Get ready for Bike to Work Week: May 11 to May 17, 2009

The Vancouver Island Health Authority’s Internal Newsletter… Produced Monthly To Keep Us all Plugged In
Get ready for Bike to Work Week: May 11 to May 17, 2009
Gather up your teammates and get ready to ride!
VIHA is celebrating our 4th year promoting Bike to Work Week. We hope 2009
will be even better than last year — our most successful year ever as we
increased our participants 32% to 646!
This year all entries must be received by Regional Parking Services by
Friday, April 24th, 2009. On-line
registration opens on April 7th, 2009.
Sign up your VIHA team at
www.biketowork.ca .
Above: 2008 Bike to Work Week celebration
station at RJH.
The first 700 participants to register
will receive a VIHA 2009 BTWW
T-shirt. The T-shirts went like hot
cakes last year, so don’t delay!
VIHA will be marking Bike to Work Week throughout the health authority, with the
most formal event taking place at our largest site, Royal Jubilee Hospital. Campbell River, Nanaimo and the Comox Valley
are also marking Bike to Work Week, and staff living in communities without 'official' Bike to Work Week events can still
register and participate. For more information on participating in the Central / North Island areas, contact Gary Bray,
Parking service Coordinator at gary.bray@viha.ca.
Questions? Call the Regional Parking Office or call the BTWW office at 250-920-5775.
National Volunteer Week: April 19-25, 2009
Volunteers are crucial to health care. “National Volunteer Week pays tribute to the 12
million Canadians who donate their time and energy to better the lives of others.” said
Ruth MacKenzie, president of Volunteer Canada. “During times of economic
uncertainty, we must not forget the role of Canada’s volunteers and volunteer-involving
organizations.”
VIHA is fortunate to have over 4,000 volunteers who are an integral part of the
healthcare network. Last year, these volunteers contributed over 250,000 hours of time.
They complement the professional roles of healthcare staff by enhancing service to
patients, residents and their families beyond the scope of regular patient care. Services
delivered by VIHA volunteers help support the personal dignity, safety, security and
quality of care of patients and residents.
Volunteers also help build and strengthen communities by responding to local needs.
National Volunteer Week runs from April 19th to 25th.. Mark it by saying “thank you” to
all the volunteers among us.
April 2009 - Page 1 - www.viha.ca/news
Above: Retired paeds nurse Maggie
Baxter reads to a patient at QACCH.
Maggie has been volunteering with
VIHA for upwards of 17 years.
BC Community Achievement Award recognizes Dawn Nedzelski
BC Community Achievement Awards are given to a select group of recipients
each year for their contribution to their communities.
Dawn Nedzelski, Site Director and Manager of Acute and Palliative Care at
Saanich Peninsula Hospital, was one of only 45 British Columbians recently
honoured with this award.
The letters of nomination emphasized Dawn’s many talents. Acting Chief of Staff
Dr. Lloyd Hildebrand stated, “She has earned the respect of those with whom
she has worked with by demonstrating a consistent ability to deal with a broad
variety of problems frequently complex in nature.” Clinical Nurse Leader Marg
Tennant adds, “I have seen Dawn’s passion, dedication, and discipline inspire
others in reaching their goals.”
Above: Honourable Steven Point, Lieutenant
Governor for BC, Dawn Nedzelski and Premier
Gordon Campbell.
Karen Morgan, Executive Director of the Saanich Peninsula Hospital Foundation
also praises Dawn: “She has been instrumental in assisting with changes in the
hospital that better serve the needs of our community, such as planning the new Emergency Room, Palliative Care Unit and
improvements on an expanded Operating Room.”
Dawn has volunteered on the Board of Directors for Community Options for Children and Families and is an active member
of the Saanich 4-H club. Friend and 4-H Horse Leader, Wendy Muiser, describes Dawn as a “true blessing to our Club and
Community. She is a person you can always rely on, depend on and trust.”
VIHA and the community are lucky to have Dawn among us!
Sunshine Wellness Centre improves
access to programs & services
Residents of
Campbell River
with chronic health
conditions can now
access healthcare
programs and
services they need
to help self-manage
their conditions at
one location.
