Well Aware – Spring 2016

The North Bay Regional Health Centre is pleased to provide you with our quarterly e-newsletter update! NBRHC Well Aware is designed to keep you up to date on changes to our services, new initiatives and news that impacts our communities.

Celebrating our Volunteers

In April, the North Bay Regional Health Centre (NBRHC) sets time aside to recognize, celebrate and thank the volunteers that generously donate their time and energy to support the hospital community.

“Last year, our volunteers contributed 28,900 hours of service to the Health Centre,” says Kim McElroy, Manager of the Volunteer Department. “To see how impressive this number really is, you must look past the statistic and focus on the individual acts of kindness contained in every hour.”

One volunteer, Kathleen Lievers, returned to the Health Centre to volunteer after an impressive 31 year career caring for children and their families as a Paediatric Nurse. Her extensive knowledge and expertise has been instrumental in the delivery of a childcare program at the Health Centre’s Mental Health Clinic (MHC).

Under the program, parents accessing services from the MHC can have their child taken care of by a volunteer while they are attending their therapy session. Lievers’ dedication to the program has helped break down barriers and increase access to mental health support.

“We are so thankful to have Kathleen as part of our team here at the MHC,” says Michelle Deveau-Brock, Social Worker at the Clinic. “For many parents leaving their little one can be difficult even if it is just for a short time. However, once they meet Kathleen, their concerns fade. She also makes the time spent with her for the little ones such fun.”

This February, Lievers was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board (DNSSAB) for devoting more than 40 years to the health and wellbeing of the North Bay area.

Lievers’ story is a testament to the power of volunteerism and just one example of the many committed volunteers at the Health Centre.

“The NBRHC has approximately 300 volunteers of all ages who provide service in district hospital and regional mental health programs, support fundraising initiatives and share their expertise as volunteer board members,” says McElroy. “Our volunteers make a difference by providing those additional services that support our operations, enhance patient care and comfort, and create a welcoming atmosphere in our health care facility.”

From April 10 to 16, the NBRHC joined organizations across the country to recognize Canada’s 12.7 million volunteers during National Volunteer Week (NVW). This year marked the 74th annual celebration o f this initiative in Canada.

The Health Centre was proud to be part of this long-standing tradition. “We recognize our volunteers informally and formally on a regular basis but we take this week in April to highlight our volunteers’ ongoing commitment to our organization,” McElroy explains. “Their selfless gift of time continues to touch the lives of our patients and strengthen our community.”

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New Partnership Helping out-of-town Patients

Representatives from the Health Centre and Motherhouse sign new partnership agreement.  (l-r): Tiz Silveri, Vice President Clinical and Chief Nursing Executive; Sister Bonnie MacLellan, General Superior at St. Joseph’s Motherhouse; Paul Heinrich, President & CEO; Sister Winnifred McLoughlin, Administrator at St. Joseph’s Motherhouse; Michael Lowe, Chair, NBRHC Board of Directors.

In January, representatives from the North Bay Regional Health Centre (NBHRC) and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Sault Ste. Marie signed a partnership agreement, allowing the Health Centre to refer patients and their loved ones to stay at the Motherhouse as an affordable bed and breakfast option.

NBRHC Vice President Clinical and Chief Nursing Executive, Tiziana Silveri says this partnership is important because of the help it will provide to out-of-town patients and their families. “NBRHC is a district referral centre—which means every day people throughout northeastern Ontario travel to North Bay for treatment,” Silveri says. “It’s our hope that this new partnership will help to ease some of the stress travelling for health care can bring to families.”

This part of the Motherhouse, a four bedroom facility located on the shores of Lake Nipissing, offers a home like setting conveniently close to the hospital for persons visiting the area and requiring accommodation to attend medical appointments or visiting a companion. Guests will receive reasonably priced nightly accommodation with breakfast, plus affordable lunch and dinner options and access to some common areas.

“St. Joseph’s Motherhouse offers patients at NBRHC and their families a space that will allow for peace and tranquility away from the pressures of the hospital,” says Sister Winnifred McLoughlin, Administrator at the Motherhouse. “Individual guest suites include comfortable lounge chairs, a queen bed, linens and towels, cable TV and WIFI, ensuite bathroom, 24 hour security, as well as  access to a chapel overlooking Lake Nipissing for reflection.”

Sister Winnifred says she is excited about this new opportunity for the Motherhouse. “This partnership will foster an environment of support for everyone involved and provide many opportunities for friendship that can only increase the general well-being of patients and family alike,” Sister Winnifred says.

People wishing to stay at the Motherhouse must be referred by the hospital and meet certain criteria which includes living outside North Bay, receiving treatment or visiting a patient at NBRHC and being medically stable.

For more information on eligibility and the referral process, contact Tania Dubeau at 705-474-8600 extension 4795.

