A publication for Staff and Physicians of IH
New partners in rural health care
A message from Chris Mazurkewich, Interior Health’s CEO.
Ways you can stay engaged in your day-to-day work.
Senior Leadership Team experiences cultural awareness training.
Aboriginal communities share stories with CEO, IH Board Chair.
Regional OR helps patients have procedures sooner.
Research conference aims to improve health delivery to rural areas.
New role for paramedics will help fill gaps in rural care.
Overdose emergency requires cross-portfolio collaboration.
Introducing Ulkatcho, the second of eight Nation profiles.
Snapshots of our staff in action and trending health-care videos.
PGH Manager Cherie Whittaker with Community Paramedic Karen Reader. Story p. 15.
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 Summer 2016 @InteriorHealth magazine is June 10. Editors: Amanda Fisher, Breanna Pickett Designer: Kara Visinski IH Communications Contributors: Lesley Coates, Susan Duncan, Patrick Gall, Karl Hardt, Megan Kavanagh, Breanna Pickett, Erin Toews, Tracy Watson
Every person matters
President & CEO Chris Mazurkewich
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n February, I underwent cataract surgery for the second time in my life.
The first time was two years ago, when I had one eye corrected. This time, for the second eye, was no less unnerving. Here I was, putting my eyesight into someone else’s hands. I was at my most vulnerable and I knew that a mistake could cause permanent damage. I was comforted when the nurses and surgeons asked my name and what I was there for, marking the eye that required correction, as I mentally did my surgical safety checklist. They were calm, competent, and extremely professional. At the end of the day, the experience was positive. In fact, I was given the gift of sight! It provided me with the perspective of being both a leader within Interior Health and one of the patients we serve. I went in to my surgical procedure with the full knowledge of a health-care professional as my background. I understood what my surgeons and nurses were doing and why, and I was confident in their skills. The vast majority of our patients don’t have the benefit of that knowledge. Can you imagine the trepidation they face about what they don’t know? Here’s what we all know – wait times for some elective surgeries are simply too long. That’s why we’re focusing on improving timely access to appropriately scheduled elective surgery as one of Interior Health’s five key strategies. Our challenge is to achieve the Province’s ultimate goal of seeing 95 per cent of scheduled surgeries completed within 26 weeks. This won’t be easy. There are no silver bullets with the answers. It will require both short-term and long-term planning to help us build capacity and increase volumes at our facilities. This will involve changing the system itself and improving our processes within the system of care. We’ll need to become more efficient and use our existing resources creatively to come up with solutions that will benefit patients.
We’re well on the road to some of those solutions, such as the regional operating room that has been created at Kelowna General Hospital. Surgeons from Vernon and Penticton, and previously Kamloops, are travelling to KGH to take advantage of the resources available at the new Interior Heart and Surgical Centre so that we can complete procedures on patients waiting the longest for care. Read more about that on page 10. There are other plans in the works, such as exploring the idea of group practices, in partnership with our physicians. Do you remember the old days of lining up at the bank teller, where each line advanced at a different pace, depending on the kinds of transactions ahead of you? It became much faster when banks created one queue, and you saw the next available teller. Group practices in which surgeries have a single referral point is the same idea, and it’s one worth exploring for our patients. My mother-in-law had cataracts and didn’t even know she needed surgery until we realized she couldn’t see our daughter on stage at her graduation. My mother-in-law’s quality of life improved when her cataracts were successfully removed, giving back her full vision. There have been so many advances in surgery over the years that most procedures no longer require a lengthy hospital stay. Most people recuperate more comfortably at home when they have the supports in place for recovery, such as follow up with a general practitioner and rehabilitation strategies, than staying in a hospital. That’s why the surgical strategy goes hand in hand with our other key strategies that see us shifting care from hospitals to the community – care that can be safely and effectively delivered in a non-hospital inpatient setting. There are improvements to be made, and I think that’s what most people are seeking – for Interior Health to keep improving and making the system better. We do well. We can do better. Our patients deserve no less.
