Launch of the Archipel navigation and referral network

The Archipel navigation solutions vision was developed during an Advisory Committee working session in March 2023. It illustrates members' aspirations to develop solutions that will benefit customers, care providers and the system.

An initiative of the Archipel Navigation Advisory Committee

The Navigation Advisory Committee initiated this project to help local residents find and use the community services they need, right in their own neighbourhood. The committee has 35 members from Eastern Ottawa and Prescott-Russell, including representatives from various organizations and client partners. The committee's mandate is to identify obstacles to navigation, as well as solutions leading to better coordination and integration of the functions required for navigation. The goal is to improve users' navigation experience through a more human, flexible and efficient approach.

According to Diane Hupé, client partner and member of the Navigation Advisory Committee, this is good news for the public. Her role on the committee is to include the perspective of patients, clients, caregivers and the community at large, in the approaches developed to improve system navigation. "Obviously, not all navigation challenges will be solved with this, but it's a good start and we want to help the population now. It's an incredible challenge to navigate the system. Simplifying access routes to various social services from the point of view of the social determinants of health, for example housing, food insecurity, homelessness, cultural and spiritual support, is crucial to better serve vulnerable communities". Ms. Hupé is also co-chair of Archipel's Patient, Client and Family Advisory Committee (PCFAC). She adds that "the next priority should be to develop a specific navigation pathway for patients and clients who do not have a family doctor or nurse practitioner, so that they know how to go about obtaining certain health care services".

According to Navigation Committee co-chair Geneviève Arturi, the new network is a simple solution that can help people find community support resources such as home care, meal on wheels services or transportation. "It's not easy to find the right place to meet our needs when we don't know the exact name of a certain program or organization. With Archipel's navigation and referral network, people can launch a search for services for a specific need, and then once the right place is found, they can make the reservation or appointment directly online or simply call them," adds Ms. Arturi, who is also Director of the Mental Health and Addictions Program at the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital.

Andrée-Anne Ménard, also co-chair of the Navigation Committee, is the Manager of Programs and Clinical Services for the Clarence-Rockland Family Health Team. She sees the growing needs of the population on a daily basis. "In primary care, clinics are overwhelmed, and practitioners lack the time to be able to accompany their patients in the search for necessary supportive services. Being able to direct our customers to Archipel's navigation and referral network when it's appropriate and not urgent is a welcome help."

Supported by funding from Ontario Health, the Archipel Navigation and Referral Network is one of the initiatives being implemented to improve health system navigation in the East. Archipel and its partners, customers and service providers, will continue to work together to ensure that constituents receive help in finding and accessing the health and social services they need.