LHIN asks for input on priorities

The North East Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) is asking northerners to fill out a 10-minute survey to help inform its strategic plan for 2016-2019.

The North East LHIN is They were tasked with with planning, integrating, and distributing provincial funding for all public healthcare services at a regional level.

The North East LHIN covers an area that spans 400,000 square kilometres and includes more than 565,000 people in northeastern Ontario.

The LHIN has offices in North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins and Sudbury.

It has a $1.4 billion budget it uses to fund close to 150 health-care partners in the region, including hospitals, community support services, mental health and addictions, community health centres, long-term care homes and the North East Community Care Access Centre.

For its upcoming strategic plan, the North East LHIN has said it has already identified three key priorities: improving access and wait times to quality care; increasing the co-ordination of care; and strengthening the sustainability of the health care system.

The online survey asks people where the LHIN should focus its priorities over the next few years.

The survey is open until Sept. 4, 2015.