In May, Interior Health's Senior Executive Team participated in Cultural Safety: A People’s Story, an Aboriginal Cultural Safety learning program.
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t’s not just policy, quality, and finance on the table when Interior Health’s Senior Executive Team (SET) meets to discuss how best to deliver the right health care for all people in the B.C. Interior.
In May, the leadership team participated in a lesson on Aboriginal Cultural Safety, giving them insight into the education opportunity being offered to Interior Health employees. Vanessa Mitchell, IH’s Aboriginal Cultural Safety Educator within Aboriginal Health, developed the program in response to the No. 1 strategic priority of the 2015-2019 Aboriginal Health & Wellness Strategy to “advance cultural competency and cultural safety within Interior Health.” Vanessa’s education and personal experiences made her the ideal candidate to offer staff learning opportunities related to culturally safe health care from an Aboriginal perspective. Contact Vanessa to arrange a learning session for your team. The session, Cultural Safety: A People’s Story, provides an understanding of a people’s story, the Aboriginal landscape in the Interior, the power imbalances at play, and how that impacts present day relations in institutional settings.
I was already aware that Aboriginal patients are often uncomfortable in institutional settings like hospitals, which is why we have introduced Aboriginal patient navigators and traditional native artwork at many of our sites. However, this session brought home the importance of having all our employees really understand the history of First Nations and Metis people and why all care must be provided in a respectful and culturally sensitive way.
This unique educational opportunity was highly engaging. Vanessa emphasized the need for us to view Aboriginal healthcare and wellness through a patient and family centred lens. More specifically that shifting from cultural awareness to competence is essential in order for us to provide a culturally sensitive and safe environment that reflects the unique culture and experiences of our Aboriginal communities.
The insight I was given into the deep and rich history of Aboriginal people and the way that generations have suffered has caused me to reflect on what practical steps I might be able to take that will make a difference.
That government sanctioned oppression of Aboriginal persons is quite a modern post-colonial problem in Canada, one that could potentially have been avoided.
The multi-generational impact of discrimination that occurred for Aboriginal people resonated with me the most. I was particularly struck by the continuing impact on subsequent generations by the residential school experience of their parents and their grandparents. What also resonated was hearing the voice of the community at the session. The online competency training was valuable, but having a member of a First Nation share their story in person to hear tones, emotion, and see the body language in person was compelling.
The depth of history behind the issues that our Aboriginal people face was most intriguing. After the session, I felt hopeful that as awareness increases we can truly make a difference to shift our relationship with our Aboriginal people and positively impact their lives in a meaningful way (meaningful from their perspective).
Having taken the Indigenous Cultural Competency training offered by the Provincial Health Services Authority, I was not surprised by anything I learned at the session. However, I would say that I left the day more informed. In particular, I came away realizing how much local nation differences matter when it comes to cultural safety. I left the session even more convinced of how important it is to be continuously mindful of what “Every Person Matters� means as we partner with our Aboriginal communities to deliver health services.
One important aspect I learned was that strong relationships with Aboriginal persons are based on spending time getting to know who that individual is. For example, what their life story is, who their family is, why they live where they do, etc. This can’t be overlooked or rushed.
I found the 1910 letter from three Interior B.C. chiefs to the prime minister fascinating. The chiefs made reasonable requests in a diplomatic and respectful manner for things they believed had been previously agreed to. Fast forward 100 plus years and the letter is still largely applicable. Is IH, you and me, listening and accommodating today?
