The Owen Sound Regional Hospital. (Photo by Nathan Shubert)
Brightshores Health System is discontinuing its partnership with the Brightshores Research Institute to focus more on local healthcare.
Brightshores President and CEO Ann Ford says the Office of Research and Innovation is being re-established after finding the priorities of the Research Institute no longer aligns with their goals.
“The Office of Research and Innovation was started up a couple years ago to focus on research specific to rural healthcare. The staff at the Research Institute works with organizations and research granting businesses to provide funding so we can actually research those areas that are important to rural healthcare and to the patients and communities that we serve here in Grey Bruce,” says Ford.
The Office of Research and Innovation which was part of Brightshores, was moved to the Research Institute in the summer last year. It operated as a separate organization with its own board and set of priorities.
“As an institute, rather than a department of the hospital, there was more opportunity to take a look at various types of research. The risks that are associated with that being not necessarily part of the publicly funded healthcare system,” says Ford. “That was the original reason that we did it and we thought that there would be additional opportunities to bring some research to this area.”
Ford says Brightshores’ choice to discontinue its partnership with the institute comes as the organization’s priorities focus on more national healthcare research rather than local.
“Their vision and priorities really no longer align with the priority that focused on local care, local patients and local communities. The Research Institute would like to expand more nationally with research and the premise that Brightshores Health System began with the Research Institute was that the work of research in general would be done locally to support best practises and care delivered locally to our patients and communities locally to our patients and communities across Grey Bruce,” says Ford.
While Ford says it is possibly to have both the office and the institute, they found their priorities have differed from each other, and would not meet the needs of Brightshores Health System.
“Local research will provide us with the opportunity to shape the way that we are delivering healthcare that best suits the needs of our patients. By bringing it back in-house, that is going to let us take a look at what are our unique challenges and how might we be able to look at research and innovation that will best help us,” says Ford.
As part of the reestablishment of the Office of Research and Innovation, Brightshores staff who were working with the Research Institute will begin a transition period to return to the office.
Ford adds she does not know if the institute will be dissolved as it will be up to the board.