A publication for Staff and Physicians of IH
A message from Martin McMahon, VP Integration & Strategic Service.
Ways you can stay engaged in your day-to-day.
Real people, real problems – working together on real solutions.
IH communities to receive 73 more substance use treatment beds.
New way to communicate, thanks to speech pathologist.
Floods, wildfires, and other disasters – are you ready?
New patient care tower a cornerstone of care.
Featuring Sonja Vanderwood, Sonographer at Royal Inland Hospital.
Staff submitted photos of places in our region.
Snapshots of our staff in action and trending health-care videos.
Executive Director Dave Harry on improving care for MHSU patients. Story p. 6.
The @InteriorHealth magazine is a monthly publication created by the Communications Department of Interior Health. Past issues of @InteriorHealth can be found on our website under About Us/Media Centre/Publications & Newsletters. If you have story ideas for future issues, please e-mail: IHAcommunications@interiorhealth.ca Deadline for submissions to the June 2016 @InteriorHealth magazine is May 13. Editors: Amanda Fisher, Breanna Pickett Designer: Kara Visinski IH Communications Contributors: Lisa Braman, Lesley Coates, Susan Duncan, Patrick Gall, Karl Hardt, Megan Kavanagh, Breanna Pickett, Erin Toews, Tracy Watson
Every person matters
Martin McMahon, VP Integration and Strategic Services
W
e need to ask ourselves from the perspective of the client, how can we better streamline our services to better meet their needs? How do we ensure our clients have access to services when they most need it?
If you look at Mental Health and Substance Use (MHSU) from a client’s perspective, there is a complex range of providers such as not-for-profits, primary care providers, specialty services, as well as different government agencies. Our current service model is a product of many years of changes that have come from governments over time. With the best of intentions, we have responded by adding new services. However, this has made it more complex and challenging for clients trying to enter the system. We have an opportunity to change how we provide MHSU services to better meet the needs of our clients and ensure access when they most need it. This is why Interior Health is focused on improving primary and community care outcomes and delivery for mental health and substance clients and has named it as one of our five key strategies for the next three years. The first important piece for the MHSU team is to try to simplify and expand access. This will mean looking at our current service structure and, for example, being more flexible with our hours of operation. The new substance use beds recently announced will improve access in a very tangible way. (Read more about the announcement on p. 8.) A second aspect of our change is how Interior Health works with primary care physicians. I hear it being expressed quite clearly and strongly that there’s an opportunity for us to work more closely with general practitioners. There are opportunities to better integrate our specialist programs with primary care providers that will not only support integrated care, but that will benefit the care of the client. The third opportunity for change centres on the need to talk about "our" mental health. Not that long ago, the number one reason for work absence was related to musculoskeletal injuries. The number one reason for absence now is related to issues of mental health and wellbeing. We need to be willing to openly challenge the stigma associated with mental health and recognize that it impacts our staff, our families and friends, and our clients. There are many ways we can address these challenges, and there are many things we can do, but most of them involve a combination of common sense and a passion to make it better. I look forward to working with you.
B
etty loves her son unconditionally and she’s there for him when he needs her, even in the toughest of times. But sometimes the circumstances are just too big to handle alone. That’s when a parent expects help will be available from professionals.
Unfortunately, the response is not always what a desperate person expects. Betty’s son struggles with drug addiction and he wants to get clean. Imagine the relief a mother feels when the 23-year-old son she has worried about for eight years finally tells her he is ready to get help. And then how her hopes crash when the help she is hoping for isn’t readily available. Betty called IH Mental Health and Substance Use (MHSU) looking for help for her son. The family met with an intake counsellor the very next day. Her son was placed on a waiting list and referred to an outpatient counselling group that met four times a week. The parents were referred to a two-part education session that met once a month and a support group that met monthly. Betty’s son went to the group sessions, but he was discouraged. “I kept telling him to hang in there; we have to work with the system to get you what you really need,” says Betty. “But at the same time I was also feeling frustrated.” Both son and family felt they needed something more intensive. “As parents, we needed to know how to care for him at that moment and what we could do to help keep him safe while he waited for treatment. We needed help to navigate the system, understand our options and the timelines so we could prepare, but instead we had to wait.” However, when Betty found out her son was using heroin and fentanyl, she was afraid for his life after hearing so much about fentanyl being deadly. She felt she couldn’t wait any longer. In the end, Betty took her son to a private facility where he was admitted for detox and treatment. This treatment comes at a huge cost and is not something Betty can easily afford. But she can’t contemplate the alternative, which she fears would be burying her son.
