A publication for Staff and Physicians of IH
A message from Chris Mazurkewich, Interior Health’s CEO.
Wellness wisdom for work.
Behind the scenes of a lifesaving pediatric transport.
IH staff and community partners expand access to life-saving overdose antidote.
Resiliency session helps Allied Health professional practice leaders lead by example.
Vernon Jubilee Hospital and Splatsin partner up on the journey to culturally safe care.
Amped-up program helping IH identify risks.
Introducing the Nlaka'pamux Nation, the sixth of eight Nation profiles.
Staff-submitted photos of places where we live and work.
Snapshots of our staff in action and trending health-care videos.
On the cover: Dad Matt Burns holds preemie Elizabeth. Story page 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 Editors: Amanda Fisher, Karen Hurst Designer: Kara Visinski IH Communications Contributors: Lesley Coates, Susan Duncan, Patrick Gall, Karl Hardt, Erin Toews, Breanna Traynor, Tracy Watson, Mike Youds
Every person matters
O
President & CEO Chris Mazurkewich
nly the most avid outdoor recreationalists will be sorry to see the end of the winter we experienced across Interior Health this year.
Yet, the challenging weather also provided us with shining examples of the selfless and courageous people who work in health care. In the Kootenays, relentless snowstorms cut off transportation routes, which meant many of our employees couldn’t get to or from work and supplies were also stalled. In response, staff and physicians stepped up in amazing ways to make sure our patients were looked after, putting in double shifts to cover their stranded colleagues, whether that was in the kitchen, in the pharmacy, or on the wards. A story on Page 6 showcases an incredible example of this teamwork. It tells how three hospitals, BC Emergency Health Services, HART, IH Transportation Services, IH Maternity Child Network, and countless individuals from administrative support to specialists to an off duty RN and ED physician worked over a 48-hour period to make sure a premature baby and her mom were transported safely from Nelson to Kelowna General Hospital.
over the last several months – the online modules and classroom sessions offer excellent tips that we can immediately put into practice. Recent lockdown situations at Kelowna General and East Kootenay Regional hospitals are evidence of the serious incidents and risks we face every day, and particularly on the frontlines of care. We can’t predict what might be coming next, so being as prepared as possible, having the tools to stay safe, and working as a team are essential components of a safety culture. I’ve been extremely impressed with our responses in these types of situations – and the calm, cool heads that always prevail. This kind of creative approach to problems is what helps us improve how we deliver health care. It’s certainly what Vernon Jubilee Hospital Administrator Richard Harding exercised when he worked with the Splatsin First Nation to turn a tragic situation into a learning opportunity that will help improve health outcomes for Aboriginal people. That excellent read can be found on Page 14.
Saying goodbye to the long winter I referenced earlier also means saying hello to spring and the start of a new fiscal year. The provincial government kicked things off on Feb. 21 by I stand in awe of these remarkable efforts. tabling a 2017/18 budget with targeted investment in mental health, seniors, and primary care. All B.C. health authorities I’m also pleased to share good news from a people perspective, are focusing their resources on transforming primary and and also a financial perspective. A reduction in our long-term community care systems so more care is provided outside of disability (LTD) claims – which means fewer employees are on hospitals and residential facilities. long-term leave due to illness and injuries – has resulted in a one-time financial gain that will help us to balance our budget In the coming weeks we will have a clearer picture of how this at yearend. Although I appreciate what this means for our funding will impact our own programs and services that are financial health, even more important is what it means for the part of this transformative work. health of our workforce because it reflects a dedicated effort to ensuring a safer and healthier workplace. I want to thank each of you for the commitment you bring to your roles. Every day I hear compliments about the care or Violence prevention training is another way for us to keep service someone has received in one of our programs – your ourselves and those we care for safe in all our sites. I extraordinary efforts are noticed and greatly appreciated by the appreciate the attention that has been put toward this work communities we serve.
blivious to the flurry of activity in the immediate days following her birth at Kootenay Lake Hospital (KLH) in Nelson, three-week-old Elizabeth Burns sleeps peacefully in a bassinet at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH). Elizabeth is in the neonatal intensive care unit, a necessity after she entered the world on the night of Feb. 7 at less than 32 weeks gestation, weighing just over four pounds. Following Elizabeth’s birth, the skilled KLH medical team responded with the best possible care to stabilize the delicate infant and support her mom, Ashley Burns. “The staff and physicians in Nelson are absolutely incredible,” Ashley says.
