OHT-N Experience Partner Council

Suzanne Lawson - Chair

Suzanne Lawson has been a Port Hoper in two stages - her elementary and high school years and then ten years as a younger adult, and now has lived in Cobourg since 2004. Toronto and suburbs were home in the in between years. 

Professionally, she held senior staff positions with the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Ontario’s Arthritis Society and as National Executive Director for ALS Canada. She was also Executive Director of Program for the Anglican Church of Canada. 

As a professional volunteer administrator, she represented the voluntary health sector in two Institute Advisory Boards of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Institute of Genetics, Institute of Health Services and Policy Research). As one of the twelve members of the federal Voluntary Sector Roundtable and later, as one of the leaders in the Federal Government’s Voluntary Sector Initiative, Suzanne brought her skills in collaboration to these voluntary sector/government interfaces. 

For the last 18 years of her paid working life, Suzanne was a caregiver for her husband Art who lived with Parkinson’s. During the last half of those years, her husband lived in the Cobourg area and then in a local retirement residence while Suzanne kept working in Toronto to keep the family afloat. She learned to organize care at a distance and juggle various health professional appointments and recommendations with the help of a team of volunteers. She currently is supporting two friends for whom she is Power of Attorney for Health.

Throughout her career, Suzanne has been focused on collaborating with others (individuals and organizations) in shaping and improving health systems. The possibilities of helping to do this in the current healthcare challenges are endless. So is her commitment! She feels honoured to be part of the Experience Partner Council.

Andrew Choate

Andrew Choate grew up in Peterborough, Ontario and he retired in Garden Hill. 

He worked in large industry for many years specializing in project management, implementing IT projects and improving IT system work flow through business process improvement. 

Andrew has a rare form of incurable cancer. He receives treatment at the Durham Regional Cancer Center in Oshawa and locally from his Primary Care Physician in Port Hope. On occasion he has utilized the Northumberland Hills Hospital Emergency Department and diagnostic services. During his ongoing cancer treatment, he has experienced situations that were not optimal and felt that these situations could be improved through the adoption of a Patient Portal. A portal makes a patient’s electronic medical data available to the patient or caregiver. Andrew has advocated for a universal patient portal in excess of 10 years. 

To that end, Andrew has volunteered on many health organizations and participated in the initial planning and implementation of a Patient Portal, called MyChart (at the Central East LHIN). This was a big step forward for patients and caregivers; however, this portal does not capture all patient data occurring from visits to medical partitioners in Northumberland County where Andrew lives. 

He also understands that a portion of the population do not wish to be left behind because they have no access to or want to engage in the use of this technology. 

Andrew believes that the pragmatic use of technology can improve the delivery of health care to patients and looks forward to working with the Ontario Health Team – Northumberland in progressing person-centred health care.

Susan Fedorka

Susan Fedorka is a resident of the Trent Hills area of Northumberland County. 

Susan has a strong commitment to community, with a particular interest in contributing to health care system improvement. In 2020, she served as the Chair of the Campbellford Memorial Hospital Patient and Family Advisory Council, exploring opportunities for enhanced caregiver engagement and supports.      

As a resident of a more rural community, Susan was motivated to join the Experience Partner Council to support the OHT-N’s efforts to reduce barriers and improve access to services for rural residents. She has a strong belief in the value of virtual care services to advance equitable health and community care, especially for patients and caregivers in rural areas, and is excited about the work being done in this area through Northumberland Paramedics’ Community Paramedicine program – a priority project for the OHT-N.

She also looks forward to contributing to the progress of the OHT-N’s newly-launched Rural Outreach Clinic in Colborne as another opportunity to bring services to rural residents, and improve patient and caregiver experience as well as population health outcomes. 

Howard Goodfellow

Howard Goodfellow grew up on a family farm in the Brighton, Ontario area that is now operated as a dairy farm by his nephews.

He attended East Northumberland Secondary School, followed by the University of Toronto (U of T) where he studied engineering. Howard graduated with a Ph.D., from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, U of T, where he continues to hold the position of Adjunct Professor.

Howard’s career has spanned over 40 years in the engineering and technology fields, including owning his own specialized consulting firms, and being actively involved in Research & Development. He and his wife Karen moved back to Cobourg from Georgetown about ten years ago.

Howard’s experience in the health care field has largely been as a volunteer on Boards of Directors. He served two terms on the Board of Georgetown Hospital between 1992 and 1996, one as Chair of the Finance Committee. From 2012-2015, he sat on the Board of the Community Health Centres Northumberland (CHCN). He is currently a member of the Client and Family Roundtable (CFAR) at CHCN.

More recently, Howard has taken on the role of caregiver for his wife, who has been diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia (LBD).

These experiences motivated Howard to join the OHT-N Experience Partner Council. His interests as a council member are two-fold.

First, Howard believes active partnerships with patients, caregivers and community engagement can lead to better health and community care outcomes, within the context of future financial challenges within the health care system.

Second, Howard has a specific interest in embracing a culture of innovation in the health care sector and the practical applications of leading-edge technology to improve delivery of health and community care in a cost-effective model. He believes that the OHT-N, with its established collaboration with health/community care providers, can take a leadership role in this area of innovation and share results to demonstrate to other communities what can be achieved.

Edna McKim

Edna McKim is a resident of Brighton, Ontario. As a Registered Nurse(retired) with a Masters in Nursing, Edna has extensive clinical experience in both Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as personal interactions with the health care system, and these have helped to shape her perspective on how the health care system can be improved.