First-hand stories W
hen CEO Chris Mazurkewich travelled to eight Secwepemc and Tsilhqot’in communities in mid May, he carried with him a refreshed understanding of the history of Aboriginal clients within Interior Health. In April, Chris completed the Indigenous Cultural Safety Training through PHSA and then participated in the learning opportunity for SET on May 9 with IH’s Aboriginal Cultural Safety Educator Vanessa Mitchell. The session highlighted the importance of providing culturally competent and safe health care to Aboriginal populations. One week later, he travelled with IH Board Chair Erwin Malzer and members of the Aboriginal Health team to meet with First Nations leaders in their own communities. Both Erwin and Chris came away from the tour enthusiastic about the opportunities ahead to shift health outcomes in a positive direction for Aboriginal populations within IH. Chiefs, elders, health-care staff, and community members of Bonaparte (St’uxwtews), Alkali Lake (Es’etemc), Toosey, Yunesit’in (Stone), Nemiah (Xeni), Anaham (Tl’etinqox), Dog Creek/ Canoe Creek, and Three Corners Health Centre in Williams Lake were welcoming and informative hosts over the three-day engagement opportunity.
for us to respond to the health needs outlined by the Aboriginal leaders and align and focus our resources to appropriately assist First Nations in shifting health outcomes for their populations.” A main priority for Interior Health, and one of our five key strategies for 2016-2018, is implementing a renewed system of care for rural B.C., which includes continuing to build relationships with Aboriginal partners to ensure health care is provided in a culturally safe and sensitive way. Erwin also expressed appreciation to the Secwepemc and Tsilhqot’in chiefs and community members for the invitation to visit their communities. “I thoroughly enjoyed the site tours,” he says. “It gave me a much deeper understanding of the health-care challenges of our First Nations. It also reinforces my view that meaningful improvements in improving patient empathy, more functional use of enabling technology, virtual health services, and integrated record systems will go a long way in making up for time and distance from centralized health facilities and professionals.” Erwin added that improved access and service quality across rural and remote communities will be equally relevant to non-Aboriginal remote locations, which will also benefit from the increased focus of health resources to rural B.C. over the next three years.
Travelling the rugged back roads of the Chilcotin also provided the Aboriginal Health Director Brad health leaders with a firsthand Anderson highlighted the IH CEO Chris Mazurkewich, right, meets with Chief Joe importance of learning about look at the barriers that exist for Alphonse of Tl’etinqox (Anaham), left, and Connie First Nations people in accessing people who face challenges in medical services, along with insight Jasper, Tsilhqot’in Health Transformation Coordinator. accessing health care. into the commitment of health professionals who regularly drive to remote and rural “We have an opportunity for some very special legacy work that communities to provide care. will impact generations to come if we continue to collaborate and work as partners The one-to-one meetings in each community resulted with Aboriginal people in enlightening conversations. to find the best ways, together, to improve “It was a real eye opener to hear directly from communities their health outcomes,” and get a sense of the geography,” says Chris. “It is important says Brad.
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Some of the team at Kelowna General Hospital who help make the regional operating room a reality for patients and visiting surgeons (L-R): Darrell Hopegood, OR LPN; Kristi Jensen, RN; Dr. Dave Boyce, orthopedic surgeon; Jonas Shoemaker, RN Team Leader; Dr. Anita Sanan, anesthesiologist; and Dr. Mike Appleby, surgical assistant.
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ody Olivier didn’t hesitate.
