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Dr. Joshua Tepper

When Shakespeare wrote “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”, he no doubt never imagined the principle could be applied hundreds of years later to Quality Work Life (QWL) issues in health care settings.

In the case of Dr. Joshua Tepper, Assistant Deputy Minister for the Ontario Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care’s Health Human Resources Strategy Division, they are simply known as ‘Healthy Work Environments’ (HWE), and no matter what acronym is used to describe them, they are absolutely essential to the delivery of quality health care and a sustainable provider workforce.

As a practicing physician and advisor to the QWQHC Collaborative, Dr. Tepper is ideally positioned to lead the Ministry’s HealthForceOntario Strategy to address health human resources (HHR) issues in the province. “It’s our innovative multi-year plan to ensure that the right number and mix of appropriately educated professionals are available now and in the future to meet the needs of Ontarians,” says Dr. Tepper.

From Dr. Tepper’s perspective, health work environments are a critical consideration of HHR planning. “A healthy and supportive work environment is an essential component in worker job satisfaction, and in workers’ willingness to stay in a particular job,” he explains. “Negative work conditions for health care workers can lead to high levels of stress and burnout, and exacerbate mental and physical health problems.”

“We have to focus on QWL issues, as positive work environments result in a higher employee retention rate, which can lead to better teamwork, increased continuity of patient care, and ultimately improvements in patient outcomes,” he further stresses.

To help achieve these goals, the Ministry is currently supporting QWL approaches by partnering with sector leaders and experts to develop the tools and resources that will help hospitals, long-term care homes, and community care providers implement healthy work environments.

They’ve also initiated a diverse range of partnerships through the Ministry’s HWE initiative, with partners that include:

Ontario Safety Association for Community and Healthcare;
Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario;
University of Ottawa Faculty of Wellness;
Toronto East General Hospital;
Halton Healthcare Services;
Wellspring Cancer Support Foundation;
Ontario Hospital Association; and
Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation (CCHSA).

The partnerships focus on a wide range of tangible QWL initiatives, including: an Occupational Health and Safety Management System that provides organizations with a clear, step-by-step approach to improving organizational safety and wellness; support for the CCHSA to develop a violence prevention standard to add to its QMentum accreditation program; a holistic staff wellness program; and training to provide a framework for nurses and doctors who work in oncology and other high stress units to cope with the demands of their challenging work.

Dr. Tepper says the Ministry recognizes the linkages between provider safety and patient safety, and understands that improving caregivers’ QWL can play a role in helping them provide better care.

“We need to work together with employers, employees, unions, professional associations, and community members to build a shared sense of purpose on the quality agenda, and work with partners across the country to learn from each other and move forward,” he emphasizes.

Since the Collaborative reflects this national approach by linking all the major organizations making significant contributions to health care policies in Canada, it provided Dr. Tepper with the chance to share information and ideas from other provinces so that everyone could benefit from QWL initiatives.

“I have always been committed to healthy work environments, and understand their impact across the continuum of care,” he says. “When the opportunity came up to join the Collaborative in an advisory capacity, it provided an excellent opportunity to share what we have learnt in this area and the initiatives that we are piloting with some of our key partners. “

“At the same time the Collaborative links to a large community that is engaged in health care, and is an invaluable resource to learn from what others have done, or are thinking of doing.”

Back at the Ministry, its first round of HWE pilot projects and initiatives are well underway, and Dr. Tepper reports that his team has received tremendous feedback from the field, and are looking to build on their successes.

Next up Dr. Tepper and his Ministry colleagues will analyze the results of their initial projects, and they plan to take a more systemic approach to embed the ethos of QWL in their everyday business.

“We need to ensure that people at every level – from the front-line nurse to their manager to the CEO to the Local Health Integration Network to us here at the Ministry are aware of the importance of QWL and accountable for its implementation,” he stresses.

For more information please visit the HealthForceOntario website at www.healthforceontario.ca, where a section is currently being developed specifically on health work environments.