Efforts underway to improve the working environment at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care that will ultimately result in better outcomes for patients were recognized provincially as a major achievement at the Ontario Hospital Association HealthAchieve conference.
Waypoint was one of only 13 hospitals in Ontario to receive a gold level 2012 Quality Healthcare Workplace Award and the only hospital to have improved two levels from bronze to gold in one year. Waypoint’s award submission included the results and feedback from both employee engagement and client experience surveys undertaken earlier this year. It showcased efforts by the hospital’s wellness committee and program to hold a full month of wellness activities, new initiatives such as enhanced mentorship and recognition programs, the planning underway for leadership development, new opportunities for employee engagement and communications, and the comprehensive transition efforts for the 2014 move into the new forensic mental health hospital and campus addition.
The awards, launched in 2010, are a partnership of the Ontario Hospital Association and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s HealthForceOntario. They recognize organizational efforts to improve healthcare workplaces in ways contributing to providers’ quality of work life and the quality of the care and services they deliver.