For nearly two years, the Vernon man had been waiting for knee replacement surgery on his right knee. He knew from the outset that the wait may be long and was resigned to the fact. Nonetheless, it was still discouraging when Lody was advised one day, a year and a half into his wait, that it might be another year before he would get called. Then, a month later, Lody received another call and was asked if he’d be willing to travel to Kelowna General Hospital for his procedure. “Absolutely!” he recalls. “Kelowna is just 35 minutes up the road. To have the operation over and done with in Kelowna – not a problem. Let’s do it.” Lody, 67, was one of the first patients to take advantage of Interior Health’s regional operating room, located in the Interior Heart and Surgical Centre at KGH. The regional OR is one component of IH’s surgical strategy – to improve timely access to appropriately scheduled elective surgery. It’s one of IH’s five key strategies for 2016-2018. IH recognized that innovative solutions were needed to meet the Province’s ultimate goal of seeing 95 per cent of scheduled surgeries completed within 26 weeks, says Ben Rhebergen, who is leading the surgical strategy work. “Opening an OR at KGH with access to surgery for both local patients and for patients from outside of Kelowna allowed our surgeons to perform extra surgeries and reduce wait times for our longest-waiting patients,” Ben explains. “This option was chosen as it allowed us to efficiently use the resources that were available to us to best serve our patients and match system capacity to demand.” Since June 2015, surgeons from Vernon, Penticton, and, for a time, Kamloops have travelled to KGH to take advantage of the regional OR. Initially, an OR that would have been closed over summer was kept open to provide the choice for long-waiting
patients to have their procedures. It was so successful that a decision was made to continue beyond summer by equipping an additional OR in the IHSC. Procedures have included total hip, knee, and shoulder replacements; hernia repairs; back surgery; shoulder repairs; sinus surgery; and ear, nose, and throat surgery. “Additional instruments were purchased to accommodate the visiting surgeons,” says Nancy Thomas, the regional OR coordinator, who has some 30 years of perioperative nursing experience. “Processes were developed for the flow of patients to minimize their travel to Kelowna. Work began to standardize the supplies, instruments, and equipment between the different surgeons to improve efficiencies.” Nancy says the biggest challenge for her and team leader Jonas Shoemaker is coordinating the resources and clinical team for the surgeons and patients, recognizing their need for travel and their preferences in the operating room. But the shared learnings that have come from bringing together so many varied talents has far outweighed any coordination headaches. “They all want what’s best for the patients,” Nancy says. A total of 641 procedures have been done in the regional OR. “Those are patients that might not have had surgery as quickly.” Dr. Paul Dooley is one of the surgeons from Vernon who has travelled to Kelowna to treat patients in the regional OR, including Lody Olivier. While Dr. Dooley is pleased to see that resources have been targeted to help reduce wait times for patients, he’s equally clear that his preference would be to have the necessary resources in his own community, so that patients don’t need to travel – particularly those who are elderly or whose family members or spouses are not easily able to accompany them to Kelowna without added cost. Ultimately, having care closer to home is what’s best for patients.
“That being said, the additional resources have allowed more surgeries to be completed. We have been able to address wait lists,” he says. “From a patient’s perspective, it’s good news. From a wait list perspective, it’s helpful. Is it an ideal solution? No. But the quality of care in the regional OR has been exceptional. The actual surgical experience at Kelowna has been great.”
Lody and Monica Olivier enjoy their horses on rural property in Vernon.
That’s a sentiment echoed wholeheartedly by Lody. He went home a day and a half after his procedure last June, after a “fabulous experience” from the care team at KGH. Now, he’s back to his full-time job as a supervisor at Home Depot, and tending to his horses with wife Monica on his five-acre spread near Vernon. And, perhaps most importantly, he’s playing soccer with his four grandchildren again. “Before the surgery, I asked my surgeon, ‘Am I going to be able to kick a soccer ball after all this?’ He said, ‘You won’t be able to play in FIFA, but you will be able to kick a soccer ball.’ And I do,” Lody says. “I would have gone further for my surgery, if need be. This was incredible.”
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o build intersections between diverse communities by fostering compassionate understanding and connectedness.
A powerful statement. And one that IH, along with other community partners, is committed to supporting. In April, IH hosted the Rural Health Services Research Conference (RHSRC) in partnership with Thompson Rivers University (TRU), First Nations Health Authority, Rural Health Services Research Network of BC, and Michael Smith Foundation of Health Research (MSFHR). More than 100 participants attended including health-care professionals, researchers, educators, and community members. “We had a diverse range of participants all with a common interest in improving health-service delivery to rural areas,” says Holly Buhler, IH Research Analyst. “The conference program provided a number of opportunities for us to connect, build partnerships, and learn from one another.” The two-day conference brought together Aboriginal community members and health-care professionals who were encouraged to engage in open and meaningful dialogue to build and maintain relationships. “There was a very moving and powerful World Café presentation that illustrated through group participation how Aboriginal culture differs from western culture,” says Kim Barnes, IH Research Program Assistant. “It showed us how our cultures can learn from one another for the betterment of our children and future generations.”