“They saved my daughter’s life. They all went above and beyond to ensure that our intimidating situation was comfortable and personable.” However, because she came so early, Elizabeth was struggling and needed the higher level of care available at IH’s neonatal intensive care units in Kelowna or Kamloops. There was one big problem – Mother Nature and the winter storm she was unleashing on the region. Air evacuation by the BC Children’s Hospital Infant Transport Team (ITT), which is often called upon to support such transports, was not possible due to the flight conditions on the coast (ice on the runway) and heavy snow and limited visibility in the Kootenay Boundary. While other options were considered, the Kootenay Boundary High Acuity Response Team (HART) was brought in from Trail to support the KLH team caring for the infant. It was now Feb. 8. Fortunately, casual HART RN Scott Lamont, who lives in Grand Forks and has training in newborn critical care, was on a day off and, after finding a babysitter for his kids, drove the two hours to Nelson in heavy snowfall to help stabilize Elizabeth and prepare her for a transfer to KGH. The plan was to transfer Elizabeth by ground ambulance that evening, but the Paulson Pass between Castlegar and Grand Forks was now closed off due to avalanche control and IH needed a second clinician with neonatal training who could manage Elizabeth’s airway all the way to Kelowna. The challenge was that additional critical care staff were also needed for a high number of critical patients at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital in Trail. So, Scott overnighted in Nelson to be available quickly if needed. By the morning of Feb. 9, the baby’s health was deteriorating. ITT was still not able to fly into the area, so a ground ambulance transport was the only option. A call went out to HART Medical Director Dr. Jeff Hussey. He was also on a day off, skiing the new snow at Red Mountain, but quickly agreed to help. He grabbed a change of clothes and drove from Rossland to KLH.
Dr. Jeff Hussey (above) and RN Scott Lamont both responded on days off to support the care and transport of baby Elizabeth from Nelson to Kelowna.
Baby Elizabeth with her mom Ashley, dad Matt, brother Finn, and sister Emma.
“It was a powder day,” says Dr. Hussey, “but you think: ‘powder day/31-week-old baby’ – there really was no decision for me to make.” By this time, 40 centimetres of snow had fallen in Nelson and up to 70 centimetres had blanketed the mountain passes. BC Ambulance Services arranged an ambulance crew and, at times, a snow plow escort helped get Elizabeth, Ashley, Scott, Dr. Hussey, and the BCAS paramedic team safely through the mountain passes.
pediatricians are absolutely amazing, honest, and personable. Their knowledge and love for their job is incredible to witness and be involved in. I couldn't be more grateful for the care they've provided to us while we've been here,” says Ashley. Ashley is looking forward to being able to return to Nelson with Elizabeth and having her join her dad Matt, four-yearold sister Emma, and three-year-old brother Finn in their new family of five.
“All practitioners handled the frustrations of Mother Nature and the transfer with such grace and professionalism, but empathetically. I understood how challenging and progressively selfless the situation was for everyone involved,” Ashley says.
Brent Hobbs, IH Network Director for Patient Transportation Services, says this case illustrates the challenges, creative solutions, and dedication of all health service providers to getting patients where they need to be.
It took seven hours to do what would generally be a 4.5 hour trip to Kelowna but, with the right supports in place, Elizabeth and Ashley and their care team made it through.
“When people ask me why transportation is such a big deal for Interior Health, this is the reason why,” says Brent. “Without a doubt, this is the most complicated transfer I have been involved in and I’m proud of everyone who participated."