Above: “Cheque” this out! Linda Latham, VIHA’s
director of Community Hospitals, holds up a giant
$100,000 cheque with help from Joanne Amberson,
President of the CRHA, Arelene Leduc, CRHA
member, and Pauline Melanson, VIHA Leader,
Diabetes and Nutrition Services.
Sunshine Wellness
Centre officially
opened at Campbell
River Hospital in
February. A portion
of the former
Sunshine Lodge was renovated to create a comfortable place
for clients. The refurbishment was made possible thanks to a
donation of $100,000 from the Campbell River Hospital
Auxiliary Society.
Wellness Centre programs include Aboriginal Health, Diabetes
Education, Liver Services, Pacemaker Clinic, Heart Function
Clinic, Wound Care/Ostomy Clinic, Stroke Recovery Program
and the Integrated Health Network. Visiting specialists also hold
clinics here, including gerontology, pediatric diabetes and
pediatric endocrine clinics.
New End of Life Guidelines
New End of Life Symptom Guidelines are available on line
to provide information, guidance and support for staff
and the public dealing with end of life issues. The
Guidelines, which were completed by Fraser Health, are
being used by three BC Health Authorities, including
VIHA. They are aimed at professional providers when
supporting end-of-life patients and their families in all
settings. The guidelines can be viewed on our Intranet
Policy & Procedures Interprofessional Practice & Clinical
Standards page at
http://apps.viha.ca/pnp/user_index.aspx?header1=12. The
information is also available for the public at
www.viha.ca/phc_cdm/health_professionals/
For more information about our Seniors Health, End of
Life and Spiritual Health Program contact Di Joanisse at
250-740-6971 or by E mail at Diana.Joanisse@viha.ca
Lunchroom E-bulletin board
goes self-serve
On April 1st (no foolin’) the Lunchroom’s electronic
bulletin boards switched to a self-serve format allowing
staff to post and edit listings instantly. It also contains
improved filters which enable you to sort through the e–
market by category, location and posting date.
Instructions are available at:
https://intranet.viha.ca/lunchroom/Pages/Instructions.aspx.
April 2009 - Page 2 - www.viha.ca/news
New emergency power generator system at Campbell River Hospital
Campbell River Hospital has more capacity to power critical equipment during
a power failure thanks to a new, dual emergency power generator system.
The new system features two generators that both take over the electrical
load of the hospital during a power outage.
The new system has 700 kilowatts of standby power compared to 500
kilowatts supplied by the former system. If one of the new system’s dual
generators fails, the remaining generator can carry the necessary electrical
load.
While the former system could also handle the entire electrical load on one
generator, switching from one generator to the other had to be done
manually.
Photo courtesy Campbell River Mirror.
VIHA social workers recognized for outstanding community support
As part of the BC Association of Social Workers Social Work Week
(March 9th-14th), the University of Victoria’s School of Social Work
awarded its prestigious Alayne Hamilton Community Social Work
Award. Alayne Hamilton was the late founder of the Family Violence
Project, and a passionate contributor to social work education. The
award honours social workers on the South Island who have a
commitment to social work education, show leadership in their
organization and have a passion for social work in general.
Above: Nominees for the Alayne Hamilton Social Work
Award. (L-R) Samantha Sansregret, Deb Loiselle, Brian
Schmidt (winner), Cheryl Fix, Suzanne Cole. Not pictured:
Kirsten Duncan.
Of six nominees three work directly for VIHA and the other three
partner with VIHA staff on a daily basis. All are great examples of the
wide variety of social work available in our community.
The award was presented to Chris Schmidt, who works with the
Integrated Mobile Crisis Response Team providing services to those
with urgent and emergent mental health issues.
The other two VIHA nominees were Kirsten Duncan of the Pandora Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team, who
provides outreach to clients in Victoria and Samantha Sansregret, Women’s Wellness Coordinator for Aborignal Health,
who works in nine reserve communities, the urban aboriginal community and the local Métis Nation.
“Chris’ commitment to social work also extends to his work with AIDS Vancouver Island’s Needle Exchange program.”
said Barb Whittington, UVic Social Work professor and chair of the celebration. “Such an amazing group, Alayne would be
so proud of their cooperative work.”