In her presentation, Dr. Finegood discussed how an individual’s ability to succeed in a complex system, like the health-care system, depends on the level of complexity they face, and their capacity to deal with that complexity. “Building strong and healthy relationships, something we are striving for with conferences like this, can both decrease complexity and increase capacity within these systems,” says Holly. Community members from around IH also participated in the conference, adding a well-rounded lens to the discussion. Bill Day, a resident of Princeton and a member of the Support Our Health Care (SOHC) Society, was one of these people. “I came to participate in this conference because I believe strongly in continued, strengthened democratization of public service medicine and social services,” explains Bill. “I see the need for, and value of, communication among community-based organizations in the IH territory.” Bill says he will take what he has learned and the contacts he has made back to Princeton. “We [SOHC] are already pursuing some contacts made at the conference, particularly regarding services to seniors. And, going forward, we are ready to participate enthusiastically in cooperative communication with other community organizations.”
Other workshops in the conference included Aboriginal Elder speakers from the Nakazdli and Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc First Nations, as well as break-out sessions, networking, poster presentations, and PechaKucha slide show presentations.
The next Rural Health Services Research Conference will be held in 2018. Until then, conference participants were encouraged to take what they learned back to their colleagues and communities, share ideas, and support new ways to better meet the needs of our rural communities.
Keynote speaker Dr. Diane Finegood, President and MSFHR CEO, presented on building and maintaining relationships to improve the effectiveness and functioning of the health system.
More information is available in the 2016 Rural Health Services Research Conference program and on the Research web page on InsideNet, or by contacting Kim Barnes.
Dr. Rod McCormick, TRU Research Chair in Aboriginal Child and Maternal Health, and Katrina Plamondon, IH Research Department Regional Practice Lead, involved participants in an inspiring presentation where cultural differences were explored.
Community members like Bill Day value the importance of health research to improve health service delivery to rural communities like Princeton.
IH Research Department (L-R): Katrina Plamondon, Wendy Petillion, Holly Buhler, Betty Brown, Deanne Taylor, Kim Barnes, Ursula Kaeser, and Karin Maiwald.
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ife in the small town of Princeton has taken hold of BC Ambulance Unit Chief Karen Reader in a way she didn’t expect when she came here one year ago. Although she regularly travels back to the family home in Langley where her daughter is finishing high school, she has adopted Princeton as her new home.
identify and fill gaps. It’s a role that can be highly tailored to suit the needs of specific communities, because we know those needs are different.”
And with this new home has come a unique new job: Karen is one of B.C.’s first community paramedics.
“The local Support Our Health Care society is very pleased to see this program come to Princeton. It promises to be a huge addition to our model of health care, especially for seniors and other individuals in our community who have difficulty accessing important health-care services,” says Ed Staples, president of the community-based organization.
“The great thing about Princeton is that the people are very forward-thinking,” says Karen. “They are always looking at ways to improve health care here. “The health-care team and local health-care society have been great about facilitating my participation in different groups. Anywhere that was a potential good contact for me, introductions were made. I’ve been able to work with those groups to figure out what is needed here specific to Princeton, to really tailor this new role to the community.”
In both Princeton and Creston, word of the new resource has been well received by residents.
“Princeton has had the opportunity to be a prototype. This will result in a program that meets the needs of our community and will provide leadership for other communities as this important program is launched across B.C.”
