ct scanner - Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital

Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital
report to the
COMMUNITY
2010
CT SCANNER
Saving Lives With Advanced
Technology
SWINGING TO IMPROVE
OUR HEALTH CARE
Tillsonburg News
Invitational Golf Tournament
INSIDE
CT Scanner Saving Lives Pg. X
Diabetes Education Pg. X
How You Can Help This Flu Season Pg. X
Thanks To Our Donors Pg. X
Be an Angel of Giving Pg.7
Message from Tom McHugh,
President and CEO, TDMH
Welcome to the first edition of our
improved Report to the Community.
Over the years we’ve used different
ways to reach out to our community.
We hope you find this report interesting and informative.
As part of our efforts to connect
with the community we’ve updated
our website. Websites have become
the first point of contact for many of
our patients, their families and for
potential employees. We hope you
find our website easy to navigate and
packed with the sort of information
about the hospital that you need.
Please visit us at www.tillsonburghospital.on.ca <www.tillsonburghospital.
on.ca> .
Like many businesses in Tillsonburg and the tri-county area, we strive
to meet national and international
standards in the work that we do. We
are constantly working to improve the
quality of care that we provide. We
believe the pursuit of quality is a marathon, not a sprint. Every three years
we invite surveyors from Accreditation
Canada to assess how we
are measuring up against
national standards. This
fall Accreditation Canada
sent two surveyors, a hospital CEO and an experienced nurse manager,
to assess aspects of our
operation: from how our
Board of Directors operates, through the care
we provide, to the way
we maintain our building
and plan for the future. The theme for this year’s Accreditation was
I’m pleased to report that “Running the Marathon.” Pictured here is
we did very well on the the leadership team racing for the finish line.
assessment and received
many positive comments
on our organization. Even more im- our volunteers and how our generous
portant, we now have an outside community helps to keep our hospital
opinion on where we should put our “state of the art”. If you have feedback on the report, or ideas for our
energy to improve our hospital.
We’ve tried to highlight the wide spring edition, please let me know.
variety of things we do at the hospital;
Tom McHugh
and the people who make it happen.
(519) 842-3611 ext. 301
You’ll read articles on new and extom.mchugh@tdmh.on.ca
panded services, the contributions of
Tillsonburg News 18th Annual
Invitational Golf Tournament
Picture (left to right): Neil Tull, Foundation Board Chair;
Darryl Smart, Editor, Tillsonburg News; Tom McHugh,
Hospital President and CEO
TDMH ~ Page 2
Mark your calendar for
the 19th Annual Event on
Friday, September 9, 2011
On September 10, 2010,
under beautiful skies, 120
participants attended the
18th annual Tillsonburg News
Invitational Golf Tournament
held at The Bridges at
Tillsonburg.
Funds raised by the event
will be used to purchase
Diagnostic Imaging Speech
Recognition
Software.
This advanced technology
transcribes the radiologist’s
dictation which allows for
quicker turn-around time of
results and patient treatment.
Darryl Smart, Editor of
The News said, “We realize
that the hospital plays an
important role in the health
of the community and we are
proud to be the lead sponsor
of this event. It was a perfect
day for golf and it was great
to see the entire community
come out and support a great
cause.”
This year’s Golf Tournament
has raised over $30,000,
bringing the grand total in
excess of $550,000 in support
of new equipment for TDMH.”
The winning foursome for
the day consisted of Harold
Waterhouse, John Lamers,
Jeff Lessif and Scott Baird.
Thank you to all participants
and sponsors of this event.
Expanding diabetic
education to the
community
Getting there ‘first with the most’ is a tactical military
strategy credited to Civil War cavalry genius Nathan
Bedford Forrest.
It’s an approach which also pays strategic dividends in
the battle against diabetes. And new funding from the
Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care based on statistics
revealing higher area incidence is allowing Tillsonburg
District Memorial Hospital to mount the equivalent of preemptive strikes.
“The more aggressive we are in the beginning, the
much better the outcomes are even decades later,” said
Registered Nurse (RN) Dale McLeod, a member of TDMH’s
Diabetes Education Centre.
McLeod and Dietitian Karen Cook are members of
a diabetes education program existing at TDMH for
years. Statistics, a focus on groups at greater risk (one of
those identified is the low-German-speaking Mennonite
population) and an emphasis on community outreach
have resulted in additional funding translating into an
additional full-time RN (Lori Flowerday), part-time dietitian
(Julie McConkey-Barks) and part-time social worker
(Jessica Sarafinchin).
Additional bodies and resultant additional hours help
the team ‘get there first’ with a greater number of clients.