The other three nominees were Deb Loiselle (Oak Bay Lodge), Suzanne Cole (Burnside Gorge Community Centre) and
Cheryl Fix (Choices Adoption and Counselling). VIHA salutes all social workers who work every day to bring health care
to residents, no matter what their situation may be.
Setting the record straight:
In reference to the March 2009 Currents article, “VIHA Wins United Way Spirit Award for their 2008 Campaign”, we wish
to note that the Victoria Health Unit is not the only VIHA recipient of the Quantum Award for outstanding contributions
to the United Way. In 2004, Peninsula Health Unit was awarded the Quantum Leap Award and was nominated again
for the same category in 2006. The Peninsula Health Unit wishes to thank Ellen Brown for spearheading their stellar
United Way campaigns.
April 2009 - Page 3 - www.viha.ca/news
Are you prepared?
New resources on the web
Vancouver Island and the Gulf
Islands have unique emergency
preparedness needs. We live in a
seismically active region, with
additional threats of tsunamis,
floods, and forest fires. Our
isolation requires teamwork among
island communities. The Vancouver
Island Emergency Preparedness
conference is being held April 1719 at the Saanich Fairgrounds. The
6th annual conference will bring together emergency
preparedness volunteers and staff, giving them an
opportunity to meet, develop networks, and hear from
experts in the emergency preparedness field. For more
information, check http://www.viepconference.ca/.
The Intranet offers new
resources to support our care
of seniors, caregivers and
people facing end of life.
Click over to the Seniors
Health, End of Life and
Spiritual Care pages to find:
•
Educational materials
•
Practice guidelines and
policies
•
Research, presentations and literature reviews
You’ll also find program details, referral information and
useful links. Check it out at:
https://intranet.viha.ca/departments/ses.
Island wide Stroke Collaborative teams up to improve patient outcomes
Over the past year, teams from Tofino, Duncan, Ladysmith, Nanaimo, Campbell
River, Comox and Victoria have worked on small cycles of change to improve
outcomes for individuals experiencing TIA/Strokes.
Under the leadership of Diana Foster, Manager Project Development &
Implementation Neurosciences, frontline staff representing neurosciences, medicine,
emergency services, home and community care, rehabilitation inpatient and outpatient
services, have shared successes with quality improvement initiatives.
Examples of changes implemented are: checklists, order sets, focused education,
swallowing screening, blood sugar monitoring, cohorting patients, early identification,
depression screening, aerobic exercise, hemiplegic shoulder pain management,
creating "keys to recovery" and mobility and balance training.
The teams’ work will be available on the Neurosciences Intranet for staff & physicians
island wide, helping to support patients and families experiencing TIA/Stroke.
Photos: A sampling of VIHA staff participants from the Island Wide Stroke Collaborative wrap up meeting.
Did you know?
The human body consists of about 60 trillion cells, and each cell has
about 10,000 times as many molecules as the Milky Way has stars.
April 2009 - Page 4 - www.viha.ca/news
Wellness & Safety Series
April 2009
Wellness & Safety
Because it Really Matters
This is the fourth in a series of special bulletins aimed at increasing awareness around workplace safety.
Previous editions can be found at http://www.viha.ca/about_viha/news/newsletters/
VIHA reviews safety culture
“Provider Safety is Just as Important as Patient Safety.” VIHA’s wellness and safety professionals are keen to convey
this vital message to all staff. A recent survey, conducted by safety consultants - First Aid Survival Technologies
(FAST) - reviewed staff safety perceptions. Results were presented in a day-long course attended by many of VIHA’s
Senior Management Team (pictured above).
A new training course on Health and Safety Roles/Responsibilities for Managers/Supervisors was also rolled out in
March—see “Boot camp” article below for more details.•
Appreciation for the ten pilot units—
heartfelt thanks!