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Hard Rock Medical Films at NBRHC

NBRHC was happy to welcome the cast and crew the popular TVO/APTN television series Hard Rock Medical to the Health Centre where they filmed part of the series in the (currently vacant) Hummingbird Lodge. Filming took place at the end of February and early March.

NBRHC was one of the partners, along with the City of North Bay and Canadore College, to support the production currently filming its third session, shot for the first time in North Bay.

Hard Rock Medical follows a group of medical school students attending Boréal Medical School as they train in Northern Ontario communities. The Canadian television drama is filmed entirely in Northern Ontario and its episodes are loosely based on accounts from the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM).

Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to help pull this together—Hard Rock Medical and the City of North Bay are very appreciative of the partnership.

Photo Credit: Michael Tien

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Lifeline Partnership Bringing Peace of Mind to Patients

An ongoing partnership with Philips Lifeline is helping the North Bay Regional Health Centre (NBRHC) improve access to care for its patients while also aiding in their transition back to home.

Last year the North Bay Regional Lifeline program responded to a total of 8976 calls—of which  959 were verified as calls where help was needed.

Amazingly, almost 90 percent of the help needed calls were resolved without involving emergency services (EMS) or transferring to hospital. Hal Wirsching, Lifeline Program Manager says this relieves pressure on EMS and opens hospital beds for people who really need it.

“Our Personal Response Associates have the training and tools to assess a situation before determining the best course of action and summoning the appropriate level of help,” explains Wirsching. “In any emergency situation, getting help quickly can eliminate the need for unnecessary hospital transport, emergency room visits and hospitalization.”

The Health Centre partnered with Philips Lifeline in 2013 as the preferred provider for the Emergency Response Service (Lifeline). Launched under the name North Bay Regional Lifeline, this program is an easy-to-use medical alert service that lets subscribers summon help any time of the day or night. Lifeline’s AutoAlert technology can automatically detect falls and alert an emergency response centre as quickly as possible.

Wirsching presents a cheque to Heinrich, Solman, and Giesler that will be used to support patients in need.

Paul Heinrich, North Bay Regional Health Centre President and CEO says the emergency response service allows patients to live confidently in their home while giving peace of mind to their caregivers and family. “We take comfort in knowing that our patients can continue to live confidently and independently in their homes with the reassurance that help is available at the push of a button,” Heinrich says.

Sonya Solman, a Nephrology Social Worker at NBRHC explains funds generated through the North Bay Regional Lifeline program are reinvested back into the Health Centre. “Lifeline provides five dollars per month from every new and continuing subscription to a special hospital fund that is used strictly to support patients in need,” says Solman. “These funds assist with risk reduction and minimizing discharge barriers for those under the age of 55 and who have no other means of financial assistance.”

Wirsching presented a cheque for eight hundred dollars to Heinrich, Solman, and Linda Giesler, Manager of Social Work and Discharge Planning on February 3, 2016. The money has been used to cover medication costs, to purchase equipment and fund parts of transitional housing for patients requiring further support before returning to their home.

For more information, please contact North Bay Regional Lifeline at 1-855-579-5957.

Philips Lifeline maintains two specialized emergency response centers in Canada, one in Toronto and one in Montreal. Specially trained Personal Response Associates answer over 1.5 million calls per year with an average response time under 20 seconds.

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NBRHC Accredited by Accreditation Canada

The North Bay Regional Health Centre (NBRHC) is proud to announce that it has achieved ‘Accreditation with Commendation’ from Accreditation Canada. Accredited with Commendation is “for organizations that go beyond the requirements of Accreditation Canada and are commended for their commitment to quality improvement.” To receive this score, NBRHC had to exceed a score of 95% on thousands of standards observed by the accreditors during the on-site survey completed in November 2015.

Members of the NBRHC Senior Team, Board Members together with the Accreditation Surveyors and the Guest Observers from Kuwait who joined us for the week.

Health care accreditation is used to evaluate a health care organization against national standards of excellence. “We are very proud of all our staff, physicians and volunteers at NBRHC,” says Paul Heinrich, President and CEO. “They work incredibly hard to provide our community with health care services that are safe, effective, and of the highest quality. Receiving such a high score by an unbiased national standards body is a validation of the high level of quality at our organization.”

Sue Lebeau, Director Quality & Clinical Support, says one of the elements praised by the accreditors was the risk reporting system where staff and patient safety concerns are reported, monitored, analyzed and resolved. Lebeau says these accreditation results are a direct result of the rigorous standard work created as part of our quality improvement processes. “Our hard work and team approach to continuous quality improvement has enabled us to get such great results. The whole organization is involved in accreditation, from front-line staff and volunteers to board members, patients, and families. ”

The NBRHC’s volunteer Board of Directors met all the governance criteria evaluated and were praised for their engagement, knowledge, accountability and the adoption of an ethics framework to guide their difficult decisions.

