A close up of a black object with a white border.

A woman with curly hair is wearing a lanyard around her neck.

The Kawartha Lakes Haliburton Primary Care Network

About

What is the KLH-PCN

To connect and support primary care providers across the KLH Ontario Health Team to improve patient care delivery, including attachment and access, by encouraging health system integration, and ensuring improved provider and patient experiences.

The Primary Care Network (PCN) will accomplish its purpose through meaningful dialogue, engagement and planning on issues identified by primary care providers in our community, aligned to the overall priorities of the KLH-OHT.

The KLH PCN is grounded in the following principles:

Equity, Access, and Quality: Commit to reducing disparities and ensuring equitable, high-quality care.
Inclusive Collaboration: Foster respectful, professional relationships across the primary care spectrum.
Recognition of Diversity: Acknowledge and value the varied experiences and skills of all primary care contributors.
Alignment with KLH-OHT Values: Reflect and support the KLH-OHT’s strategic directions in all actions and recommendations.

The group works together to:

Connect and network primary care with the KLH-OHT including primary care providers (PCPs), specialist clinicians, and community and social services providers.
Serve as a vehicle for gathering information, providing meaningful input, and ensuring the local primary care sector’s voice is present in KLH-OHT decision-making.
Identify gaps and opportunities in the delivery of local primary care in the community and develop plans to respond to these.
Facilitate access to clinical and digital supports and improvements for primary care.
Support local primary care health human resource planning within KLH-OHT.
Bring an on-the-ground system lens of primary care to discussions related to collaborative and coordinated care between the community and hospital sectors of health care with a view of equity.

Our values

Shared Values

To establish a common set of principles that guide how leadership is exercised collectively across all partner organizations within the PCN. These principles are intended to foster trust, equity, and effective collaboration in decision-making, planning, and service delivery.

Shared Accountability

We are collectively responsible for advancing the health and well-being of our shared patient population within the KLH-OHT. We will:

Set common goals and track progress using shared metrics
Accept joint responsibility for outcomes and system performance
Address barriers together, not in silos

Equity in Voice and Participation

All partners—regardless of size, structure, or resource level—will have a meaningful voice in governance and decision-making. We commit to:

Inclusive representation across leadership tables
Co-designing initiatives with patients, families, and caregivers
Acknowledging power imbalances and working to address them

Transparency and Open Communication

We will share information openly and in a timely manner to support informed, aligned decisions. This includes:

Transparent agendas, meeting minutes, and documentation
Open forums for discussion and reflection
Shared understanding of risks and constraints

Commitment to Continuous Learning

We will foster a culture of learning and innovation across the network. This includes:

Encouraging experimentation and evidence-informed change
Sharing learnings and best practices openly
Using data to drive decisions, not assign blame

Trust and Respect

Our work is grounded in mutual trust and respect for each other's expertise, experiences, and contributions. We commit to:

Listening actively and assuming positive intent
Resolving conflicts constructively (healthy conflict is good)
Recognizing and celebrating each other’s successes

Integrated and Patient-Centred Focus

Decisions will be guided by what is best for patients and communities, not by organizational interests. We strive to:

Align services and pathways around patient needs
Coordinate care to improve experience and outcomes
Engage meaningfully with patients and caregivers in leadership roles

Stewardship of Shared Health System Resources

We will strive to manage time, funding, and human resources as a collective system. This includes:

Exploring possible joint investments and pooled resources
Coordinating staffing and back-office functions where appropriate
Avoiding duplication of effort

Implementation

These principles will be reviewed annually and revisited as the PCN evolves.
Each partner organization will be invited to endorse the principles through leadership signatures or board resolutions.
A rotating leadership model or joint steering committee may be established to operationalize these principles in governance structures.