this program entitles certified Canadian College of Health Leaders members (CHE / Fellow) to 4 Category I credits towards their maintenance of certification requirement for attending the event.

The cost to attend this workshop is as indicated below. Price includes lunch and refreshments.

Early Bird (Member): $210.00 (plus tax)
Early Bird (Non-member): $245.00 (plus tax)
Regular (Member): $250.00 (plus tax)
Regular (Non-member): $285.00 (plus tax)

Optional Event: Honouring Health Leadership Event

17:30 - 23:00 | Sunday, June 2, 2024

We invite you to join us and celebrate the accomplishments of the 2024 National Awards Program recipients at the College’s Honouring Health Leadership Event, a hallmark of excellence in healthcare and professionalism.

Attendance at this program entitles certified Canadian College of Health Leaders members (CHE / Fellow) to 2 Category I credits towards their maintenance of certification requirement for attending the event.

The cost to attend this event is as indicated below.

Individual ticket    $190.00 (plus tax)
Table of eight       $1,600.00 (plus tax)

CHE Program One-on-One Consultations

08:00 - 5:00 | Monday and Tuesday, June 3-4, 2024

Take advantage of this unique opportunity to meet in a “One-on-One” setting with Stéphane Joannette, Manager of Professional Certifications and Strategic Alliances at The Canadian College of Health Leaders during the 2024 CNC on June 2-4, 2024 to answer some of your questions and to gain insights on the CHE Program.

Click here to book your One-on-One consultation with Stéphane.

Our Sponsors

Hoping to gain exposure, build good will, and connect with health leaders?

Sponsoring CCHL’s National Conference might be the perfect approach.

With a stellar program, we know that the Canadian College of Health Leader’s National Conference will provide an inspiring and interactive environment for top decision makers in the healthcare field and will offer you many networking opportunities. The College is offering a number of levels of sponsorship. Each level provides the sponsor with a significant list of benefits and opportunities. Flexibility is available at each level. We invite you to join us and support this event!

Please contact Jaime Cleroux at jcleroux@cchl-ccls.ca with any questions.

Title Sponsor

In collaboration with the Canadian Nurses Association

Gold Sponsors

Bronze Sponsor

Directed Sponsor

Conference Venue

Halifax Convention Centre
1650 Argyle Street
Halifax, NS B3J 0E6, Canada

For more information and discounts to explore Halifax, click here!

Accommodations

The Sutton Place Hotel Halifax

1700 Grafton Street,
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 2C4
Reservations: 1-866-378-8866
Direct: 902-932-7548
Website
Online booking: https://reservations.suttonplace.com/113161?groupID=3409057
Group code: CNC2024

As you pass through the doors of The Sutton Place Hotel Halifax, you’ll discover an unmatched modern luxury sure to exceed your every expectation. Take in the elegance and contemporary style that perfectly complements the notable design of the landmark Nova Centre–a refined décor, with Italian marble walls and a colour scheme that complements the city’s nautical history.

In our 262 stunning, premium guest rooms and suites, you’ll receive all the comforts you’ve come to expect, including spa-inspired bathrooms and floor-to-ceiling windows with breathtaking views of downtown, Halifax Waterfront Harbour, and historic Citadel Hill.

The Sutton Place Hotel Halifax is where you’ll discover modern luxuries with exceptional and sincere service.

Standard Room $270 – single/double occupancy

Room rates do not include taxes and fees. Reservations must be made by May 10, 2024, to benefit from this conference rate.

Cancellation Policy
Changes of cancellations for individual reservations must reach the Reservations Department 48 hours prior to the arrival date to avoid a penalty of one nights’ room and tax.

Prince George Hotel

1725 Market Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia   B3J 3N9
Reservations:  1-800-565-1567
Direct: 902-425-1986
Website
Online booking: https://reservations.travelclick.com/13608?groupID=4138824

World-class Four Diamond service in the heart of downtown Halifax. Unparalleled hotel excellence that will please even the most discerning of travellers. You will appreciate the sophistication and charm of The Prince George Hotel from the moment you arrive to the time you checkout. With 200+ stylish guestrooms and suites, enjoy impeccably appointed accommodations featuring contemporary design and luxe amenities.

