OPHA supports Ontario's health professionals, volunteers and community agencies with the skills and knowledte to help prevent cardiovascular disease.

Heart Health Resource Centre (HHRC)

In November 1993, the Ontario Ministry of Health asked OPHA to manage and operate the Heart Health Resource Centre (HHRC). The HHRC provided technical assistance and training for five pilot sites in the Heart Health Action Program. In 1998 the provincial program was expanded to 37 community-based heart health program partnerships across Ontario and the HHRC expanded its focus to meet the needs of these new partnerships.
Initially, the HHRC primarily served staff in public health agencies across Ontario and their community partners. Over time, this expanded to include specialized supports for the coordinators of local partnerships and the Ontario Heart Health Network  (OHHN).
The OHHN was established in 1998 as a networking body for the 37 Community Partnerships and the more than 2700 community partners engaged in community-based heart health programming and operated until 2010. The HHRC provided the OHHN with secretariat, logistical and coordination support as well as a modest annual budget.
Throughout its 17 year history, which spanned three distinct phases of the Ontario Heart Health Program (OHHP), the HHRC provided capacity building supports and services to local partnerships regarding delivering effective, community-based interventions in the areas of tobacco use, unhealthy eating and physical inactivity to local partnerships. These supports and services included:

  • on-site consultation as well as one-on-one coaching;
  • training and development activities such as workshops, conferences and webinars;
  • a website and listserv; and
  • a range of resources and materials on a variety of topics relevant to community mobilization and health promotion.

The HHRC delivered these services with a small complement of staff and a roster of independent consultants with expertise in health promotion and public participation strategies.
In 2009, with the launch of the Healthy Communities Fund (HCF), the Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport (MHPS) directed the OPHA to align the HHRC’s services with those of three other resource centres to improve services for the new Healthy Communities Partnerships. This new collaborative operated as the Healthy Communities Consortium for two years before re-branding as HC Link.
As the steward of the former Heart Health Resource Centre, OPHA staff and consultants bring a unique perspective to HC Link. We have extensive experience in the following areas:

  • community planning & assessment
  • partnership development and coalition building
  • strategic and program planning
  • healthy public policy development
  • program and partnership evaluation
  • education/training, consultation and facilitation

We also bring a wealth of knowledge about the needs and challenges of the community partnerships that operated as part of the former OHHP and are now broadening their focus to align with the Healthy Communities Fund. One heart health coordinator may have said it best, “What makes the HHRC [team] unique within the current Ontario Health Promotion Resource System is that it has a deep relationship with each of the community partnerships.”  Because of these well-established connections, OPHA staff and consultants are able to ensure the services offered through HC Link continue to meet the changing needs of this client group. Coordinators and their partners trust us and in turn are encouraged to extend that confidence to the new organization tasked with strengthening their capacity to create healthy communities.