Canada West Health Leaders Conference 2024

Call for Abstracts

The Canadian College of Health Leaders invites you to submit abstracts for concurrent sessions as part of the 2024 Canada West Health Leaders Conference (CWHLC).

This annual conference will attract health system decision-makers which includes trustees, chief executive officers, directors, managers, and department heads. Participants represent health regions, authorities and networks, hospitals, long-term care organizations, public health agencies, community care, mental health services, and social work.

The Conference Planning Committee encourages proposals which express innovative, practical, and creative ways for presenting information to attendees. Proposals should be for interactive session and not simply didactic presentations.

Abstracts should address leadership lessons learned, patient and family involvement, and one or more of the following LEADS domains.

1. Lead self
2. Engage others
3. Achieve results
4. Develop coalitions
5. Systems transformation

The LEADS in a Caring Environment Capability Framework is a pan-Canadian leadership capabilities framework. The CWHLC will focus primarily on three domains of the LEADS in a Caring Environment Capability Framework: Develop Coalitions, Engage Others and Systems Transformation.

For more information on the LEADS Framework, please visit the LEADS Canada web site at https://cchl-ccls.ca/pld-leads/the-leads-framework/.

Conference theme

Synergies in action: The power of collaboration

In the dynamic landscape of Canadian healthcare, abundant opportunities for positive change emerge amidst the challenges. Leaders are poised to make impactful strides by dedicating themselves to implementing lasting solutions that will pave the way for a resilient and thriving healthcare system. How can we create synergy and collaboration between teams, health organizations, and possibly provinces to implement creative solutions? What is stopping us from doing it? Why is change so hard to achieve?  How do we challenge the status quo and change the way we work together? How can leaders overcome the challenges of cultural barriers, silo-based functions, and distance to foster cohesive, goal-achieving teams? How do we leverage collaboration tools and technology to break down silos to encourage collaborations between communities and organizations?

Healthcare leaders are tasked to solve many challenges with limited resources. Many solutions may have been discussed or reviewed by other health leaders. Developing coalitions and learning from each other can help us achieve better healthcare delivery towards quality patient care. At this Canada West Health Leaders Conference (CWHLC) we hope to collaborate and learn from each other and discover the power of collaboration. We will endeavour to address these questions and create opportunities for health leaders to share success stories and build successful partnerships, relationships, and collaboration models to address challenges such as:

• Unique ways of managing HHR;
• Connected care across the healthcare continuum;
• Virtual and remote care for rural communities; and
• Emergency preparedness.

Through shared goals and a willingness to explore and address challenges, collaboratives can promote stronger relationships across communities and improve delivery of healthcare services.

Conference presentation formats

 Workshop

Workshops are a great way to deliver skill-based training while keeping your attendees engaged and interested. Workshops typically involve audience participation, which maintains attention and tests newly learnt knowledge. The duration of the workshop sessions is 90 minutes and must include audience engagement. Please download, complete, and upload the activity table as part of your abstract submission. There is a maximum of three (3) facilitators.

Panel presentation

Panels should include a group of speaker presentations addressing a common issue or topic from different perspectives, followed by an interactive discussion. The panel should be submitted as a single presentation. Each panel must provide their own moderator. The duration of panel sessions is 90 minutes, 30 minutes of which must include audience engagement. Please download, complete, and upload the activity table as part of your abstract submission. There is a maximum of three (3) speakers (including the session moderator).

Campfire presentations

A campfire session is a more informal take on a traditional presentation. Its aim is to break down the barriers of the lectern. These sessions should start with a short 15-minute presentation from a speaker, and then shift to focusing on gaining key participation from the audience for 30 minutes. The presenter turns into a facilitator, allowing attendees to answer questions and provide comments. It allows attendees to drive their own learning, listen to different perspectives, and share experiences. The duration of a campfire sessions is 45 minutes. Two campfire presentations will be grouped together based on topic to fill a 90-minute timeframe. There is a maximum of two (2) speakers per campfire presentation.

Lightning presentations

A lightning session includes multiple short presentations from different speakers on the same or similar topic. In a lightning session, each speaker has 10 minutes to present a maximum of 10 slides, one slide per minute. Because lightning talks are brief, the speaker must make their point clearly and concisely while avoiding non-critical information. This format allows for many ideas to be presented in a short amount of time. The session will include a short introduction from the moderator and will feature five 10-minute presentations followed by 30 minutes of audience engagement for idea sharing and questions. Lightning presentations should highlight success stories of collective leadership or collective reflection. There is a maximum of one (1) speaker per lightning presentation.

