For NWHC BPSAA click here

Click for NWHC Compliance with Hospital Parking Directives

Please click here for full Wellington Health Care Alliance Executive Compensation Program

Expense Policy

North Wellington Health Care’s Expense Policy sets out rules and principles for the reimbursement of expenses to ensure fair and reasonable practices; and to provide a framework of accountability to guide the effective oversight of resources in the reimbursement of expenses.

To access the North Wellington Health Care’s Expense Policy please click here.

Expense Reports

In accordance with the Broader Public Service Accountability Act, all hospitals are required to post executive expenses. The public disclosure of such expenses is posted on a semi-annual basis. These reports will include information on travel, meals and hospitality expenses made by every member of the Board of Directors and our Senior Management team. Wellington Health Care Alliance staff expenses are paid by North Wellington Health Care. The expenses are then split 50-50 with Groves Memorial Community Hospital. Please click on the name below to access expense reports.

Wellington Health Care Alliance Senior Management Team Expense Reports

Click Here for the latest April 2022- September 2022 Expense Report for VP of Operations, VP of Corporate Services, and President and CEO

Please click here to read the Energy Conservation and Demand Management Plan.

Health Information, Release of Information and Privacy

North Wellington Health Care (NWHC) is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of patient health information.  Our policies and procedures comply with the provincial legislation.

Accurate health information is essential to make sure you get appropriate care.  We record and maintain information about your current condition and care, including the results of tests, procedures and therapies.  Information such as your name, address and date of birth is recorded for the purposes of identification, contact and billing.  Your personal information whether stored on paper or electronically, is kept safe and secure. 

Policies and procedures are in place that protects how your information is collected and used.  We will share your health information with your family doctor, specialist or other health care providers who are involved in your care.  You may request that your health information not be shared with your health care providers, to do this contact Release of Information.  Your consent is required to share your health information with third parties such as lawyers, insurance companies or police. 

Further information about how the hospital collects, uses and discloses health information can be obtained from the Your Health Information and Your Privacy in Our Hospital pamphlet available to all visitors and staff.

How to make a Release of Information Request?

The patient health record is the property of the hospital; however you may request a copy of your health information or to share your information outside of the hospital.  Contact Health Information Services – Release of Information to make a request during office hours (Monday – Friday 8:00 am – 4:00 pm).

How to report a Privacy Concern?

If you have a concern about how your health information has been shared please contact the Privacy Officer at 519-843-2010 ext. 3254. You can also contact the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario at 1-800-387-0073.

Mailing address:

Health Information Services Department

Release of Information Office

235 Union Street East
Fergus, Ontario
N1M 1W3

Freedom of Information

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FIPPA) provides the right for every person to access information held by hospitals and a formal process is in place for people to make Freedom of Information (FOI) requests for records that came into the hospital’s custody and control on or after June 2007.

FIPPA has been amended as of January 01, 2012 so certain types of hospital records are excluded from the act. For example:

• Records that relate to the operations of a hospital foundation
• Records regarding charitable donations
• Administrative records of a regulated health care professional
• Records relating to certain labor relations or employment matters
• Quality of Care Information
• Certain records associated with research/teaching

Personal health information is subject to the Personal Health Information Protection Act(PHIPA) and is not subject to FIPPA

Who can make a FOI request?

Any person can make an FOI request. The requestor does not have to be a Canadian citizen

How to make a FOI request?

The request can be made in writing to the hospital and accompanied by the $5.00 application fee (i.e. a cheque payable to the hospital)

Mailing address:

Privacy & Freedom of Information Office
Wellington Healthcare Alliance
235 Union Street East
Fergus, Ontario
N1M 1W3

Please click here to read NWHC's Hospital Service Accountability Agreement

Please click here to read the amendment

Patient Safety

North Wellington Health Care reports regularly to Health Quality Ontario on the following indicators (for detailed information please visit https://www.hqontario.ca/System-Performance/Hospital-Patient-Safety):

Surgical Safety Checklist

A surgical safety checklist is a patient safety communication tool that is used by a team of operating room professionals (nurses, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and others) to discuss important details about each surgical case. In many ways, the surgical checklist is similar to an airline pilot’s checklist used just before take-off. It is a final check prior to surgery used to make sure everyone knows the important medical information they need to know about the patient, all equipment is available and in working order, and everyone is ready to proceed.