‘Boot Camp’ for
managers & supervisors
The first phase of the People Plan’s four key Wellness & Safety
initiatives (Musculo-skeletal Injury Prevention, New Violence Prevention
Curriculum, Return to Work Support and Staff Safety Culture) ended on
March 31st. The Wellness and Safety Department wishes to thank
everyone on the ten units* that participated in these pilot projects as well
as the VIHA leadership team members who participated in the Safety
Culture project. Everyone involved was extremely supportive and patient
with the extra demands. We will continue to work with them, as well as
with a new group of departments, in phase two which starts in fiscal year
2009/10.
A large turnout of about 80 people
took part in the one-day ‘Boot
Camp’ health and safety courses offered to VIHA managers and supervisors in Port McNeill, Campbell
River, Nanaimo, Duncan and Victoria
in March. The curriculum, which
examined the Workers Compensation Act, Occupational Health and
Safety Regulations and programs/resources available to leaders,
is being revised with input from participants. Similar ‘boot camps’ will be
offered in upcoming months. •
* The ten units are NRGH Patient Food, F1 Medical, F6 Surgical; SPH Extended
Care #s 1 and 2; VGH 6A/B Neurosciences, Regional Laundry; RJH 2Royal,
Renal Unit/Kidney Health Unit and Cairnsmore. •
OUR PEOPLE, OUR STRENGTH
The People Plan is a strategic framework of dedicated projects designed to help VIHA
meet its recruitment and retention challenges, including improving the quality of work
life for all; and offering rewarding career opportunities.
Musculoskeletal injury prevention on DVD
In collaboration with Multi Media Services, Wellness & Safety is
creating a series of safe patient handling DVDs. Currently, 27
modules are being planned. The first 3 modules, “Pre-Handling
Check,” “Take 5” and “Basic Patient Transfer” will be available early in
April. Watch for updates as these DVD’s become available. •
Photo: Wellness and Safety MSIP advisor Heidi Robinson (in the sling) with Leslie
Klassoff, LPN and MSIP coach.
How well are you protected?
Taking a few minutes to get immunized protects your health and
prevents the possible spread of disease to others such as, patients,
residents, fellow staff and your friends and family. For more
information (including clinic schedules and locations) please see our
internet site at www.viha.ca/occupational_health/employee_health.
Tetanus/Diphtheria (T/D)
Hepatitis B
A booster every 10 years
Series of 3 shots
Influenza
Annual
Measles/Mumps/Rubella
Series of 2 shots (Unless immune)
Chickenpox (Varicella)
Series of 2 shots (Unless immune)
Photo: Mike Conroy, Executive Vice President and
Chief Operating Officer, rolls up his sleeve for a yearly
flu shot from Linda Gould, RN, Team Leader, Employee
Health Nurses during VIHA’s 2008 Flu Campaign.
Slider sheets – WorkSafe BC safety information
A recent WorkSafeBC bulletin for provincial health authorities on re-positioning patients has lead to a large influx of calls
and requests for training on the proper use of slider sheets. To see the information, go to the following link:
http://www.worksafebc.com/publications/high_resolution_publications/assets/pdf/WS200901.pdf
Note: Slider sheets, in use at most North and Central Island sites, are now being placed in South Island residential care
sites. Staff training will continue through 2009/10 with follow up and review in 2010-11. •
Results of the “Slips/Trips and Falls” campaign
A wealth of important health-saving information to prevent slips, trips and falls, including a quiz, was distributed February
via VIHA’s Joint Occupational Health and Safety (JOH&S) Committees. The campaign inspired several accident prevention
initiatives in island wide facilities. More information, including the JOH&S Committees selected as VIHA’s “Slips, Trips and
Falls Awareness Champions,” will be announced shortly.
Page 2
Wellness & Safety Series
April 2009
Volunteering
Where can it take you?
ANGELA HERGT
LAB TECHNOLOGIST
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and is
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the future
of health
care!
OCCU JULIE SO
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POSTER BY BILL BLAIR / VIHA MULTIMEDIA SERVICES
“
The experience
I had
volunteering
was the reason
I chose this
career.
LENNY BALAIAH
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THANK YOU
TO ALL
VIHA VOLUNTEERS
DURING
NATIONAL
VOLUNTEER
WEEK
APRIL 19 - 25, 2009
AND THANK YOU
ALL YEAR ROUND!