Her disappointment with the system is understandable. Dave Harrhy, Interior Health’s Executive Director of Mental Health and Substance Use, met with Betty to discuss her experience. “There are huge demands on the MHSU system across the country,” says Dave. “Our teams are responding as best they can, and I can appreciate that when someone is in crisis and/or in pain, our response may not be enough when it comes to what families hope for and expect. “The needs of the clients can be very complex, especially for those with serious substance use issues that may also be dealing with a co-occurring mental illness. We know there are barriers to accessing care and we are making it a priority to reduce those barriers.” These are the difficult issues Interior Health is working on with the intent of finding real solutions. It’s why IH is focusing additional resources towards improving services for mental health and substance use clients through our Five Key Strategies for 2016-2018.
“We need to be there for families and individuals when they are ready to get help. We all know that timely intervention is crucial when people are severely addicted to life-threatening substances and are asking for help,” adds Dave. In addition to timely access, Dave says it’s crucial that we work to remove the stigma around mental health and substance use. All families and individuals should be treated with compassion and caring when they reach out for help. By removing stigma, we make it easier for people to ask for help. And when that request for help comes in, we owe it to them to demonstrate understanding and provide access to programs and support. There are programs in place, both through community agencies and IH, that will support people as an interim measure until longer-term treatment options are available. These supports will strengthen going forward as resources are directed toward this area of care. For example, 73 new substance use treatment beds were announced last month for communities throughout Interior Health. (See next page for more details.)
David Harrhy, Executive Director of Mental Health and Substance Use
Betty says she is more hopeful about the system today, with MHSU as an identified priority for Interior Health. “I hope this focus can help improve the system. I hope that as the strategy moves forward there are opportunities for stakeholders to have input. Talk to families, talk to clients, talk to the community about their experiences – that is how to find the real problems and the first step to finding solutions.” Dave takes Betty’s solution to heart and has invited her to join the Mental Wellness Advisory Committee, a group of people with lived experience whose input will influence the redesign of the system of care. As for Betty’s son – he continues to work on his recovery. He just celebrated 90 days clean and sober and Betty couldn’t be more proud of him.
More MHSU Beds in IH
A
n additional 73 substance use treatment beds were announced on April 6, 2016, for communities throughout Interior Health.
The new beds will support and enhance existing substance use treatment services and allow IH to better provide integrated specialized care planning and services in collaboration with clients and their families who have complex substance use issues. Of the 73 beds, 57 will be support recovery beds providing clients a safe, substance-free setting while they await residential treatment, return from residential treatment, or transition to a more stable lifestyle. The remaining 16 beds will be withdrawal management beds (detox) supporting adults (12 beds) and youth (four beds) through the early stages of withdrawal from alcohol and/or other substances. The beds will be located in several communities throughout IH. The exact locations will be determined through the competitive procurement process.
O
ver the telephone, Walter Trudeau sounds like a man with a zest for living. “I feel really good. Life is good,” says the 80-year-old Kelowna resident.