Infection prevention and control reporting

Clostridium difficile Associated Disease (CDAD)

Clostridium difficile is one of many types of bacteria that can be found in feces and has been a known cause of hospital-associated diarrhea for about 30 years. C. diff is found in the intestine, occurring naturally in three to five percent of adults. It can be picked up on the hands from exposure to contamination in the environment and gets into the stomach once the mouth is touched, or if food is handled and then swallowed.

 What do we do at North Wellington Health Care to prevent Clostridium difficile infections?

• We promote hand hygiene and work hard to provide clean environments to  prevent infection all the time.
• We monitor closely for new cases and watch for signs of transmission among patients.
• We implement control measures (use of single rooms, careful hand hygiene, gowning, use of gloves, enhanced environmental cleaning) at the first sign of symptoms.  The precautions continue until patients are no long infectious.
• We provide ongoing education to health care, nutritional services, maintenance and housekeeping staff in our hospitals.
• We use antibiotics with care.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureas (MRSA)/Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE)

Bacteraemia means an infection in the blood stream. Cases of MRSA and VRE bacteraemia mean that the patients have confirmed bloodstream infections with either of these bacteria as proven through laboratory testing.

Hand Hygiene Compliance Rates

Ontario hospitals are posting their hand hygiene compliance rates as percentages for time periods identified by the Ministry of Health.

We are not required to report on the following:

Central Line Infection (CLI) Surgical Site Infection (SSI) Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) or Hospital Standardized Mortality Ratio (HSMR)

To access our organizational chart please click here.

As outlined in Patients First: Action Plan for Health Care, Ontario is committed to giving patients better access to care no matter where they live.

Patients First: Proposal to Strengthen Patient-Centred Health Care in Ontario

The Wellington Health Care Purchasing Procedure Policy helps to govern how Groves Memorial Community Hospital conducts sourcing, contracting and purchasing activities, including approval segregation and limits, competitive and non-competitive procurement, purchasing, contract awarding, conflict of interest and bid protest procedures.

Please read the WHCA Purchasing Procedure Policy

Quality Improvement Plan/Reporting

In June 2010, the Ontario Government passed the Excellent Care for All Act. This legislation will help support hospitals to further improve the quality and safety of care they provide for members of our community.

One of the ways that the Excellent Care for All Act is helping hospitals meet our community’s expectations regarding quality, patient safety and accountability is through the public reporting of Quality Improvement Plans.

Quality Improvement Plans (QIP) provide a meaningful way for North Wellington Health Care to clearly articulate our accountability to our community, patients and staff. Our QIP is focused on creating a positive patient experience and delivering high quality health care.

Our Quality Improvement Plan is made up of two parts:

1. A document that provides a brief overview of our quality improvement plan, highlighting and listing our hospital’s top priorities for the year.
2. A spreadsheet that includes our improvement targets and initiatives. The spreadsheet includes a core set of indicators that all similar hospitals across the province are working on. Please click here to read our Quality Improvement Plan. The Ontario Health Quality Council has requested that all hospitals report on a series of core indicators to support province-wide comparisons. The core indicators that apply to our hospital are reflected in our QIP. The QIP is only one of the ways we are working to improve our patients’ experiences. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Please find below our annual Quality Improvement Plans:

Quality Improvement Plan

Quality Improvement Plan Narrative

The Ontario Health Quality Council has requested that all hospitals report on a series of core indicators to support province-wide comparisons. The core indicators that apply to our hospital are reflected in our QIP. The QIP is only one of the ways we are working to improve our patients’ experiences. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Thank you to all staff, physicians and volunteers who participated in the engagement sessions to help develop the Wellington Health Care Alliance Strategic Plan 2023-2028. I am pleased to share the attached plan with you, which has been approved by our Boards.

The Strategic Plan explains what we are going to focus on over the next five years in order to realize our Mission, Vision and Values:

Vision:                  Rooted in Wellness - Growing Together - Cultivating Health

Mission:               Together, elevating quality to achieve excellent care, empowering all to thrive in our journey of wellness

Values:                 Teamwork, Respect, Accountability, Compassion, Kindness

The Strategic Directions that are included in the plan will help us to focus on what is most important:

• Together, empowering a meaningful patient journey
• Together, advancing a culture of team wellness
• Together, nurturing our Alliance ecosystem
• Together, enriching partnerships and growing community relationships 

The plan includes many of our key goals that will be reviewed each year as we make progress in achievement of our four key strategic directions. 

Click here to view our full plan.