“It was a long, rough ride and it was a little tense,” says Scott. “Neonates are very susceptible to changing conditions, but Elizabeth is doing well, so that’s great.”
Kudos to all those from Interior Health and our partner agencies who were involved in this case, going above and Elizabeth continues to improve, gaining weight and beyond, including KLH clinicians and administration, BC becoming more interested in feeding orally (she has been Children’s Hospital specialists, BC Emergency Health receiving nutrition through a feeding tube). In Nelson, on Services, BC Patient Transport Network, KBRH clinicians the road, and at KGH the care has exceeded expectations. and administration, KGH clinicians and administration, Kootenay Boundary HART team, Boundary Hospital “The nurses in Nelson had told us the staff in Kelowna administration, IH Maternal/Child Network (Ruth Johnson, were incredible, and our experience has been nothing short Network Director), IH Patient Transportation Services, Mr. of extraordinary. The nurses, therapists, dietitians, and Scott Lamont, and Dr. Jeff Hussey.
volunteer firefighter in Kamloops attends an overdose prevention training session and two days later saves a life while out at a local pub with friends. An outreach worker in Penticton is struck by emotion after learning a naloxone kit that she gave to a client was used the very next day to save a life. A nurse family practitioner in a rural community notices a more trusting relationship with her client after providing non-judgmental support, compassion, and a naloxone kit to help ease a young mother-to-be’s fears of losing a family member to overdose. Powerful scenes like these are taking place in communities across our health authority. IH staff, community agencies, police, first responders, and even bar and nightclub staff trained to administer naloxone are providing support and saving lives every single day in the wake of an overdose crisis that claimed the lives of 158 people in Interior Health communities in 2016. Jessica Bridgeman and Kate Fish are harm reduction coordinators with Interior Health. The two are responsible for ensuring that B.C.’s Naloxone training involves having participants learn to draw naloxone Take Home Naloxone (THN) program is available in all IH public health centres, Mental Health and Substance Use (MHSU) offices, emergency departments, and community agencies that serve at-risk populations. “The response to this program has been incredible, both here in IH and in the communities we serve. With the support of our community partners, we have been able to make naloxone kits available in many places where we know people who use drugs are accessing services and where we know drug use is occurring,” says Kate. Through the Take Home Naloxone program, individuals who are at risk of an opioid overdose and those who are likely to witness an overdose are trained to prevent, recognize, and respond to an overdose situation, using a naloxone kit. Naloxone can reverse (stop) an opioid overdose by restoring breathing within two to five minutes, which offers the opportunity to save a life and reduce harms related to the overdose, while waiting for emergency help to arrive. Since the public health overdose emergency was declared on April 14, 2016, the program has expanded to 75 Interior Health sites and 11 community agencies and over 1,390 IH staff have completed overdose prevention training. Community partners and IH staff have also trained volunteer firefighters, bar/nightclub staff, community members, First Nations bands, social service agencies, shelters, youth programs, and recovery centre staff across IH. The THN program has been offered in Interior Health since 2012. Since its inception, approximately 3,300 naloxone kits have been distributed within IH – over 2,100 of those kits were distributed in 2016 alone. Jessica notes that although use of the naloxone kits is tracked, it is difficult to know for sure how many lives are being
saved by the program. “Each kit contains a form that can be completed once a kit is used. We know for sure that about 400 kits have been reported as used, but we also know that is most likely a drop in the bucket,” says Jessica, who notes that completing paperwork after a kit is used may not be top of mind right after saving a life. “We know this program is making a huge difference – we get thank you notes, emails, and hear stories from our colleagues and community partners about the impact it is having. Not only is it saving lives, it is also providing clinicians with opportunities to connect with clients and patients in a non-judgmental way,” continues Jessica. “When people who use drugs and their family members feel like they can talk openly about drug use without being judged and that people really do care and want to help – it makes a big difference. If people feel like they are accepted and that their lives matter, they are much more willing to access health-care services including substance-use treatment.”
