Local Health Integration Network

Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) were a system of 14 community-based, non-profit health authorities established by the Government of Ontario to administer public healthcare on a regional basis. Created on April 1, 2007, they were intended to make the provincial healthcare system more locally responsive by connecting provincial policy and funding with the needs of individual communities. The LHIN model was based on regional health-system integration. Rather than operating hospitals or other care providers as a single corporate chain, LHINs were responsible for planning, funding, and coordinating services delivered by a range of independent or separately governed organizations. Their mandate covered hospitals, long-term-care homes, home and community care, community support service agencies, mental-health and addiction agencies, and community health centres. The organizations were funded by Ontario's Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and were expected to work with local providers, patients, caregivers, and communities. Fourteen LHINs divided Ontario into geographic service areas: Erie St. Clair, South West, Waterloo Wellington, Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant, Central West, Mississauga Halton, Toronto Central, Central, Central East, South East, Champlain, North Simcoe Muskoka, North East, and North West. Each network served as a regional planning and funding body, with responsibilities shaped by local population needs and the province's broader healthcare priorities. A significant part of the LHIN structure involved home and community care. These responsibilities had previously been associated with Community Care Access Centres. Over time, LHINs became a principal public-facing route for coordinating access to home-care and community-care services, alongside their broader regional planning role. The intended benefits of the model included improved coordination among providers, stronger community engagement, reduced fragmentation, and better alignment between funding decisions and local health needs. The LHIN framework was subsequently reorganized as Ontario consolidated regional health-system functions under Ontario Health. The former LHIN business name was changed to Home and Community Care Support Services, reflecting the continuing delivery and coordination of home and community care under a different institutional arrangement. Consequently, LHINs are best understood as a legacy Ontario health-administration brand and organizational model rather than an active independent healthcare provider network.

Local Health Integration Networks emerged from Ontario's effort to organize public healthcare around regional service systems rather than treating each provider as an isolated institution. The model created locally based, non-profit authorities that could assess community needs, coordinate providers, and distribute provincial healthcare funding across defined geographic areas. The 14 LHINs were formally created on April 1, 2007. Their establishment gave Ontario a regional administrative structure covering the province's public healthcare system. The networks were not conventional hospital operators or private healthcare companies. Instead, they acted as intermediaries and system managers between the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and the organizations delivering care. Their responsibilities included regional planning, integration of services, funding decisions, and engagement with communities. The scope of the LHIN system extended across several parts of the healthcare continuum. Hospitals and long-term-care homes were included alongside home and community care, community support service agencies, mental-health and addiction agencies, and community health centres. This broad remit reflected the policy objective of reducing fragmentation between institutional, community, and home-based services. Regional authorities could therefore consider how different providers fit together within a local system rather than evaluating each service in isolation. Home and community care became especially important to the LHIN identity. Services that had previously been associated with Community Care Access Centres were incorporated into the wider regional framework. Through this role, LHINs helped coordinate access to care delivered in people's homes and communities while also linking those services to hospitals, long-term care, and other providers. The system was organized into 14 geographic networks: Erie St. Clair; South West; Waterloo Wellington; Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant; Central West; Mississauga Halton; Toronto Central; Central; Central East; South East; Champlain; North Simcoe Muskoka; North East; and North West. The geographic structure was designed to support local engagement and allow planning and funding decisions to reflect differences among urban, suburban, rural, northern, and remote communities across Ontario. LHINs were subsequently absorbed into a broader provincial reorganization of healthcare administration. Their legacy functions were transferred to Ontario Health, while the LHIN business name was changed to Home and Community Care Support Services. This transition ended the LHINs' role as a distinct branded regional health-authority structure. The former organization therefore occupies an important place in Ontario healthcare-administration history, but it is no longer an active standalone network.

• 2007

  Fourteen LHINs established

  [1]Local Health Integration Networksen.wikipedia.org

  Ontario created 14 community-based, non-profit Local Health Integration Networks on April 1, 2007, assigning them regional responsibilities for healthcare planning, integration, and funding.

• Home and community care brought into the regional framework

  [1]Local Health Integration Networksen.wikipedia.org

  LHIN responsibilities included home and community care services that had previously been associated with Community Care Access Centres, extending the networks' role beyond institutional healthcare planning.

• LHIN functions transferred to Ontario Health

  [1]Local Health Integration Networksen.wikipedia.org

  The provincial healthcare administration was reorganized, with legacy LHIN functions transferred to Ontario Health and the LHIN business name changed to Home and Community Care Support Services.

A publicly funded, regionally organized healthcare coordination model intended to integrate Ontario's otherwise separate health and community-care providers around local population needs.

• Public healthcare administration · 2007

  Regional health-system planning

  LHINs planned healthcare services within defined Ontario geographic regions. Their planning role covered relationships among hospitals, long-term-care homes, home and community care, community support organizations, mental-health and addiction agencies, and community health centres. The purpose was to align the regional service mix with local population needs and provincial healthcare priorities rather than treating each provider as a separate system.

• Public healthcare administration · 2007

  Regional healthcare funding

  Funded by Ontario's Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, LHINs distributed or managed public healthcare funding at the regional level. Funding responsibilities supported a range of publicly delivered services and were linked to the networks' broader mandate to coordinate providers and improve integration across the local health system.

• Home healthcare coordination

  Home and Community Care

  Home and Community Care was a major operational area associated with LHINs. The service connected people with care delivered in their homes and communities and linked that care with hospitals, long-term care, and community agencies. This responsibility followed the earlier role of Community Care Access Centres and later continued under the Home and Community Care Support Services name.

• 2007

  Adoption of a regional integration modelStrategy

  Background

  Ontario sought a more locally responsive structure for its publicly funded healthcare system and established 14 regional networks with responsibility for planning, funding, and coordinating multiple categories of providers.

  Action taken

  The province created community-based, non-profit LHINs organized around geographic service areas and gave them a formal regional health-system mandate.

  Aftermath

  The model became Ontario's principal regional health-administration structure until its functions were later reorganized under Ontario Health and Home and Community Care Support Services.

  Source

• Transition to Ontario Health and Home and Community Care Support ServicesStrategy

  Background

  Ontario reorganized its health administration and moved legacy LHIN functions into a new provincial structure.

  Action taken

  LHIN functions were transferred to Ontario Health, and the LHIN business name was changed to Home and Community Care Support Services.

  Aftermath

  The LHINs ceased to operate as a distinct branded network of regional health authorities, while home and community care coordination continued under the successor arrangement.

  Source

1. 1Local Health Integration Networksen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Carelhins.on.ca