A publication for Staff and Physicians of IH
Meet Dr. Jeremy Etherington, Vice-President of Medicine & Quality.
Preparing for the 2015 Employee Engagement Survey, we want
to know what each Gallup Q12 question means to you.
How teamwork helped saved a Salmon Arm man’s life.
Nurse Practitioner Patrice Gordon will never forget her patients
from Sierra Leone.
Learn about Ebola protocol at IH and throughout the province.
Interior Health has been recognized as a leading employer in B.C.
for a third consecutive year.
New HR plan taps into valuable employee pool in growing Aboriginal
population.
We get up close and personal with Charlene William, LPN at Mountain
View Lodge in Lillooet.
Shining a spotlight on the many communities that make up where
we live, work, and play.
Snapshots of our staff in action over the last month.
Patrice Gordon home with her dogs, Rico and Chica. Story p. 8.
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: [email protected]
Deadline for submissions to the March 2015 @InteriorHealth magazine is February 11.
Editors: Amanda Fisher, Breanna Pickett
Designers: Breanna Pickett, Kara Visinski, Tracy Watson
IH Communications Contributors: Lisa Braman, Lesley Coates, Susan Duncan, Patrick Gall,
Karl Hardt, Megan Kavanagh, Breanna Pickett, Erin Toews, Tracy Watson
Every person matters
W
elcome to the inaugural
VP guest column, a new
feature within @IH.
Throughout the year,
members of the Senior Executive team
will share highlights from their portfolio.
So, let’s get started with my portfolio
– Medicine and Quality.
One of the outstanding aspects of this
portfolio is that it provides endless
opportunities to make positive change.
VP of Medicine & Quality, Dr. Jeremy
Etherington.
At Interior Health, we want to set
new standards of excellence in the
delivery of health services in B.C.
and to also promote healthy
lifestyles and provide needed health
services in a timely, caring, and
efficient manner.
To achieve this, we are guided by
the following strategic goals:
Goal 1 Improve Health
and Wellness
Goal 2 Deliver High Quality Care
Goal 3 Ensure Sustainable
Health Care by Improving
Innovation, Productivity,
and Efficiency
Goal 4 Cultivate an Engaged
Workforce and Healthy
Workplace
The articles featured in the @IH
newsletter are great examples of
how we’re achieving our goals …
and realizing our vision and mission.
corporate and clinical risk and, when
something untoward does happen,
that we learn from our mistakes and
share our learnings. We are continuously
improving our systems approach to risk
management to mitigate harm to
patients, residents, and clients, and
to the health authority itself.
A major area of focus right now in
Infection Prevention and Control is
on antibiotic-resistant organisms. New
threats are emerging continuously and
In Medical Affairs, our focus is on making we need to ensure IH has a strategy in
sure that physician governance is as
place to monitor these and minimize risk.
effective as possible. This means bylaws One of the simplest strategies to combat
are understood and enforceable, medical infection is basic hand hygiene, which
staff rules are appropriate to our unique we monitor regularly. In addition, we
circumstances and up to date, physicians have established a new Antimicrobial
are engaged, and we have strong
Stewardship Program that will address
leadership on the Health Authority
inappropriate antibiotic use, which can
Medical Advisory Committee, which
quickly lead to microbial resistance.
governs IH physicians and advises the
Board on clinical care.
Another area with great potential is the
development of research and academics.
I’m so impressed with the diverse,
Within IH, research has predominantly
collaborative medical leadership that IH
been led by nursing. However, with the
has developed. I’m also convinced that
opening of the Southern Medical Program
the administrator/physician co-leadership (SMP), we took the opportunity to
model we have developed is vital to
engage physicians and medical trainees
delivering the highest quality of care
as well through the alignment of the
possible.
IH Research Strategy with the SMP
research agenda. To truly become an
Within Quality, Risk and Accreditation,
academic health science enterprise, we
I’m really excited about the new Quality
need to start doing research in a more
Awards. There are so many examples
integrated and collaborative way, with
of employees at all levels engaged in
as many health professions as possible.
improving the quality of care we
We are in early days yet, but I see great
provide. The monthly awards, and
things happening in the near future.
upcoming annual award, recognize
these outstanding efforts.
As VP of such a diverse portfolio, it’s
vital that I don’t lose sight of our
This team is also responsible for the
strategic objectives. The thing that keeps
development and delivery of a strategic
me on track is to always bring it back to
plan for quality across IH, and for
one fundamental goal: aligning the work
ensuring the Ministry’s strategic goals
in our portfolio to make sure we support
are reflected in the work we do. Of
IH in providing the best possible care to
course, we are also busy preparing for
patients, residents, and clients. To make
Accreditation 2015, which is coming this this happen we, as employees, must
fall.
bring more of ourselves to work every
day, which is why engagement is such
Risk management is another key area
an important focus across IH. Every
in my portfolio. This team is responsible
person does matter and, as a leader,
for making sure IH has a consistent
it is important that my staff not only
approach to addressing issues of
understand this, but feel it as well.