In 1980, Edna helped to establish the Newfoundland and Labrador Perinatal Program. She served as an advance practice nurse in the Perinatal Clinic for the assessment and treatment of high risk children up to three years of age; was involved in research, discharge planning, coordination of care between hospital and community and perinatal education for Newfoundland and Labrador. She also served as Associate Professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland where she taught courses in Maternal and Child Care and Community as well as Health Care Systems course. 

Edna was associated with the first Healthy Baby Club in Canada. This program provided support to pregnant mothers from low income areas. Instead of the program being directed by health care professionals, the "Resource Mother" - a member of the community was the core of the program. This experience with direct patient engagement in health system delivery plus her experience in the Perinatal Clinic shaped her views on the importance of patient-caregiver representation in health system decision-making and program implementation. 

Since moving back to Ontario, Edna has served on two hospital committees as well as two committees with the South East Local Health Integration Network (LHIN). 

Edna has been a caregiver of four family members in recent years, three of which were end of life care. She has had experience as a patient having received hospital care in the past three years. These experiences, along with her work history and the year (overlapping with the global pandemic) where she and her husband were without a family physician requiring them to instead visit pharmacy walk in clinics and access telemedicine services propelled Edna to join the OHT-N Experience Partner Council to help shape health system transformation. 

Lisa van der Vinne 

Lisa has a passion for social policy and public health and has worked in various positions at the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit for the past 15 years. Lisa has a background in Quality Improvement and has earned her Green Belt in LEAN. She is committed to making health services work for the people that need them.

After recently being diagnosed with cancer and undergoing surgery at Northumberland Hills Hospital, Lisa wanted to use her experience to give back to the community that had supported her. In 2019, she applied and was selected to become a member of the Northumberland Hills Hospital Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC). Building on this experience, in 2021, Lisa also became an inaugural member of the OHT-N Experience Partner Council.  

Lisa understands first-hand the difference that good quality local health care can make when facing a difficult diagnosis, and she brings this experience to her role as a member of the Experience Partner Council, supporting transformation of the health care system.  

46 Prince Edward Street
Brighton, ON, K0K 1H0

Community Care Northumberland (Campbellford)

Community Health Centres of Northumberland (Port Hope)

Northumberland County (Cobourg)

What is the Ontario Health Team of Northumberland (OHT-N)?

In February 2019, the Ontario government introduced the Ontario Health Team (OHT) model of care. OHTs would be a new way of organizing and delivering care, with patients, caregivers and providers working together to plan and deliver health care and community services.

On December 6, 2019, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Christine Elliott announced the Ontario Health Team of Northumberland (OHT-N) as one of the first 24 OHTs in the province. Drawing on a strong history of collaboration, OHT-N partners from across the county are now working together to improve patient and caregiver experience of health care and community services in Northumberland, as well as provider work-life experience, through the OHT model.

Why did the OHT-N form an Experience Partner Council?

The Ontario Health Team of Northumberland (OHT-N) recognizes the critical importance of partnerships with patients, families and caregivers in the planning, design, and governance of OHTs to ensure meaningful change to current systems.

The OHT-N is committed to meaningful community engagement, as well as partnership with patients and caregivers, to shape health care and community service delivery in Northumberland. This includes creation of the first county-wide Experience Partner Council. It also includes:

• Adoption of a Patient, Family and Caregiver Partnership and Community Engagement Framework. This framework is based on international best practices as well as the Patient, Family and Caregiver Declaration of Values for Ontario. It sets out a commitment to ongoing community consultation to assess the local services/supports needed most, and to inform future year priorities.
• Patient, family, and caregiver partner representation within all OHT-N governance, planning and project team structures.
• The intent to establish, in the future, a local Ombudsperson role.

What is the role of an Experience Partner?

Experience Partners participate as partners on a range of OHT-N activities, from strategic planning and priority-setting to project-specific work, for the purpose of:

• Representing the patient, family and caregiver voice to ensure that patients, families and caregivers are at the centre of all that we do;
• Sharing experiences for the purpose of promoting and enhancing patient-centred care;
• Bring awareness to processes or structures that do not work well for patients, families, and caregivers; and
• Supporting the OHT-N’s efforts to collaboratively improve patient, family, caregiver and provider experience, value to the community, and health outcomes.

What opportunities exist for Experience Partners?

If I become an Experience Partner, what is the commitment required?

How do I know if this is the right volunteer opportunity for me?

Here are some qualities or personality traits to consider. The ideal Experience Partner is:

• Objective, open-minded and respectful when considering the perspectives of others, and able to think beyond their own personal experience;
• Comfortable asking for clarification if needed, and sharing their opinions;
• Able to work collaboratively with others; and
• Has a desire to make a positive contribution towards improving local health and community care services.

Is there a minimum age limit for an Experience Partner?

What kind of training and support with Experience Partners get?

Your perspective, and the willingness to share it respectfully, is the most important skill you bring as an Experience Partner.

Experience Partners will receive general orientation on the OHT-N and specific information/training on particular areas and operations as needed to support full and effective engagement. This includes any necessary training on virtual meeting technology.

What is the format of Experience Partner Council meetings?

Meetings currently take place virtually and are arranged using ‘Zoom’ virtual meeting technology. Training will be provided to Experience Partners as needed to support their participation in these virtual meetings.

On occasion, the Council may determine that an in-person meeting is appropriate. Where possible, arrangements will be made in such circumstances to make a virtual option available to those who are either unable or who choose not to attend in-person.

The Council will review periodically the meeting format to determine if virtual meetings remain the most appropriate format. Meetings for working groups within the (proposed) Experience Partner Project Pool will align with the requirements of the associated projects.

Engagement channels and frequency for the (proposed) Engage OHT-N Experience Partner Community will align with the requirements of the associated projects as well.