(L-R) Juanita Yuill, Organizational Development Team Leader; Sheila Gariepy, Advisor, Health Safety and Prevention; and Andrea Fitzpatrick, Organizational Development Consultant collaborated to pull together resources like the LifeSpeak video series for a session on resiliency.
W
hen Karen Cooper started to see evidence of stress within her team in dealing with the volume of changes in their workplace she went looking for support.
“We were dealing with changes in our structure, vacant clinical positions, and even my own transition from being a professional practice leader (PPL) to director,“says the director of Allied Health, IH West. She reached out to the Organizational Development (OD) team to discuss a resolution. “I wanted to overcome the challenges and support the team, as there were signs of change fatigue, frustration, lack of engagement and friction, while also offering leaders some tools that would make them more equipped for not only this change, but for the ongoing transformation of our workplace life.” The Organizational Development consultants thought about a session on resiliency. It was new content for OD, but it seemed to resonate as potentially having benefits not only for Karen’s team but also other Interior Health teams facing similar pressures.
In planning for the session, the OD team including Juanita Yuill, Team Leader, and Consultant Andrea Fitzpatrick investigated the possibility of a collaboration with Workplace Health & Safety. Sheila Gariepy, Advisor, Health Safety and Prevention, was quickly able to provide a wealth of information and tools from the IH Employee & Family Assistance Program provider (EFAP) and LifeSpeak, a video series available to employees on a variety of wellness topics that included resiliency. “Coordinating with Workplace Health & Safety at the outset was a great way to leverage tools we already have access to,” says Andrea. “It was a really positive experience to work with them and also a fun way to collaborate in a way that worked well for everyone.” “I was grateful that Juanita and Andrea reached out to showcase how the resources available through LifeSpeak and Shepell, our Employee and Family Assistance Program, can be integrated into topic specific workshops like this or even into regular team meetings,” says Sheila. “I hope that this story will inspire our leaders to tap into the wealth of resources available that can support them as they build strong and healthy teams.”
In addition, Andrea incorporated supporting information on neuroscience into the session, something that the OD team often uses within their leadership development courses, as well as her own stories of resiliency.
translates into Stop, Observe, Breathe, Expand perspective, and then Respond.
Karen has also found that the Allied Health group is more engaged in its meetings and discussions.
SOBER and QTIP (Quit Taking It Personally) were takeaways for the team in day-to-day work challenges.
“The fact that this was the first resiliency session for the OD team, as well as Andrea’s first as a facilitator and new employee to IH, actually made the workshop more credible,” Karen says.
Karen explains that many of her team members are very driven and strive for perfection. This workshop also helped them become gentler with themselves and realize they don’t have to finish everything today.
“I find that our team members are more united and more equipped to empower their own teams to lead and pay it forward.”
“Our group was more receptive to participating and identifying with Andrea’s own adjustments to change.”
“Many of the concepts discussed in the session are common sense and are ideas that many of us already know, but can be difficult to put into practice unless they are regularly incorporated into day-to-day life,” says Andrea.
Karen also describes herself as the “vulnerable leader” in the session. “I was struggling as well with all the changes and with the learning curve attached to my new position, so sharing these vulnerabilities helped bring the group closer together and they were more open to sharing their own struggles,” she explains. With the support of the Lifespeak videos and group activities, some of the other individual skills discussed in the session included practising optimism, fostering a growth mindset, knowing your strengths, using a multi-pronged approach, and employing self-compassion. Leadership behaviours such as modelling the behaviours you want to encourage, empowerment, and mentorship were also explored. The discussion on mindset, such as fixed ideas versus growth, stood out for Karen because she and the group recognized that people’s mindsets influence their ability to change. Now she is more conscious of her mindset when she is approaching her work. “That moment of pause becomes very powerful,” says Karen. The resiliency workshop talks about staying SOBER in the face of a stressful situation, an acronym that
Karen adds that the session brought those concepts to the forefront and made the group more aware about applying them to their daily lives. PPL Lynn Wallace says the session solidified her own thoughts that the concepts of mindfulness and resiliency are important discussions for teams. Although this was just an introduction to the basics, Lynn could see that there are an infinite number of additional resources to tap into and share with her team of occupational therapists.