And by working overlapping four 10-hour shifts, the team
has made the most of the opportunity by extending
availability from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
“We can catch more people before or after work hours,”
said Cook. “Again, improving our accessibility.”
Proactivity is vital, says McLeod, citing encouraging
preliminary research indicating 50% of those diagnosed
with pre-diabetes (elevated blood sugar levels which have
not yet reached the full-blown diabetic range) receiving
treatment will not go on to develop diabetes.
Early identification, education, treatment and beneficial
Back row left to right – Karen Cook, Dale McLeod,
Dawn Copeland-Tomlinson
Front row left to right – Jessica Sarafinchin,
Julie McConkey-Barks, Lori Flowerday
lifestyle adjustments are key factors in minimizing diabetes’
effects.
“You want to maximize the quality of life for people
living with this chronic disease and reduce the risk and
effects of complications,” said McLeod.
Sarafinchin’s addition to essentially a medically-based
team represents a holistic approach for individuals who
may have up to five complications related to diabetes.
“The tangible, the psychological, the emotional – she is
very good with that,” credited McLeod.
Sarafinchin’s mandate also includes assisting with
access to programs such as the ODSP, Trillium Drug Plan
and Monitoring For Seniors program.
The collective approach emphasizes diabetes is a
complex disease requiring complicated treatment on a
number of levels.
“All of the team is here to offer that support to patients,”
said Cook.
Patients can self-refer, noted McLeod, verbalizing a
final emphatic invitation to take advantage of TDMH’s
‘first with the most’, which the medical community terms
the legacy effect.
“Start early, be aggressive and outcomes are better
years later.”
TDMH ~ Page 3
It’s about providing
Comfort, Dignity
and Respect
Opening of Palliative Care Rooms. Left to right – Dr. Vince VanHooydonk,
Ida Tigchelaar, Cynthia Smith, Brian Fathers, Kelly Verhoeve
There are times a patient’s ultimate
destination is already known.
But Tillsonburg District Memorial
Hospital’s palliative care unit does
its best to make the final journey
one of comfort, caring and dignity
for those patients and their loved
ones.
“Every person is treated with
respect and dignity,” said Kelly
Verhoeve, Executive Leader, Patient
The Do’s and Don’ts of Infection Prevention
four-pronged approach whose
best defensive practices feature
proactive elements with a
healthy dose of common sense
blended in for good measure.
Sally Martin
Little things are a big deal
at Tillsonburg District Memorial
Hospital.
And whether or not flu season
is upon us, on the horizon, or in its
off-season, limiting the lifespan
and transfer of potentiallyproblematic bacteria and viruses
is always a top priority.
“It’s really about prevention
and also minimizing their
spread,” said Julie Gilvesy, Senior
Executive Leader/Chief Nursing
Executive.
Sally
Martin,
Infection
Prevention
and
Control
Professional said the gameplan
can be summed up in a basic
TDMH ~ Page 4
1. First and foremost, says Martin,
is hand hygiene.
“Hand hygiene is the single
most important procedure to
prevent the spread of infection,”
she emphasized. “And it’s one
thing everyone can do very easily,
is clean their hands.”
Soap, water and friction can
break up and remove bacteria,
said Martin. But alcohol-based
cleansers combined with ‘proper’
friction (between fingers, under
nails and at the base of the
thumbs) will kill bacteria outright,
which is why hand-wash stations
are located at each entrance to
TDMH and outside individual
rooms as well as strategic
locations throughout.
Ample fluid should be used,
says Martin, and ‘worked in’ for a
period of 15 seconds, roughly the
time it takes to silently ‘sing’ two
choruses of ‘Happy Birthday’.
2. Cough etiquette is second on
the list. Given the fact a sneeze
can explode outward at 167kilometres-per-hour and travel
five metres in 1/10th of a second,
controlling the same or a cough
is imperative. It is also imperative
to do so in the proper manner –
using the crook of one’s arm
rather than a hand or hands, to
limit germ transfer via contact.
3. Thirdly says Martin, visitors
to the hospital should stay home
if they are themselves, sick. Many
visitors tend to make multiple
visits, and if ill, can potentially
spread germs over a wide range –
to be spread further yet by other
visitors or medical personnel.
A related point is following
hospital guidelines of two
visitors per patient at a time and
observing visiting hours so team
members can do what they need
to do in terms of patient care.
Social interaction and support
are valuable components to
recovery, said Gilvesy.
“That certainly is important.”
But she also urged seeking
a balance between that and
patient rest.
“Sometimes a 10-minute visit
can be much more beneficial than
an hour’s stay,” said Martin.
4. Finally, visitors should be
aware of additional precautions
(for example, contact, airborne
or droplet) designated typically
by colour-coded warning sheets
including a familiar red octagonal
with a hand inside. The sheets
themselves contain additional
precautions such as wearing a
mask and gown.
