Three years ago, Nova Scotia Health and IWK Health released our first joint Accessibility Plan. It marked an important commitment — not just to meet legislative requirements, but to meaningfully advance accessibility across our health system.
Today we pause to reflect. We have made progress. We have strengthened awareness, clarified responsibilities, and advanced actions across the six accessibility standard areas identified under Nova Scotia’s Accessibility Act and Access by Design 2030. We also acknowledge that there’s much more work to be done.
Accessibility is not achieved in a single plan cycle. It requires sustained effort, accountability, and the courage to learn from lived experience. In sharing our Accessibility Plans and progress, we are recommitting ourselves and our organizations to this work -accessibility is not a destination. It is a commitment we renew, together, every day.
IWK Health and Nova Scotia Health remain committed to identifying and addressing barriers, strengthening the accessibility of our spaces, services, and systems. We continue working toward a health system where all patients, families, staff, and community members can access and participate in care with dignity, independence, choice, and respect.
Thank you to everyone who contributed their lived experience and expertise to shape the latest Accessibility Plan.
Respectfully,
Stacy Burgess, VP, Clinical Support and System Integration
Jen Feron, General Counsel