Most of us wouldn’t expect a person in Walter’s position to have such an upbeat manner, but he is amazing in many ways. First, he is speaking over the telephone and his words sound clear and strong. Yet, he is not conversing in the way most of us do. Walter has no larynx (vocal box). He had a laryngectomy almost three years ago due to esophageal cancer that spread to his larynx. He now speaks with the help of an indwelling voice prosthesis. A laryngectomy is the removal of the larynx and separation of the airway from the mouth, nose, and esophagus. The laryngectomee breathes through an opening in the neck called a stoma. With the help of Kelowna Speech Language Pathologist Saskia Makela, Walter found the right prosthesis for him and learned how to speak again. Saskia is the only BC SLP outside Victoria and the Lower Mainland specially trained to work with this population of patients. She says she loves the work. Walter and his wife Jenine are grateful for Saskia and her dedication to making sure her patients are able to communicate successfully. “She is up to date with the latest information
assessing answer challenge
technology,” explains Walter. “We’ve tried several different methods and came up with a really good one for me.” He also attends the support group Saskia set up in November, called the Laryngectomee Connection. Patients from as far away as Merritt, Falkland, Keremeos, Kelowna, and Penticton get together bi-monthly for education and discussion of similar experiences. Saskia welcomes any laryngectomee (also medically identified as a neck breather) to this group. “We have had guest speakers such as an accountant to talk about the disability tax available and a paramedic who discussed how to ensure emergency responders know of their condition because they won’t be able to get an airway the usual way,” says Saskia. Walter is one of about 20-25 larynectomy patients in Saskia’s area. His wife recalls the day he came home with his prosthesis that allowed him to speak again. “When he came home, he said hello to our little grandchildren and they were so excited. They ran about the house saying ‘Grandpa can talk, Grandpa can talk.’ ” Jenine, a retired nurse, says that from the start they shared what they learned from Saskia with their family, including the young ones. By showing them the stoma, his tube feeding and voice training, everyone just viewed it as a normal part of Walter’s life. Saskia also shares her expertise with other health-care providers who may be working with a laryngectomee. Last month, she was in Penticton providing education to community and acute care respiratory therapists as three new laryngectomee patients had recently been transferred to their hospital and community. It’s not easy for anyone to be left without a voice box, but the right approach is everything, says Jenine. “With Walter’s attitude, we decided it’s how we accept it. We are going to do as much as we can while we can and enjoy many more years together.” And living as a laryngectomee is just a small part of Walter’s life. “I go golfing. We snowshoe at Big White. We travel a bit. We live a pretty active life,” he says. May is Speech & Hearing Month. Interior Health speech language pathologists and audiologists are experts in treatment of communication, swallowing or hearing problems. Communication touches every aspect of our lives, no matter what we do, where we live or how old we are.
Speech Language Pathologist Saskia Makela works with Kelowna resident Walter Trudeau to make sure he has the best prosthesis for his communication needs. Walter had his larynx surgically removed in July 2013 after cancer.
These are some of the products a laryngectomy patient may use for his or her communication needs. They are indwelling voice prostheses and other supplies for measuring and cleaning the prosthesis.
Top tips to be prepared
N
o one ever wants to think about disaster striking, but the simple truth of the matter is we are all vulnerable to becoming victims of some type of natural disaster or emergency situation. If that should happen, it is crucial to be prepared.
“According to reports, thousands of people in B.C. are affected by disasters each and every year, especially while at work,” says Kevin Davidson, Health Emergency Management Coordinator, IH Central. “The best way to prepare yourself is to make sure you have reviewed and practised your site’s Emergency Response Plan. This can go a long way toward reducing the fear that can arise from the unknown and help to mitigate personal injury, loss of life, and damage to property and infrastructure.” While a disaster or emergency can happen at any time of the year, weather during our spring and summer months creates a higher risk for floods, wildfires, or other natural disasters – each of which could impact IH operations and the services we provide. For instance, hospitals, residential care homes, and health centres may be inoperable due to damage. Hospitals, in particular, may be overwhelmed by the volume of patients presenting themselves as a result of the disaster. In some cases, facilities may be limited in the services they can provide due to lack of power, water, and/or available staff. Or, staff may not be able to access their work facility due to road closures. “To be ‘emergency prepared’ ensures that you are able to act appropriately if there is an emergency or disruption of normal services,” says Samantha Read, Junior Coordinator/Health Emergency Management Analyst. “Everyone at IH should become familiar with evacuation, shelter, shelter-in-place, and lockdown procedures to ensure life safety and mitigate negative impacts on a facility’s ability to function during an emergency.” It is impossible to prevent a disaster or an emergency from occurring; however, you can take steps to ensure you are as prepared as possible to cope with them when they do occur. Emergency Response Checklist: Review your site’s Emergency Response Plan. Understand your role during a Code Red (fire), Code Green (evacuation), and Code Orange (mass casualties). Review the emergency response Did You Know sheet for quick tips. Review the emergency response What If? scenarios sheet for alternative work options. Get to know the HEM team and schedule an emergency response training session with your emergency preparedness coordinators in IH Central, West, and East. The HEM team is preparing for the upcoming emergency response season – are you? L-R: Ryan Kuhn, HEM Coordinator, IH East; Samantha Read, Junior Coordinator/HEM Analyst; Rick Erland, HEM Director; Grace Abbate, Program Support; Colin Swan, HEM Coordinator, IH West; Dan Ferguson, Manager, Strategic Services; and Kevin Davidson, HEM Coordinator, IH Central.