Solve My Problem

The Solve My Problem is an interactive rapid-roundtable session where attendees will tackle real-life issues in the healthcare industry and come up with innovative solutions together. This session will have one presenter at each roundtable who will share a 5-minute overview of a problem they are facing. Then, the attendees will step in and help them find the answers they're looking for. Over the course of 15 minutes, you and your fellow participants will brainstorm, debate, and collaborate to come up with creative solutions for their challenge. After each 20-minute interval, the attendees move on to the next table. Attendees can expect to participate in 4 different roundtables during this 90-minute session. Abstracts should include a clear and concise “problem”, along with a brief summary of the problem’s history and relevancy. There is a maximum of one (1) speaker per roundtable.

Guidelines for corporate submissions

We welcome submissions from private sector partners, provided that they address (a) cooperative venture(s) with a non-profit sector partner and include the latter as a co-presenter.

The abstract should present an unbiased description of a certain method or service, discussing both pros and cons. Subtle and/or blatant advertisement of any products or services is in direct conflict with the spirit of the conference. Examples of the former include repeated references to products or trade names and excessive use of corporate logos and trademarks in graphic illustrations. Photographs of commercial equipment are not permitted unless they add educational value. The Planning Committee insists that all presenters understand without exception, that commercialism is inappropriate and will not be tolerated. Abstracts including commercialism will be disqualified. Presenters are asked to abide by these constraints when preparing their abstracts, and presentations.

Conflict of Interest

The Canadian College of Health Leaders (CCHL) requires clear disclosures from all presenters at the Canada West Health Leaders Conference regarding any financial holdings, funding sources, or affiliations that might raise questions of bias or be perceived to have potentially influenced presentation content. CCHL expects that all conference speakers, organizers, and moderators are committed to full, forthright, and transparent disclosure of any potential conflicts of interest. The CCHL has not prescribed an exhaustive list of potential conflicts here; rather, we ask presenters to make a good faith effort to identify any issues that might reasonably be expected to raise conflict-of-interest questions.

Presenters are asked to disclose any concerns or questions regarding a conflict of interest by contacting Brianna Lavoy at blavoy@cchl-ccls.ca.

Submission instructions

Abstracts should be prepared in a cohesive paragraph format and must not exceed 300 words (the word count excludes the title). You can copy and paste the text from your document into the abstract submission form.

You will also require the following information to complete the abstract submission form:

• Primary contact person (As the primary contact, only this person will receive correspondence and is expected to share it with their co-presenters. The submitter should be the primary contact);
• Target audience. The ideal audience for the presentation (i.e. CEOs, senior leaders, middle management, emerging leaders, industry);
• Presentation level. The level or previous knowledge or experience about the topic the learner is expected to have before coming (introductory, intermediate, or advanced);
• LEADS Framework domain. The domain that best fits the presentation as per the LEADS framework. (i.e. Lead self, Engage others, Achieve results, Develop coalitions, or Systems transformation);
• A completed activity table (for panels and workshops); and
• The name, title, organization, contact information, a headshot, and a 50-word biography for each presenter;

Once your abstract is prepared, please click on the link below to start completing the online submission form.

Online Abstract Submissions

Selection criteria

All abstracts will be peer-reviewed and selected according to how well they meet the following criteria:

• Statement of purpose;
• Learning objectives and outcomes clearly articulated;
• Relevance to the theme;
• Practical applications;
• Patient and family involvement;
• Participant engagement activities or methods are clearly presented;
• Leadership lessons learned; and
• Originality and innovation.

All criteria will be scored on a scale of 1 to 10. All criteria are weighted equally. Please reference the evaluation criteria rubric for additional information.

The Planning Committee reserves the right to accept abstracts for a different presentation format than indicated in the submission. The Planning Committee reserves the right to limit the number of abstracts accepted from one organization.

Speaker Compensation

 The Canadian College of Health Leaders is pleased to offer each concurrent session speaker a full conference reduced registration cost of $450.00 plus tax. CCHL does not provide any honorarium. Reduced cost registrations are not transferable.

Online submissions will be accepted until the submission deadline. All abstract submissions will receive an e-mail confirmation receipt. If a confirmation is not received, please contact Brianna Lavoy at blavoy@cchl-ccls.ca. Abstract submissions received via e-mail, fax or mail will not be accepted.

Important dates

DEADLINE - Abstracts must be received by 11:59 p.m. April 24, 2024.

Registration

Program-at-a-glance

Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Thursday, November 14, 2024

Friday, November 15, 2024

* Program is subject to change without notice

CHE Program One-on-One Consultations

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 CWHLC on November 13-15, 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.

Directed