She also believes that finding meaning in your work is a key ingredient to being resilient and moving forward each day. “Leaders in health care will all benefit from learning about resilience as we continue to lean on our staff during ongoing periods of high capacity and volumes, as well as set expectations of them to participate in large-scale systems changes. “We need to equip our teams with skills and tools to boost their ability to bounce back from workplace stress and lessen the feelings of being overwhelmed.” For more information on the services that can be provided by the Organizational Development team, please visit the OD web page on the InsideNet. We also encourage you to take advantage of all the employee wellness programs and services provided at IH. Visit the Employee Wellness web page to learn more.
She emphasized that this type of session needs to be customized for each particular audience, which led her to introduce her team to some TED Talks on the subject of resiliency. She says she has seen her team members approach their work and personal life balance in a more positive way since the education. “They are taking better care of themselves and are able to give themselves permission to look at their workloads more realistically,” says Lynn. She notes that she has received texts from her team indicating that the sessions were “a breath of fresh air.”
(L-R) Karen Cooper, Director of Allied Health, IH West and Professional Practice Leader Lynn Wallace.
The Splatsin team presents Richard Harding with the ‘Seamless Communication, Seamless Care’ canvas. (L-R) Splatsin Councillor Daniel Joe, IH Aboriginal Patient Navigator Diana Moar, VJH Health Services Administrator Richard Harding, Splatsin member Theresa William, Clinical Lead Special Project Splatsin Health Services Adrienne Lewis, and Splatsin Health Director Judy Maas.
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he rectangular canvas tells a story. It represents a hard-fought for and steadily growing relationship between Interior Health (IH) and members of Splatsin, a First Nation community in the Enderby area. On a cold December afternoon, a handful of Splatsin members presented a beautiful painting to Vernon Jubilee Hospital (VJH) Health Services Administrator Richard Harding recognizing his participation in a collective journey.
The journey began following a culturally unsafe patient care issue in the emergency department at Vernon Jubilee Hospital three years ago. As a result, Splatsin members filed a formal complaint. That turned into a conversation when Splatsin members approached Richard, seeking to start the process of delivering culturally appropriate and culturally safe care to its members. Richard is a military man who served worldwide as a nurse, including in Africa, communicating and providing care across cultural, traditional, and linguistic barriers. He immediately and intuitively understood the importance of this request. He met with Splatsin Health Director Judy Maas and Splatsin Health Services Clinical Lead Special Projects Adrienne Lewis to discuss ways to familiarize the hospital with Splatsin community members, who felt excluded, unwelcome, and even unsafe there. One suggestion was a cultural walkthrough which involves Splatsin members touring different units of the hospital with a clinical educator, meeting health-care workers, and asking questions about often-confusing health-care jargon and terminology.