“Ultimately, even the best preparedness cannot prevent emergencies from occurring, but it can lessen the impact they have and reduce the recovery time,” says Samantha. “By providing readily available resources and frequent training, the IH Health Emergency Management team has made it a priority for all employees to feel confident when faced with any crisis situation .” Learn more at Emergency Response & Planning on InsideNet.
A new $312.5-million patient care tower starts construction at PRH this summer.
T
he City of Penticton was incorporated in 1948 and the following decades were busy with construction including the current Penticton Regional Hospital (PRH), which opened its doors in 1953. The last additions at PRH occurred 25 years ago. This summer, construction will begin on the next generation of patient care at PRH. “When I arrived at PRH in 2012, I quickly realized how strongly the communities we serve value their regional hospital,” says Lori Motluk, Executive Director, Acute, North and South Okanagan. “A new patient care tower means that we can provide our communities with quality care as we move into the next decade.”
with ensuring the design meets current clinical standards, establishing good flows for patients, staff and equipment, and other clinical-related decisions. They also have a voice in selecting final design elements like interior colours, fabrics, and other materials. “It is important that those who will be working in our new building have this opportunity to contribute directly to the project,” adds Lori. A six-level parkade is also part of this project. Connected to the tower, the parkade will provide direct public access to Level 1 and Level 2. For non-emergencies, there is a covered ambulance and medi-van pick-up/drop-off in a discreet, nonpublic zone, further enhancing patient privacy and dignity.
A contract with EllisDon Infrastructure was finalized in early April, clearing the way for work to start. Having the contract in place also means more details about the project are available.
Community support helped drive the expansion of PRH and its support did not end with the project’s approval. Donations from community members and businesses are boosting the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation’s campaign to raise $20 million for new medical equipment and supports for the tower.
The new tower is going to offer six floors of health-care services plus a rooftop helipad. At 26,170 square metres, the tower will be almost five times the size of the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre. The building is designed to maximize natural light and provides outdoor spaces for employees, patients, and visitors.
“This is the most ambitious campaign in the history of our Foundation,” says Janice Perrino, Executive Director. “I often say that we will never build another hospital in our generation and I think that is resonating. People want to be a part of the excitement and they want to see the best hospital for their community.”
Collaborative design sessions with hospital employees and the project team are underway and will continue throughout the summer. This means employees are directly involved
For a look inside the tower, watch EllisDon’s video on our YouTube channel or visit the photo gallery on Building Patient Care.
Clinical Services Building at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops opening later this year. Also at RIH, development of a business plan for a new patient care tower is underway.
Intensive Care Unit at East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook (April 2016).
Inpatient bed expansion of the Polson Tower at Vernon Jubilee Hospital (Jan. 2016).
Interior Heart and Surgical Centre at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) including surgical services (Sept. 2015); maternity unit (March 2016), and Dr. Walter Anderson Building (May 2012).
Kelowna Vernon Hospitals Project including the Polson Tower at VJH (2011); and Centennial Building (2012) and Clinical Academic Campus (2010) at KGH.
To learn more about capital projects at Interior Health, visit the Building for Better Health on our public website.
Sonja Vanderwood, Medical Sonographer @IH: What is your role in IH? My role at Royal Inland Hospital is in the Diagnostic Imaging (DI) department. I am a General and Cardiac Sonographer. I graduated from BCIT in 2014 and was hired immediately at RIH.
@IH: Why is sonography important?
Sonography plays an important role in diagnosing a medical condition. Our equipment directs sound waves into a patient’s body to assess and support a diagnosis. This additional information complements the clinical information obtained by other health professionals involved in the case.
@IH: What does this mean for patients?
It is important to clients as it helps with diagnosing malignancies without the use of radiation and, to date, there is no proof of adverse effects of ultrasound. We are a great first step in the complex process of diagnosing patients.
