Healthcare Excellence Canada (HEC) is a national organisation working to ensure that everyone in Canada has safe and high-quality healthcare. With equity as one of its quality and safety perspectives, HEC embraces diverse perspectives and value of each person’s experience. This includes embedding digital accessibility and inclusive communication across its platforms, content, and day-to-day practices.
Since 2022, HEC has partnered with Intopia to support their accessibility journey to build an accessibility culture of confidence and capability. From web audits and maturity assessments, to roles mapping and team training, Intopia has helped HEC embed accessibility as a shared responsibility across its platforms. HEC understands that accessibility isn’t a one-time thing, it is an ongoing journey that builds momentum.
The challenge: Building a culture of accessibility from the ground up
HEC was formed in 2021 through the amalgamation of two legacy organisations. From the start, they knew they needed to align their policies with accessibility legislation like the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). At the same time, they were building a new website and consolidating years of content.
“We wanted to understand where we were, what was working, and what gaps we needed to close. It was about making sure our communications reached and included everyone”, shared Kristine, a senior leader in HEC’s communications team.
HEC had already identified internal leaders championing accessibility but needed to put the structures in place to continue building on this foundation.
The solution: Ongoing support for their accessibility journey
HEC’s work with Intopia unfolded across several projects:
Year 1
Website Audit
The first step was a manual audit of selected areas of HEC’s website. Intopia identified some accessibility issues and made recommendations that HEC began actioning immediately.
“We’re still using those recommendations today. They helped us think beyond fixing the current problems to preventing new ones from happening”.
Maturity Assessment
Next, Intopia conducted a maturity assessment across HEC’s digital communications. This review helped HEC understand how accessibility was embedded or missing across workflows and outputs.
“The maturity assessment showed us that accessibility couldn’t sit with one or two people, it had to be part of the team’s DNA”.
Year 2
Roles and Responsibilities Mapping
From there, Intopia developed a roles and responsibilities framework based on RACI principles. It helped clarify who was Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed at each step of content creation.
This mapping laid the groundwork for more effective collaboration and helped shift accessibility from an individual task to a shared responsibility.
Ongoing Consulting Support
Since 2023, HEC has used a flexible ‘bank of hours’ arrangement with Intopia. This has allowed both the communications and web teams to ask questions and get support when they need it.
“We know we can reach out at any time and that we’ll get advice that’s clear, human, and practical”.
Year 3
Accessibility Training and Capability Building
Role-based accessibility training sessions, led by Intopia’s Russ Weakley, brought accessibility principles to life. Sessions began with providing stories about lived experience and inclusion, helping the team understand why accessibility matters, before diving into technical skills. Team members left with stronger skills and a stronger sense of purpose.
“You could see the ‘aha’ moments in the room. Russ’s style made people feel safe and inspired. He brought humour, humanity, and real-world examples”.
The impact: A stronger culture and more inclusive output
A confident, motivated team
“Working with Intopia has turned gaps into opportunities. They helped us normalise the accessibility work, so people feel empowered to address it”.
Staff from HEC’s communications and marketing team now see accessibility not as an add-on, but as core to inclusion and impact.
Embedding accessibility early, saving time and money
HEC now embraces integrating accessibility from the very beginning of projects. From format or platform choice to developing communication strategies, accessibility is considered upfront. This shift has made content more inclusive and significantly reduced the time and effort needed for remediation.
We know it’s far more cost effective to address accessibility early. Fixing issues after release can cost up to 30 times more (DTA).
Stronger processes and measurable change
Accessibility is now built into content review workflows, consultant support hiring decisions, and template design. HEC also tracks progress (such as a steady decline in the number of inaccessible PDFs) while recognising that numbers only tell part of the story.
“It’s not just about ticking boxes. It’s about building trust and reaching more people”.
Looking ahead: Embedding accessibility in the new website
HEC is now preparing to redevelop its website and Intopia is a key partner in the process. They helped develop the RFP, sat on the vendor selection panel, and are involved from day one of planning.
“Accessibility is built into the workplan from the start. That’s a major win!”.
Final reflections
HEC’s journey shows that accessibility is more than compliance – it’s culture. With the right support, structure, and mindset, accessibility becomes embedded in how teams think, create, and connect.
“It’s been an honour working with Intopia’s team. You’ve been patient, thoughtful, and empowering. This case study is really just a thank you letter”, Kristine adds.
Want to start your own accessibility journey?
Get in touch with us at Intopia to start a conversation or complete our free online Accessibility Maturity Snapshot to understand where your organisation’s accessibility level is at.
Healthcare Excellence Canada is an independent, not-for-profit charity funded primarily by Health Canada.