“Visitors can read the
directions or stop and ask a team
member what they mean,” said
Martin. **insert picture
The precautions are not only
appropriate for hospitals, but
transferable to nursing homes,
for example, or virtually any
public setting. “It doesn’t matter
if you’re in the hospital or out
in the grocery store,” Martin
concluded. “You should be
practicing these things.”
Services. “And their quality of life is as palatable.
noting that Tillsonburg is a small
optimal as we can make it under any
“If they want to brush their teeth town, and often, staff or volunteers
circumstances.”
or freshen up, they don’t have to go have a personal connection or have
Two rooms were specially modified home,” said Verhoeve.
developed one with the patient over
and outfitted during recent
long-term care. “Trying to
renovations
to
provide
balance the two (professionalism
My wife Barbara Graves passed away recently
enhanced palliative patient
and personal feelings) can be
care in a homier setting.
challenging, but they do a really
after a courageous battle with cancer. We’ve
Upgraded beds for patients
good job.”
been in many hospitals throughout the years
who may be lying in them on
If
Verhoeve
has
one
and the care received at the Tillsonburg
a full-time basis are flanked
suggestion for families facing
by more-comfortable bedside
the situation, it would be to fully
District Memorial Hospital was of the highest
chairs and a recliner family
understand a patient’s wishes,
quality. The palliative care room provided us
members can sleep in if
which may not have been fully
with the privacy and comfort that we needed,
necessary. Metal lockers have
communicated. It can be tough
been replaced with a cherryand
emotionally-challenging
and allowed Barbara to maintain her dignity
veneer armoire and matching
making decisions on behalf of a
in her last days. I can’t say enough about the
bedside table and a designer
patient who can no longer do so
kind and compassionate nurses. Thank you for
clock hangs over a curtained
for themselves.
(matching the bedspread)
“We encourage people to
making a difference.
window with a stained glass
have
their plans in place for end
Mr. Victor Comeau
accent. A TV with DVD player
of life care,” she said.
and radio offer distractions
The two new rooms provide
for visitors and upgraded bathroom
Palliative staff and volunteers an option (family and patient must
comes complete with a ‘comfort receive specialized training to support agree) for full-time professional care
basket’ (toiletries for family members family members leading up to and in a hospital setting designed to more
supplied by local pharmacies) help through a patient’s final moments.
closely resemble home,” Verhoeve
make long-term visitation more
“It can be tough,” said Verhoeve, concluded.
TILLONSBURG
DISTRICT
MEMORIAL
HOSPITAL
association
The TDMH Volunteer Association
has
approximately
170
active
volunteers and 14 volunteens who
volunteer in most patient care areas
and in their business operations within
the hospital. The latter includes the
Coffee Coffee Corner, Gift Shop
and HELPP tickets. There are an
additional 285 fundraising volunteers
at Extravaganza.
The in-house volunteers and
volunteens come into the hospital
every day to carry out their assigned
duties. Just where can you find them
and what do they do? When you see
volunteers in the Coffee Corner and
Gift Shop, it is obvious what they
are doing. However many of the
volunteers, while no less important,
are less visible. Here are two examples (left to right) Sandy Kirkland, Jamie
of hospital volunteers in action.
Holman and volunteer George Dougherty
Flower and Plant Care Program
At the present time there are ten
volunteers in the Flower and Plant
Care group. When flower donations
arrive at the hospital, these volunteers
are called in and they re-arrange
and distribute flowers throughout
the specified areas of the hospital,
including patient rooms, front lobby,
rehabilitation services, dialysis and any
other area that would be appropriate.
Flower arrivals are unpredictable and
it is to the credit of these dedicated
volunteers that they are willing and
able to come in on short notice to
work their magic.
The care of plants is carried out on
a regular weekly schedule. They also
water, fertilize and provide general
plant care throughout the hospital.
The hospital is a brighter place as a
result of the work of our Flower and
Plant Care volunteers.
Perioperative Program
There are currently six active
volunteers in the Perioperative
Program. These volunteers support
staff in Day Surgery and the Outpatient
Clinics as well as porter patients
and assist team members with the
delivery of snacks. They also transport
stretchers to proper locations and
respond to calls as required.
Their help is invaluable as it allows
hospital staff to concentrate on direct
patient care.
TDMH ~ Page 5
The importance of donor recognition
It is in appreciation of the substantial support of our
donors that the TDMH Foundation has established
a Donor Recognition Program to acknowledge
individuals, businesses and service clubs for their
incredible support. The Program is designed to ensure
appropriate, consistent and timely recognition of donor
contributions.