Read the full news release for more information about the A paramedic since 2002, Karen had accepted the Princeton implementation of community paramedicine in B.C. and to Unit Chief posting in June 2015. Two months later, view the list of communities where it will be implemented. the Province announced that Princeton and Creston in Interior Health would be two of the nine prototype communities in the new Community Paramedicine Initiative, a program that will provide British Columbians in rural and remote communities with better access to primary health care. This April, the Province announced the implementation in 73 communities across B.C. “I was pretty excited about taking on the project and now I will be one of several regional training officers helping new communities get up and running,” says Karen. Although still under development, her new role has already allowed Karen to build relationships and become well-integrated in the health-care system that serves the small town. She is part of hospital discharge planning meetings and participates in the area’s health-care society. “Community paramedics don’t replace or overlap the work of community health staff, nurse practitioners or physicians. What they are is an adjunctive person,” explains Princeton General Hospital Manager Cherie Whittaker. “Under the direction of community health, Karen will be able to take on some of that role for designated patients. Using the existing scope of practice for paramedics, they will work in consultation with us in Interior Health to
Collaborating with members of the local health-care team is fundamental for community paramedics. L-R: Karen Reader, Dr. Mahrous Mousa, and TRU third-year nursing student Jana McKenzie.
Working together to save lives
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or the first time in B.C., the Provincial Health Officer has declared a public health emergency in response to increasing overdoses and overdose deaths in our province.
On April 14, Dr. Perry Kendall took the unique step of serving notice under the Public Health Act to exercise emergency powers. “Overdoses are occurring in the community, in hospitals, on the street, in private homes and we all need to work together to stop this disturbing trend,” says Lori Hiscoe, Director Clinical Operations for Population Health. “Responding to this emergency requires collaboration across numerous portfolios and with our community partners. Within Interior Health, Lori and Dr. Silvina Mema, Medical Health Officer, are leading an Incident Management team that includes members from Population Health, Mental Health and Substance Use, Hospitals and Community Integrated Services, Aboriginal Health, Health Emergency Management, Communications, and Business Support. The team is focusing on three responses – enhancing overdose surveillance, expanding the Take Home Naloxone program, and exploring safe consumption services. Dr. Silvina Mema, Medical Health Officer and Overdose Incident Management Team Lead, updates the IH Board of Directors on overdose trends.
Enhanced Surveillance Gillian Frosst, Public Health Epidemiologist and Jessica Bridgeman, Harm Reduction Coordinator, are leading the surveillance response. “In public health, ‘surveillance’ is essentially about using data to inform action,” says Gillian. “Prior to the declaration of the public health emergency, we had limited data on overdoses. It was not available in real time and was difficult to turn into timely action.” The emergency declaration has resulted in an Order from the Provincial Health Officer, which makes reporting of overdose deaths and overdoses with recovery mandatory for emergency departments. Because not all people who experience an overdose present at a hospital, surveillance tools are being developed to track overdoses in the community. Gillian Frosst looks over data collection tool that will allow us to track ODs in real time.
“These tools will help us better understand what is occurring and we can use this data to take action to warn and protect the public,” says Jessica.
Expansion of Take Home Naloxone Naloxone is a drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. It has been used in safely in emergency departments for decades. It is non-addictive, has no effects in the absence of opioids, and has no street value whatsoever. It can be administered by anyone who has completed a five- to 20-minute training session, including the users themselves. To reduce the risk of brain damage or death from an overdose, Naloxone must be administered promptly and that makes accessibility key. Take Home Naloxone (THN) is a program provided in collaboration with BC Centre for Disease Control. The program provides training and naloxone kits free of charge to people who use opioids or have a past history of using opioids. Expanding this program will save more lives. “Before the emergency was declared, the THN program was offered in some of our emergency departments, public health centres, and through some community partners,” says Jeff Walsh, Harm Reduction Coordinator. “Now we are working towards having this life saving program available in all emergency departments, all public health centres, all mental health and substance use offices, and in our primary care sites that serve at-risk populations.” The expansion of THN is occurring now and will roll out across the health authority over the next two months. Areas with the highest overdose rates are prioritized.
Safe consumption services
Jeff Walsh shows one of the many Take Home Naloxone kits that will be available across IH.
