Reimagining our Health System
The Ottawa Health Team – Équipe Santé Ottawa (OHT–ESO) is transforming the way people access health services and supports in Ottawa. We’re creating the conditions for people to lead healthy lives and get care and support when they need it, right in the communities where they live.
The OHT–ESO is made up of health and social service providers and client, family and caregiver partners from neighbourhoods across the city. Our efforts are facilitated by community health centres and shaped by the people who use and rely on local health services. That ensures we take a truly community-based approach to promoting health and wellbeing.
Current Focus
Find out about our Year 1 focus on frail older adults and adults with mental health and addiction issues
Better access for all
We want to ensure people can always access the healthcare and social services they need, wherever they are in the community.
Vision
People are healthy, well and supported to live in the community
Mission
Ensure people have equitable access to high quality care and support when and where they need it
Ensure people have the best possible experience as they access and receive health care and supports
Improve the experience and work life of providers and staff striving to provide quality care and support
Establish the conditions that support health and create healthy communities
A “big picture” approach
Our health team is looking at all the factors that affect people’s health: not just medical ones but also the social, economic, cultural and other aspects of life that support wellbeing. Focusing on the social determinants of health is key to our vision of wellness, shifting away from hospital-based care to truly community-based support.
A simpler system
We want to work as one team, making services more accessible and streamlining the system for everyone. We are committed to coordinating transitions across points of care including timely sharing of information through digital health records. This will benefit people using services and their families or caregivers as well as providers including physicians, social workers, and nurses who today can spend a lot of time trying to help people get to the care and support that they need.
A Diverse Community
The people in our service area come from a wide range of different backgrounds and experiences. The OHT–ESO is committed to ensuring Ottawa’s health and social service system respects that diversity.
We operate on unceded Algonquin and Anishinabek territory and we’re committed to working with and for Indigenous peoples and Indigenous-led organizations to address health disparities. We are in a French-language Services Designated Area where twenty percent of our population is francophone, the highest proportion of any region in Ontario. We will provide all services in both French and English, and in ways that are culturally safe.
Our diverse community also includes people of all races, faiths, abilities, sexual orientations, and gender identities in urban, suburban and rural settings.