Michael Lowe, Chair, NBRHC Board of Directors says the Board is proud of the hospital’s accreditation decision. Lowe says receiving this level of accreditation during a time of significant organizational change is a true reflection of the staff’s dedication to providing the highest quality of care to our patients and the community. “On behalf of the Board, we want to thank staff for all of their hard work not only during the accreditation process, but every day,” Lowe said.

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NBRHC Hosts International Health Study Tour

In March members of the NBRHC Senior Leadership Team met with a study team from the Federal Teaching Hospital (FETHA) in Abakiliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria.

The group was hosted in Canada by the West Parry Sound Health Centre (WPSHC). The FETHA group toured Hummingbird and Evergreen Lodges; visited the Health Centre’s Maternal Child Care program and observed a Quality Huddle in the OR.

These doctors and professionals visited Canada to make contacts and to keep up with international best practices and ideas. While in North Bay, the group had the opportunity to tour One Kids Place and visit Canadore College where they met with President George Burton, Dean of Health Sciences Lisa McCool-Philbin & various faculty from the Department of Health Sciences.

Donald Sanderson, Chief Executive Officer, WPSHC & Lakeland Long Term Care also attended the NBRHC tour and had the following to share about their experience. “On behalf of the WPSHC I would like to thank our partners at NBRHC for being so generous in sharing your time and knowledge.  Observing first hand the leadership and engagement of team members throughout the organization advancing your quality and safety agenda is inspiring. Congratulations on making a difference.”

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Trillium Gift of Life Network presents NBRHC with Award

In February, representatives from the Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN) were in North Bay to present the North Bay Regional Health Centre (NBRHC) with an award for the Health Centre’s ongoing support of organ and tissue donation.

Donor recipient, and NBRHC employee, Carl Svensson says the donor heart he received almost 18 years ago gave him a second chance at life. “I am thankful every day for the gift of life from a kind stranger who believed in organ donation,” Svensson said. “This gift gave me the ability to see my daughters grow up and to celebrate my upcoming 32^nd wedding anniversary.” He says he is living proof that transplants work and aims to promote the benefits of organ donation.

(l-r): Carl Svensson, Karen Svensson, Kaitlyn Svensson and Karla Svensson.

NBRHC was selected to receive the Hospital Achievement Award- Provincial Conversion Rate. This award is given to hospitals that met or exceeded the target of a 67% Conversion Rate in 2014/15.  Conversion Rate is the percentage of actual organs donors from the total number of potentially eligible organ donors identified upon deceased health record review.  Key factors that influence Conversion Rate are the notification of potential organ donors and working with TGLN to promote optimal approach planning.

“We are proud to acknowledge the important contributions of our hospital partners. The success of organ and tissue donation in Ontario relies on their hard work and dedication,” said Ronnie Gavsie, President and CEO at Trillium Gift of Life Network. “Together, we work to make sure families are given the opportunity to honour their loved ones wishes and save lives through organ and tissue donation.”

For many years the Health Centre has participated in organ donations, but the partnership with Trillium officially began in March 2014.  “The response from our health care team has been incredible during the process of becoming a designated facility,’ says Tiz Silveri, Vice President Clinical and Chief Nursing Executive. “As an organization we are very proud of our staff for taking the time to make the call to Trillium. These calls help facilitate the large number of organ and tissue donations we have seen over the last 18 months,” Silveri continued.

(l-r): Dr. Donald Fung, Chief of Staff; Tiz Silveri, Vice President Clinical and Chief Nursing Executive; Pam Durocher, Clincial nurse educator ER; Paul Heinrich, President & CEO; Carl Svensson, donor recipient, and NBRHC employee; Janice Beitel, Director, Hospital Programs, Education and Professional Practice TGLN; Leslie Bethune, Manager Critical Care Unit & Cardio Respiratory; Ann Loyst, Director, Medicine; Dr. Michael Leckie; Candice Cowell, RN.
Missing from photo: Janis Herzog, Clinical Support Lead for the TGLN and Clinical Nurse Educator, CCU

Between April and September of 2015, staff at NBRHC assisted to facilitate a better quality of life for 54 people with the gift of sight. Dr. Michael Leckie has been instrumental in this process at the hospital. “The satisfaction in knowing that our work is directly making a difference in the life of so many people young and old is a huge motivator for all of us involved with Trillium here at NBRHC,” Dr. Leckie says.

In 2015, one organ donor gave four organs to four recipients waiting to have their lives changed. Also, four multi-tissue donors transformed countless number of lives through their gift.  Dr. Donald Fung, Chief of Staff, says the process of organ donation can often be a difficult journey for both families and staff. “The knowledge that something so good can come out of a terrible and often tragic event can be a comfort and provide a lasting memory for the families,” Dr. Fung says.

For more information on the gift of organ and tissue donation, please visit beadonor.ca