T
his June, Interior Health employees will be asked to complete an Employee Engagement Survey. In preparation,
we want to know what each of the 12 questions means to you, and how it relates to your level of employee
engagement.
The question for February:
Q10. I have a best friend at work.
Research indicates that workplaces in which employees report having a “best friend” are more efficient and productive
than workplaces with fewer best friends. People would rather build bridges than walls around themselves. This element
deals with optimizing group contributions by enhancing the quality of relationships between employees in the workplace,
in turn nurturing trust and emotional loyalty.
People look out for their friends. A friend reminds his buddy to put on his hard hat. In the few seconds before a fall
might occur, a friend is more likely to spot the hazard and rush to steady the ladder. A friend guards his comrade’s
safety as much as he does his own.
Additionally, friends are more likely to invite and share
candid information, suggestions, and opinions, and to
accept them without feeling threatened. The good
feelings friends share make them more likely to cheer
each other on.
Friends are more committed to the goals of the group
and work harder, regardless of the type of task. Group
members who identify most closely with the team are
more likely to monitor its performance against the goal.
encouragement
trust loyalty
camaraderie
With this description of a “best friend” in mind, share your thoughts with us. Do you have someone that looks out for
you? Someone you identify with, share with, and cheer on?
Please send your feedback to YourOpinionsCount and we’ll share excerpts in the next @IH.
In last month’s @IH, we looked at two questions from the engagement survey:
Q8. The mission or purpose of my organization makes me feel my job is important.
Q9. My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.
The complete list of responses is posted on the Engagement web page.
the
of the matter
ayle Bowers knew something was off when her
husband, Jack, said he was going to watch the
news after lunch because he was tired. After all,
this was a 64-year-old man who had completed
four – yes, four! – Ironman triathlons. Inactivity and Jack
Bowers are two things that do not go together.
G
Jack’s reaction on a Friday afternoon last June was odd.
And even odder when Gayle saw him turning colour and
then making an unusual snoring-like sound. And then …
she couldn’t wake him. Jack Bowers was in full cardiac
arrest.
“I would have been less surprised if I had been hit on
my bike. There were no signs,” Jack says now.
He doesn’t remember it, of course, but he was rushed
to Shuswap Lake General Hospital, where the health-care
team led by Dr. Geordie Pullin leapt to action. They did
so while in the midst of their own shock – a prominent
local businessman and owner of Bowers Funeral Service,
Jack is a well-known fellow in Salmon Arm.
don’t think of, like the unit clerks,” he says. “It’s amazing
the work they do and the things they help us with. We
rely even more so on teamwork.”
That teamwork saved Jack’s life. He spent two weeks
at KGH and was then transferred to Victoria Jubilee
Hospital, where he had a defibrillator installed in his heart.
A week after that, he was home – and today, thanks in
large part to his previous level of fitness, he looks fit as
a fiddle.
Jack is thankful and grateful for all of the health-care
professionals who cared for him. As a former volunteer
ambulance attendant, he knows a little about the medical
system, and could see the dedication in his caregivers
– a “vibrant staff,” he calls them.
“People ask me if I was worried. I said, ‘Worried about
what?’ ” he says. “Everything worked out right. Worry
never entered into it.”
The real hero of the day, Jack adds, was his wife. With the
support of the 9-1-1 operator, Gayle performed life-saving
“When we saw it was Jack, we said, ‘Are you kidding me?
CPR for 12 full minutes until paramedics could take over
Mr. Triathlete? How can this be?’ Jack is one of the fittest
and defibrillate Jack. Without that first response, the rest
people on the planet,” says Jo Tighe, an Emergency Room would not have been possible.
RN who was working that day.
Jack’s experience also made something else possible. His
“Every life is sacred. Every life has value. But to have lost
story sparked the Shuswap Hospital Foundation to donate
Jack would have been a crushing blow to us all,” says
a Stryker Meditherm System. This equipment enables
Dr. Pullin, who is fast friends with Jack’s son-in-law.
medical staff to quickly and efficiently control hypothermia,
when the body has lost too much heat, and hyperthermia,
Dr. Pullin says Jack arrived unconscious but with a cardiac when it needs to be cooled. It offers the safest and most
rhythm. He was able to establish an airway and regain
effective way of controlling body temperature during
circulation. Most patients don’t get that far, he admits.
emergency situations.
It allowed him to use the uncommon technique of packing
ice around Jack to lower his body temperature.
Fewer than two per cent of people survive the kind of
cardiac event that Jack had. Jo says it’s “awesome” to
It isn’t fancy, says Dr. Pullin, but the cooling protected
see the difference she and her colleagues, including Dr.