Wall” which is located in the main lobby of the hospital.
Recognition is based on accumulative receipted
donations and therefore donors have the opportunity to
move up through the various levels. Photo opportunities
and feature articles in newsletters and our website are
also effective ways that the Foundation can recognize
donors and express our appreciation.
The “Donor Recognition Wall” also offers an opportunity
to celebrate and honour a loved one by making a
memorial donation and having their name displayed
on the wall. “It is important for me and my family to
honour my late husband James in this manner and, at
the same time, we are helping our local hospital. It’s
our way of saying thanks to the physicians and nurses
for the wonderful and compassionate care that James
received,” explained Mrs. Gail Wild.
For further information on how you, your loved one
or business/organization can be recognized on our
donor wall, please contact David Corner, Director of
Development at (519) 842-3611 ext. 311 or Loralee
Heemskerk, Development Officer at ext. 312.
Unveiling ceremony on June 22, 2010 (Jeff Helsdon)
“The Foundation feels that it is important to recognize
our donors for their generosity, thoughtfulness and
genuine care for the health of the community,”
explained Neil Tull, Board Chair.
All donors receive a personalized letter of thanks along
with a receipt for income tax purposes. Donors can
also be publicly recognized on our “Donor Recognition
TDMH ~ Page 6
Donor Wall Recognition Levels
Visionaries
$500,000+
Benefactors
$250,000 - $499,999
Founders
$100,000 - $249,999
Patrons
$ 50,000 - $ 99,999 Partners
$ 25,000 - $ 49,999
Associates
$ 10,000 - $ 24,999
Supporters
$ 5,000 - $ 9,999
Friends
$ 1,000 - $ 4,999
Book of Giving (donations less than $1,000)
Working together to build a Healthy Community
Message from Neil Tull,
Foundation Board Chair
It is my pleasure to be serving on the
Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital
Foundation in the capacity of Board Chair.
We have a committed group of volunteers
on our Board of Directors who are dedicated
to assisting the Hospital in providing quality
health care.
What is the purpose of the Foundation?
The TDMH Foundation is a registered charity
and our purpose is to raise funds for new and
replacement equipment, facility upgrades
and special projects of the Hospital.
Who benefits from your gift?
Everyone! Health care is everyone’s concern. As our
community grows and ages, the demands on our
Hospital services will grow. We want to be ready to
meet these growing needs. When you make a gift to
the TDMH Foundation, we are able to continue the
tradition of bringing advanced technology and quality
care closer to home.
We are deeply appreciative of your support.
Visit our new website at
www.tillsonburghospital.on.ca
and click on “Foundation.”
Donating is now made
easy using our secure
“on-line” process.
Sincerely,
Neil Tull
Board Chair
What’s on the horizon?
The TDMH Foundation will be
launching our first annual
“Angels of Giving” Christmas
Campaign to raise funds for
advanced central monitoring
system technology in our
Intensive Coronary Care Unit.
Watch for details in our local
paper in November.
TDMH ~ Page 7
Thank You... Thank You... Thank You... Thank You...
The Baldwin Place Golf Tournament on August 31st
donated $300.00. Pictured from left to right: Jack
Jesson, David Corner, Director of Development,
TDMH Foundation and Gerry Proceviat. Absent:
Eric Aldcroft
Mrs. Elizabeth Keszler (right) presented Eugene
Heath (left) Foundation Board member with a $1,000
donation in memory of her late husband John Keszler as well as in appreciation of the wonderful care
received by Dr. Bob Hevenor.
Dr. Paul and Josie Edwards present a cheque
for $5,000 to Devona Allin (right), Foundation
Board member. Donated dollars are used for the
purchase of new and replacement equipment,
facility upgrades and other special projects of the
Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital.
Liz Lessif (right), Convenor of the TDMH Volunteer
Association’s Hospital Equipment Lottery Project
for People (H.E.L.P.P.) Program and Madeline Csanyi
(centre), Ticket Sales, recently presented a cheque
to Cathy Dejaegher (left), R.N. for $1,400 towards
the purchase of feeding pumps.
Yes! I want to help our hospital by making a donation
Name (please print): _______________________________________________________________________________________
Address: _________________________________________________________________________________________________
City/Town: _____________________________________________ Postal Code: ______________________
I wish to donate: $ ___________________ by
cheque
VISA
MasterCard
Credit Card Number: ____________________________ Expiry Date: _________________
Please mail to: TDMH Foundation, 167 Rolph St., Tillsonburg ON N4G 3Y9
Or donatie on line at: www.tillsonburghospital.on.ca
Thank you for supporting the Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital
A receipt will be issued for tax purposes