@IH: What is exciting about your work? What makes for a great day? My work day is always diverse. Ultrasound has a large spectrum of tests that we perform using many different techniques and different frequency probes. From abdominal ultrasounds to obstetrics to carotid artery Doppler studies, our work days are never the same. On an average day, we perform six to 10 different types of exams. This variation in work days always keep things exciting!
@IH: What do you like best about where you work?
BCIT is the only post-secondary education institution in B.C. that offers the Diagnostic Medical Sonographer program. A new grad must write two national exams administered by Sonography Canada to hold the title of Certified Registered Generalist Sonographer (CRGS). A new grad focused on cardiac ultrasound must write two national exams administered by Sonography Canada to hold the title of Would you recommend a career in sonography? Certified Registered Cardiac Sonographer (CRCS). Sonja has both.
The best thing about where I work is the team environment that the ultrasound department has developed. While we are an extremely busy department, we always find time to laugh. Furthermore, everyone in the department is always more than willing to help out their fellow sonographers, making the department an excellent place to work.
@IH:
Lots of patients ask about my job as a potential career for them. I recommend it for a number of reasons including the fact there are so many job opportunities in this field. You can literally pick where you work. The hours are also great and the salary is definitely rewarding.
Special note: Employee referrals are among the top three
sources of where new hires hear about careers with Interior Health.
Royal Inland Hospital, Kamloops
20
Sonographers working at Royal Inland Hospital
Royal Inland Hospital, Diagnostic Imaging.
2.5
Years it takes to become a sonographer
$27-$37
10
Pieces of ultrasound equipment on-site
Average starting salary range per hour
Stats gathered from 2015-2016 data. Nominate a colleague, manager, or site for a future spotlight here.
8-15
Ultrasound scans per sonographer per day
Castlegar Submitted by: Betty Kennedy-Popoff
Lake Country Submitted by: JoAnn Chee Cranbrook Submitted by: Andy Chapel
Kamloops Submitted by: Lucy Lindros
Where We Live & Work ... A Spotlight on Our Communities Covering more than 215,000 square kilometres, Interior Health is diverse in nature and composed of vibrant urban centres and unique rural communities. Photos are submitted by employees and posted to the InsideNet. Select photos are featured in @IH.
Submit your photos of the beautiful places that make up IH on InsideNet Spotlight Photos.
Dedicated efforts of East Kootenay Regional Hospital staff, physicians, plant services, support staff, and managers allowed for a smooth transition into the new, state-of-the-art Intensive Care Unit on April 14. Back row, L-R: Toni Nicdao, Charlene Gipman (Intensive Care Unit RNs) and Leslie English (Intensive Care Unit, Patient Care Coordinator). Front row, L-R: Jannelle Gottschalk (Intensive Care Unit, Patient Care Coordinator) and Celina Fletcher (Intensive Care Unit RN).
David Lloyd Jones care home resident Lore Burger models her beautifully decorated summer hat. Residents at the care home in Kelowna recently got together to decorate summer hats as part of their ongoing, colourful spring/summer leisure activities.
RN Joanne Flowers (foreground) and LPN Wilna Ruttan use fire extinguishers on a smouldering fire during emergency preparedness training at Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital’s skills fair in Clearwater on April 6. Looking on (from left) are LPN Dawn Spencer and RN Geri Neufeld. Learn more about your site emergency response plan on InsideNet.
Knowledge Network's award-winning show, Emergency Room: Life and Death at VGH, probes health-care issues affecting B.C. through the lens of the doctors, hospital staff, and other health professionals. Learn more at www.knowledge.ca/er.
This black, teacup poodle named Nala is making everyone smile at a nursing home in Minnesota. She scurries from room to room, even riding the elevator by herself, to see her friends. Learn more about volunteering with pets at IH at www.interiorhealth.ca > About Us > Volunteer @ Interior Health.
Health Minister Terry Lake announces the implementation of a new community paramedicine program for 73 rural communities in B.C., including 31 within Interior Health. The announcement signals the next phase of an innovative partnership with BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS). Under the program, BCEHS paramedics will provide basic health-care services, within their scope of practice, in partnership with local health-care providers. Read the full news release for more information.