Deluxe Room $249 – single/double occupancy

Room rates do not include taxes and fees. Reservations must be made by April 29, 2024 to benefit from this conference rate.

Cancellation Policy
Cancellations must be received the day prior to arrival in order to avoid a cancellation fee.

Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites by Hilton Halifax Downtown

1960 Brunswick Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3J 2G7
Hampton Inn Phone: +1-902-422-1391
Homewood Suites Phone: 1-902-429-6620
Hampton Inn Website
Homewood Suites Website
Hampton Inn online booking: https://group.hamptoninn.com/7krwtd
Homewood Suites online booking: https://group.homewood-suites.com/w9qorj

Downtown Halifax is yours—we're within a kilometer of Scotiabank Centre events, Halifax Convention Centre, Halifax Citadel National Historic Site, the scenic Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk and trendy shops on Spring Garden Road. There's dining all around, and the waterfront's historic sights, bites, and tours are five minutes away. Enjoy free hot & cold breakfast and free WiFi during your stay.

Hampton Inn Standard Room $232 – single/double occupancy
Homewood Suites Standard Room $237 – single/double occupancy

Room rates do not include taxes and fees. Reservations must be made by May 3, 2024 to benefit from this conference rate. For the Hampton Inn, Guests may call 902-422-1391 or through our toll-free number at 1-855-331-0334 and mention group code “CCL”. For the Homewood Suites, individuals may call 902-429-6620 or through our toll-free number at 1-855-331-0337 and mention group code “CHH".

Cancellation Policy
Cancellations must be received 48 hours prior to arrival in order to avoid a cancellation fee.

Travel

AirCanada

Air Canada has been appointed the official airline for the 2024 CCHL National Conference. Air Canada is pleased to offer you special discounts on fares. To book a flight with the promotion code PW6EH7Q1, access aircanada.com and enter your promotional code in the promotion code box before initiating your search. Note that some restrictions apply.

Conference Policies

REGISTRATION POLICIES

Conference Payment Policy

Registration must be submitted online and paid in full to qualify for the early registration rates. If payment is not received by the deadline date, attendees will be invoiced at the next deadline rate. Registrations received without full payment are considered incomplete and shall not be included in the registration reports.

The early bird rate registration deadline is April 19, 2024.

The regular rate registration deadline is May 31, 2024.

Conference Cancellation Policy

Conference cancellation requests must be submitted in writing to conference@cchl-ccls.ca and received no later than the early bird deadline. Registration fees will be refunded minus a $250 administrative fee. There will be no refunds for cancellation requests received after the early bird deadline.

No-shows occur when individuals register but do not attend the conference. No-shows are not eligible for a refund.

CCHL reserves the right to make changes in programs and speakers, or to cancel the conference if registration targets are not met or when conditions beyond its control prevail. If the conference is not held for any reason, CCHL’s liability is limited to the refund of the registration fee only.

 Conference Substitution Policy

If you are unable to attend the CCHL National Conference, you are welcome to send a colleague in your place. Please submit details of the substitution in writing to conference@cchl-ccls.ca.

PRIVACY POLICIES

CCHL collects information through registration forms for planning purposes, for providing information to delegates about the conference, and for completion of registration, name badges and delegate lists. In delivering this conference, the CCHL National Conference is supported by sponsors. As part of that support, if a delegate consents during the registration process, then his/her complete contact information will be made available to the sponsors.

Photo/video release

CCHL will take photographs and some video at the national conference and utilize them in CCHL news or promotional material whether in print, electronic, or other media including the conference website. By participating in the CCHL National Conference, you grant CCHL the right to use your photograph for such purposes.

 VACCINATION AND MASK POLICY

Our priority at CCHL is to create a safe environment at the annual conference. As the situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic is constantly evolving, we will be working in conjunction with the venue to monitor health and safety protocol requirements. At this time, masking is optional and proof of vaccination is not required.

For more information

Please contact:

Brianna Lavoy
Manager, Conferences and Events
blavoy@cchl-ccls.ca
1-800-363-9056 ext 232