“Everyone agrees the walkthroughs are helpful, and must continue on an ongoing basis to facilitate understanding and communication,” says Richard. The cultural walkthroughs, which began in January 2015, are featured in the colourful story on canvas entitled “Seamless Communication, Seamless Care.” The story points out that this narrative began as two distinct sides – Aboriginals versus the colonizers – in the 1800s. That historical context is important to understand why Splatsin members, as a rule, are reluctant to come to hospitals for care. For generations they were told the provincially administered health-care system was not for them, because health care for First Nations was provided by the federal government. The circuitous route painted on canvas represents the work done by Splatsin and Richard’s team to reconcile and work together to ensure everyone is accessing the care they need, and are entitled to receive, from the provincial health-care system. It is in circumstances of dire need when Splatsin members voluntarily attend the hospital. While hospitals can be a scary place for most people, many Aboriginal people say the hospital is a place they refuse to attend unless they are at death’s door and there is no other option. “It’s challenging to be there,” says Theresa William, who, along with her late mother, Dorothy (nee William) Alexander, is at the root of this story. The beginning of the positive relationship between the community and hospital came from a culturally unsafe experience mother and daughter had in the VJH Emergency Department. Almost three years ago, Theresa drove her ailing mother to the hospital. Dorothy was palliative, was experiencing chest pains, and was having trouble breathing. The pair was kept in the waiting room, mother upright in a chair, for several hours. Over the course of the ordeal, Theresa says no help was offered and her questions about administering her mother’s diabetes medication and morphine went unanswered. Theresa felt scared, helpless, threatened, and angry in this unfamiliar environment. Although she was frustrated, Theresa noticed the security guard stationed in the waiting room. “My immediate thought was that I would be removed if I kicked up a fuss, and I was my mother’s primary care giver and translator, so I kept silent,” Theresa recalls. Eventually her mother went home and later passed away. But Dorothy’s legacy lives on through the new and improved relationships between VJH and Splatsin. As a result of this experience, Splatsin stepped up for its members and said “something has got to change” and Richard listened. It took them three years to get here, but the relationship is as beautiful as the brush strokes on the artwork hanging in Richard’s office. The affirmations penned in neat cursive at the top of the painting are dramatic. “I have a voice; I can advocate for myself; I understand the process; I know what to expect; I feel safe.” These statements were not true three years ago. Today, they are becoming a reality, thanks to these partners.
This work to eliminate barriers between hospitals and First Nations communities is also being addressed in other parts of Interior Health. Local IH leadership and First Nations representatives in Williams Lake are working to develop a cultural safety collaborative. One of the goals of the collaborative will be to implement cultural safety walkthroughs at Cariboo Memorial Hospital, covering multiple areas of health services.
I
f you’re entering a hospital, care home or other health-care facility as a patient, chances are you’re most concerned about the immediate things that may or may not affect you, such as: Will my procedure hurt? Am I about to hear good news or bad news? What happens if things don’t go right?
bi-weekly to track, measure, and deliberate strategies for addressing identified risks, in addition to a multitude of other responsibilities.
It’s unlikely you’re concerned about all the other things that could potentially go wrong such as the information systems failing, not having enough nurses to staff a department, or a shortage of funding for a program or service.
“The program isn’t new but, now, identifying our higher priority risks and the impact these may have on IH is gaining more attention,” explains Shanna. “For the first time, there is a dedicated committee focused on our organization’s risks and mitigation plans. The result will be a better prepared, streamlined organization able to anticipate and manage major risks as they present themselves.”
These risks and many others might not be top of mind for our patients, but they’re daily concerns for Interior Health – which is where Shanna Harvey and the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) program come into play.
Knowing what our risks are helps us to avoid surprises along the way. Organizations don’t like surprises but understanding our vulnerabilities allows us to identify opportunities to be proactive.
“Enterprise Risk Management is essentially a process by which we determine where our greatest risks are and how they may impair our ability to execute our goals and objectives,” says Shanna. “Health care has its own set of risks that never go away, but there are things we can do to reduce and manage them.”
“It is about not being afraid of risk because in reality, risk is everywhere, but knowing your risks will make you better prepared,” says Shanna. The ERM program is an annual cycle; every year the work is refreshed and updated, emerging areas of risk are brought forth, and follow-up activities occur.
