BACKGROUND
Strategic planning provides the foundation for a health unit’s direction and priorities. It ensures that programs and services are aligned with community needs and guided by evidence. The Ontario Public Health Standards require all boards of health to maintain a strategic plan that identifies priorities over a three- to five-year period.
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) developed the 2026–2030 Strategic Plan following a thorough process of internal and external engagement. Guided by the Strategic Planning Advisory Committee (SPAC), the process included input from staff, Board members, and a wide range of community partners across sectors such as health, education, social services, and municipal government. It also drew on community-based research, an environmental scan, and a review of organizational strengths/challenges to ensure the plan reflects the current context and future needs of Windsor and Essex County.
This plan sets out a clear direction for the next five years, identifying strategic priorities and objectives that are aligned with WECHU’s mission, vision, values, and evolving role in supporting population health. It will be monitored through regular reporting to the Board of Health and will guide how WECHU adapts its programs, services, and partnerships to make a lasting and measurable impact.
PROPOSED MOTION
Whereas, the WECHU is required to have a strategic plan in place per the Ontario Public Health Standards (2021); and,
Whereas, the 2026–2030 Strategic Plan was developed through a comprehensive process that included engagement with staff, community partners, and members of the Board of Health, as well as consideration of community-based research, population health data, an environmental scan, and a review of organizational strengths and challenges; and,
Whereas, operational plans, performance measures, and reporting mechanisms will support the implementation and monitoring of the Strategic Plan throughout its five-year duration;
Now therefore be it resolved that the Windsor-Essex County Board of Health approves the WECHU 2026–2030 Strategic Plan for implementation on January 1st, 2026; and,
FURTHER THAT, the Board will receive quarterly updates beginning in 2026 on the implementation status and progress made toward achieving the plan’s strategic priorities.