Our Shared Purpose newsletter - July 2017

CONNECTING C A R E, P E O P L E AND IDEAS

VOL 1 • NO. 2 JULY 4, 2017

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fter months of preparing and planning, we are excited to share that we’ve reached a key milestone in the integration proposal approvals process. On June 28, the three boards, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto and Catholic Health Sponsors of Ontario formally and unanimously approved our integration proposal. This follows the endorsement from the Toronto Central LHIN, to move ahead with our integration plans. The final go-ahead needs to come from the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

This recent approval means that Providence Healthcare, St. Joseph’s Health Centre and St. Michael’s Hospital are one step away from officially being part of a single health network, and we are beginning to prepare for Day 1, likely August 1.

(L-R) Michael McTeague, chair, St. Joseph’s board of directors; Liz Buller, president and CEO, St. Joseph’s; Josie Walsh, president and CEO, Providence; Virginia West, chair, Providence board; Tom O’Neill, chair, St. Michael’s board; and Bob Howard, president and CEO, St. Michael’s.

As board chairs of the legacy organizations, we are proud that throughout the integration discussions one thing has been ever present – the long-standing priority, embraced by the Sisters when they founded these three hospitals, to care for those who experience marginalization or disadvantage. This is fundamental to Catholic health care and will continue to be a priority for the new network. We are moving forward with strong shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality patient care.

An inaugural board has been named – 16 members selected from the legacy boards for their expertise, commitment and diverse skill set that will help navigate our three organizations through a successful transition.

The board has also elected Continued on page 2

Helping our patients and families manage the challenges associated with aging

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eniors represent one of the fastest growing populations in Canada. This year, for the first time, Ontario is home to more people over 65 than children under 15 years of age. At this stage of life, a person’s health needs become increasingly complex. In celebration of Ontario’s Seniors’ Month, we are highlighting some of the ways our organizations support this patient population across the full spectrum of care.

At St. Michael’s Hospital, frail elderly patients (those over 70 with acute, complex medical illness or presenting with a geriatric syndrome) are admitted to a consolidated and standalone Acute Care of the Elderly (ACE) Unit.

Dr. Maria Zorzitto, a geriatrician at St. Michael’s, says there’s lots of evidence that Continued on page 2

Pg 1-2 M ESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIRS New milestone reached

Pg 1-3 HELPING OUR PATIENTS AND FAMILIES MANAGE THE CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH AGING

Pg 3 ST. JOSEPH’S NEWS CLIPS Did you know St. Joe’s has a Teaching Clinic?

Pg 4 PROVIDENCE’S NEWS CLIPS Helping seniors stay safe and healthy at home

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Pg 4 ST. MICHAEL’S NEWS CLIPS St. Michael’s new Emergency Department opens

Chairs’ Message cont.

Tom Woods, a current director at St. Joseph’s Health Centre, as its inaugural chair. Tom brings a strong background in corporate and community directorship and deep financial experience from his career in banking. One of the new board’s first orders of business was to select an interim CEO. We are pleased that Dr. Robert Howard, current president of St. Michael’s, has agreed to be the interim CEO. He has been CEO at St. Michael’s for eight years and we are confident he will lead us through a smooth transition to a new health network.

We wish to thank Elizabeth Buller, president and CEO of St. Joseph’s, and Josie Walsh, president and CEO of Providence, for their vision and leadership; both will be ending their tenure on July 31. We wish Liz well as she moves on to her new role as CEO of Scarborough Rouge Hospital, and to Josie, who is excited to spend time with her growing family as she gets set to welcome her third and fourth grandchildren. She is also looking forward to seeing how she can continue to contribute to the health-care system.

We also wish to extend our thanks to the directors from all three boards, for sagely bringing us to this momentous juncture.

While this is exciting news, we recognize that change isn’t easy for everyone, so we want to thank you in advance for your continued commitment to Our Shared Purpose and the patients, clients and residents you care for, during these transitional times.

Please continue sending feedback and questions via oursharedpurpose.com.

Sincerely, Virginia West, Providence Michael McTeague, St. Joseph’s Tom O’Neill, St. Michael’s

Helping patients and families... continued from p patients admitted directly to ACE have better outcomes. They tend to have less delirium and fewer falls, and get out of the hospital sooner. They are more likely to go home or to a rehab facility than to a nursing home, and while they are in hospital, they have a better patient experience.

The unit aims to provide the best possible patient experience by designing care around the particular needs of the geriatric population, with a focus on rehabilitation. The unit is staffed by an interdisciplinary team with specialized geriatric care training, including a nurse practioner, RNs, a clinical assistant and physical and occupational therapists. Each patient’s most responsible physician continues to be a geriatrician.