The world of health care has changed drastically over the last few decades. Historically, reducing risk in health care Understanding the risks in total to the organization helps focused primarily on things like preventing outbreaks in enhance our ability to work as a team. communities and infections in hospitals. Now, on top of focusing on patient and workplace safety, we are Learn more about ERM on the InsideNet. managing bigger-picture risks that impact the whole health authority. Since Shanna became involved with the ERM program in 2014, work has focused on increasing the maturity of our program and embedding ERM as part of our core management practices across IH. Updated processes to the program have included evaluation tools and measures; the creation of an annual report; updated risk registers; and the adoption of a risk-mitigation plan designed to capture what IH has in place to address its greatest areas of concern. The mitigation plan also assists leadership teams with resources to assist with decision making to better manage and address our top identified risks. The program also has oversight from the Strategy and Risk Management Council (SRMC), a group of 17 individuals assigned from key IH departments to take on the role of being “Primary Risk Owners”. The SRMC currently meets
2017 begins a whole new year of risk management for Enterprise Risk Management lead Shanna Harvey.
Employee and Physician Engagement
Workplace Safety Ministry Mandates
Fiscal Accountability
10 Top
Patient Safety
IH ERM Risks
Management Capacity
Access & Flow
Physician Shortages Organizational Capacity Initiatives
New Policies to
Unite & Protect Privacy and Management of Confidential Information Policy
Wireless (WiFi) Network Policy
Email and Text Messaging Policy
User Identification and Password Policy
Managing Privacy and Security Breaches/Violations Policy
Internet Access Policy
Information Security Policy
Photography, Videotaping and Audio-Recording Policy Acceptable Use of Information Systems Policy
These policies support Information Privacy and Security at Interior Health. Review them at www.interiorhealth.ca > About Us > Policies > Information Privacy and Security.
This is the sixth in a series of eight profiles of Aboriginal Nations within Interior Health. This month we feature the Nlaka'pamux Nation.
Coldstream Submitted by: Gina Eubanks
Nelson Submitted by: Cody Grant
Vernon Submitted by: J.D. Batbatan
Radium Hot Springs Submitted by: Cathleen Christensen Kamloops Submitted by: Jessi Minnabarriet
Six-year-old Stacey Falkmann celebrates her final chemotherapy treatment at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital in Trail in early January. The young patient, who lives in Robson near Castlegar, required about 18 months of treatment for a tumour diagnosed in October 2015. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the KBRH pediatric and oncology teams to come up with a special care plan, Stacey was able to receive her treatment close to home. Stacey, now seven, is doing well. With Stacey in the photo are: maternal/ child unit patient care coordinator Karina Poznekoff; oncology RN Meghan Valousche; oncology patient care coordinator Diana Ferguson; oncology RN Ron Poland; oncology RN Courtney Watmough; mom Tanya; and oncology RN Kyle Trevison.
Congratulations to Kamloops RN Suzette Lloyd, who recently was awarded the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology (CAG) Scholarship for 2017. This prestigious scholarship is awarded annually to one gastroenterology staff or research nurse in Canada to attend the Canadian Digestive Diseases Week meeting, which will be held in Banff in March. Suzette, who works on Royal Inland Hospital’s ambulatory care unit, also volunteers as the national secretary of the Canadian Society of Gastroenterologists and Associates (CSGNA). Read more about her award.
Kudos to the HR Organizing Committee for this year’s anti-bullying campaign at the Community Health and Services Centre in Kelowna. Back row, L-R: Cassandra Ritchie, Shannon Vickers, Brittany James, Lauren Hristoski, and Cathy Stashyn. Front row: VP Mal Griffin.
CStl'atl'imx Elder Gerry Oleman speaks about the importance of cultural competency and creating health-care environments free of racism and stereotypes, and Doretta Harris, Regional Director, Aboriginal Health Services Southern Regional Health Authority, Manitoba, talks about Aboriginal Health Services in Portage La Prairie.
Poet and wordsmith Elspeth Murray talks about how tough topics need plain language. She appeals to experts to make difficult conversations relevant and understandable. “Is this about you guys or me?� she asks in this short clip called This is Bad Enough.
CFJC News talks with Jason Giesbrecht, Executive Director, Primary & Community Care Transformation, about the new Interior Health Primary and Community Care Services at the North Shore Health Science Centre in Kamloops. Read the full article at cfjctoday.com.