Safe consumption services are an evidence-based intervention proven to reduce mortality from overdoses. They provide safe and clean environments where people can use drugs under the supervision of trained staff. “Many people may be familiar with the term ‘safe injection site’ or the Insite program in Vancouver. In Interior Health, we use the term ‘safe consumption service’ because we will be exploring offering this service within existing programs that already serve the target population,” says Dr. Mema. “We are not looking at a standalone site like Insite in Vancouver.” Planning for a safe consumption service requires significant local stakeholder engagement and an application for an exemption under Section 56 of the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act prior to implementation. The process for seeking a Section 56 exemption is comprehensive and will take months. “Right now we are in the early stages of exploring whether or not we can offer safe consumption services,” adds Dr. Mema. “We are developing a stakeholder engagement plan. Feedback and consultation with stakeholders is essential for getting approval from the federal government.” Leading a large cross-portfolio emergency response is no easy task. The last month and half has been a whirlwind of activity and that will continue in the weeks and months to come. Both Lori and Dr. Mema say they are proud of the teamwork that has occurred and especially the people involved who are going above and beyond to work together to save lives. For more information on the public health overdose emergency, visit our website or check out the presentation from Public Health Rounds.
This is the second in a series of eight profiles. This month we feature the Ulkatcho people.
Ulkatcho First Nation
Kootenay Lake Submitted by: Mandy White
Clearwater Submitted by: Carole Pugle Castlegar Submitted by: Betty Kennedy-Popoff
West Kelowna Submitted by: Tina Leibel
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.
A great group of community partners joined together in May to celebrate the opening of the new digital mammography unit at Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake. From left are John Massier, Chair of the Cariboo Chilcotin Regional Hospital District; Cheryl Granger, CMH medical radiography technologist; Tammy Tugnum, IH Board Director; Carol Ann Taphorn, chair of the Cariboo Foundation Hospital Trust; Zeno Cescon, regional director of IH Diagnostic Imaging; and Cariboo Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett. Read the full news release for more information about the event.
Interior Health Board Chair Erwin Malzer (L) and IH Aboriginal Health Director Brad Anderson (R) accompanied CEO Chris Mazurkewich on a three-day tour to meet leaders and health staff in the Secwepemc and Tsilhqot’in communities. They visited with eight communities where they met with the chiefs, elders, health-care staff, and community members. Travelling the rugged back roads of the Chilcotin provided a first-hand look at the barriers that exist for First Nations people in accessing medical services, along with insight into the commitment of health professionals who regularly drive to remote and rural communities to provide care. Read more on p. 8.
Congrats to Marta Benes, Programmer and Systems Analyst, who was presented with the Steve Rogers Memorial Award for 2016. Marta joined the HART Electronic Patient Care Record (ePCR) project in the spring of 2013 and was instrumental in its successful implementation. “The award was extra special this year because it was awarded to a support program (IMIT) in support of High Acuity Response Team (HART) clinicians,” says Brent Hobbs, Network Director, IH Patient Transportation Services. “HART and IMIT have a strong partnership that has led to innovation in patient care delivery and program efficiency.” Pictured here, L-R: Brent Hobbs, Rebecca Kaus, Marta Benes, Colleen Brayman, and Steven Clements. Read more about the award on our “In the Loop” website.
This short, animation video was produced by Andrea Burrows and Michelle Watson, clinical practice educators at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, to improve quality care for patients. It’s a fun and engaging approach to a training video for staff that shows the implementation of a Catheter Acquired Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI) assessment. This duo also received an IH Quality Award for their work and dedication to this project.
Check out this video from Crowfoot Village Family Practice in Calgary, which highlights results their team is achieving using the Patient’s Medical Home. This model reflects IH’s key strategy to enhance access to appropriate primary health care.
Surgeons and interventional radiologists at the Toronto General Hospital for Sick Children have been testing new virtual reality technology. This 3D imaging enables them to visualize the intricate anatomy of patients and plan surgeries and procedures with more information than ever before.