Every year, St. Joseph’s sees 56,000 visits from seniors in its Emergency Department. To help support these patients who are well enough to go home to remain at home, the Elderly Community Health Services (ECHS) changes in their physical or mental provides outpatient assessment, health capacity, desire to live independently, promotion and illness prevention family conflict and financial with the aim of assisting patients and challenges,” said Barbara Nicole Ross, families to manage the challenges a social worker in ECHS, who supports associated with patients and aging. their families as The team they navigate the includes They face several larger health-care geriatricians, system. challenges at this social workers, One of the a geriatric stage in life including enduring ways in psychiatrist, which Providence changes in their a nurse, a supports seniors physiotherapist, a physical or mental is in its longspeech/language term care home, capacity, desire to pathologist, and the Cardinal an occupational live independently, Ambrozic Houses therapist, who of Providence. family conflict and all collaborate For 160 years, to provide a financial changes.

Providence has wraparound been a place of approach that welcome, and connects patients in response to to the specialized health care they the growing need for long-term care need in one place. Last year the clinic beds in Ontario, they opened the saw 4,413 patient visits.

Catholic-preferred ‘Houses’ in 2000.

“Many patients come to the clinic The Houses is home to 288 people when they are most vulnerable and of different backgrounds and life least able to cope. They face several experiences – diversity that creates an challenges at this stage in life including enriching community for residents.

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“We focus on quality of life.”

“We’ve created an environment that meets the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of our residents in a dignified and safe community.

We focus on quality of life,” said Jube Walker, director of care. The home is divided into 16 ‘Houses’, named after Canadian trees, with touches like floor-to-ceiling windows, themed activity rooms, access to gardens, a hair salon, a coffee shop, and a cozy library supporting the community feel.

Walker said that 80 per cent of residents cope with cognitive impairment caused by dementia, so staff are trained on best practices in therapeutic and resident-centred care to provide a balance between safety and security, and meaningful care to this special population.

Question & Answer What is our new name going to be?

Each of the three hospitals will continue to use their respective names, in the same manner that Princess Margaret, Toronto General and others continue to use theirs while being part of the University Health Network. Determining a new name for our health network will require an extensive branding exercise and consultative approach. When we get to that stage, we will let you know how you can become involved.

St. Joseph’s Did you know that St. Joe’s has a Teaching Clinic?

Early Arthritis/Connective Tissue Disease, and over the last year, our medical learners have spent more than 400 hours leading patient care in this teaching, research and community ambulatory setting.

The space also provides a reception and patient waiting area, four clinic rooms, and a physician office where medical trainees collaborate, debrief and participate in informal teaching opportunities during clinical time.

Our people play a critical role in educating the next generation of health-care leaders and every year, over 1,300 residents and students choose to join our team to learn in an urban community health-care environment.

Last year we opened our Medical

Education Teaching Clinic (METC), which provides valuable educational experiences to medical trainees, staff, physicians, patients and families. The METC’s teaching clinics include Acute Care Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Palliative and Therapeutic Harmonization and

The METC houses simulation equipment which allows trainees the opportunity to practice their clinical skills under the supervision of a faculty member, as well as two dedicated teaching rooms for the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine Integrated Clinical Experience Course for first and second-year medical students.

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Providence Helping seniors stay safe and healthy at home Providence Healthcare is proud of the work in our outpatient Assess and Restore Services, which provide a wide range of services to geriatric clients who live in the community, or younger people who present with geriatric conditions.

One of the key services is our Falls Prevention Clinic, which complements our Geriatric Medicine Clinic, Medication Management Service and Community Outreach.

The Falls Prevention Clinic is a client-centred, holistic program that offers comprehensive risk and mobility assessments and treatment programs to individuals who have a functional loss.

Services include occupational therapy and physiotherapy, with the focus on maximizing an individual’s capability and safety

while living at home. In addition, the program also offers links to community-based services that help ensure a safe home environment. This program has a unique offering, as it provides not only the assessment, but also follow-up and direct intervention to address the needs identified in the assessment.

St. Michael’s St. Michael’s new Emergency Department opens On May 31, St. Michael’s new Emergency Department acute area opened and patients who would have previously been cared for in the old intermediate or major areas are now being treated in the new space.

The state-of-the-art acute area, purpose-built to care for patients with urgent injuries or illnesses, is the initial phase of a multi-year revitalization and expansion of the hospital’s ED that will eventually double its size.

An essential part of enhancing patient care in the ED is increasing its space: the new acute area is twice the size of the previous location. All exam rooms are single patient, enclosed with walls instead of in a bay divided by curtains, with enough

space for a patient’s loved ones to stay with them. This design feature maximizes confidentiality and privacy while minimizing interruptions and noise.

The new area also incorporates best practices in health-care design. One example is the use of switchable glass to enclose exam rooms. With the flip of a button, the glass doors transition from transparent to opaque, allowing clinical staff to monitor patients or offer privacy as needed. While traditional fabric curtains can harbour pathogens, glass is much easier and faster to clean.

The next phase of construction will create a new Mental Health Emergency Service Area and trauma bay.

oursharedpurpose.com Our Shared Purpose is an internal newsletter intended to keep staff at all three sites informed about our integration and transition plans, as well as highlight key achievements and activities at each of the sites. Our Shared Purpose is published monthly by the Communications teams at Providence, St. Joseph’s and St. Michael’s. If you have any questions about any of the articles, please visit oursharedpurpose.com to submit your inquiry.

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