Jack’s brain and cardiac system by slowing his blood flow, Pullin, Dr. Scott McKee, and the nursing staff, made for
and bought him some time before being airlifted to
him.
Kelowna General Hospital for further care.
“That’s what keeps us coming back every day,” she says.
“It was a blur,” says Jo, who has worked at SLGH for
Do you know the signs of a heart attack? Warning signs
20 years. “But the amount of people involved was
can vary from person to person and they may not always
amazing. It was a real team effort. Everyone was running
be sudden or severe. They include chest discomfort,
to get bags of ice – from the ER, the kitchen, physio.
sweating, nausea, shortness of breath, lightheadedness
Everybody had a hand in it.”
and discomfort in other areas of the upper body such
as neck, jaw, shoulder, arms, and back. Some may
Before coming to Salmon Arm 11 years ago, Dr. Pullin
experience one of these symptoms, while others
worked in Charleston, West Virginia, at the fourth-largest
experience a combination.
cardiac facility in the U.S. He says life is different at smaller
facilities, where resources and equipment are fewer.
Learn more about preventing, recognizing, and treating
heart disease at www.heartandstroke.ca.
“We rely a lot on our nursing staff and the people you
Gayle and Jack Bowers, centre, are grateful for the care Jack received at Shuswap Lake General Hospital from the health-care
team that included ER nurse Jo Tighe, left, and Dr. Geordie Pullin.
Extraordinary
During her four weeks caring for Ebola patients at the Kenema Treatment Centre, Family Nurse Practitioner Patrice Gordon shared
her experience in the blog posts under the photo captions on our Facebook page.
N
o one could accuse Patrice Gordon of living an ordinary life, although she never set out to be altruistic
or adventurous.
In fact, she’s quite practical.
As a young girl, she planned to be a commercial pilot, but when a career counsellor pointed out that wasn’t the most
realistic choice for a teenager with a baby, she became a registered nurse.
She didn’t give up on her dream of flying; she just did it in a different way, training as an emergency flight transport
nurse.
Many of Patrice’s big decisions have been made by following her heart. It was that inner voice telling her she was
needed that led her to Afghanistan in 2008 to work in a multinational medical unit. It’s what prompted her to travel
to isolated regions of the Chilcotin in 2006 to provide primary health care in remote communities, which is where she
works today as a family nurse practitioner.
It ultimately led her to Sierra Leone, West Africa, in December where she directly cared for patients suffering from
the highly contagious Ebola Virus Disease. And it may be what takes her back again if the deadly disease continues
to ravage the population.
“Since my return, every single patient has asked me, ‘How was West Africa?’ I struggle because there isn’t an
easy answer. But I do say it was a very powerful, rewarding experience and I’m really glad I went. I met many people,
patients and colleagues I will remember all my life. And I feel like I made a difference.”
She said the profound impact of the experience hit her in mid-January as she was unpacking some final items and
came across a small, red notebook, containing names and medical notes on all the patients she cared for at the
treatment centre.
“I burst into tears at the sight of it and
it hit home that I have a lot of work to
do to find a good place
within me to put all these
memories.”
She hasn’t opened the
notebook because she is not
yet ready to process all of the
emotions that she knows will
arise as she reflects on each of
the individual people she cared
for.
“About half of those people
died and so many of them were
children. They came in droves
and they all had stories of loss
that were enough to slay you.
Each one of them touched my life
and I did my best to touch theirs.”
As a humanitarian, Patrice became
a member of the Red Cross
Emergency Response Unit in 2010.
As an animal lover, she travels
regularly to Thailand to work at a
Buddhist elephant rescue sanctuary
and has ended up as part owner
of a rescued elephant.
At home, she is attached at the hip
to her Pyrenean mastiff Rico and,
as of January, his little sister Chica,
a Great Pyrenees.
Kenema
Treatm
ent
Centre
Those dogs are also favourites with her patients, especially
the children, who sometimes get rewarded with a visit with the
dogs after they have bravely accepted their medical treatment.
Whether she intentionally set out to live an extraordinary life is not clear to her.
“I think we all have different ideas of what will help us feel fulfilled. I want to help the people in this world, but I also
want to help the trees, the oceans, animals of all shapes and sizes, so that we all have a place in a healthy
environment.”
Patrice, who is the mother of three grown sons, spends eight months of the year living in the Chilcotin without fear of
loneliness. She has an affinity with isolated wilderness regions.
She happily drives hours on rough roads to reach her patients in Toosey, Nemiah, Stone, Anaham, Red Stone, Alexis
Creek Health Centre, and Anahim Lake.
“I absolutely love my job,” she says.
Patrice’s partner, Dr. Rob Coetzee, has led an equally extraordinary life having moved to the Chilcotin from Antarctica
where he had been the physician at the South African National Antarctic Expedition base. Their companionship along
with a shared love of dogs, snowy adventures, and medicine has made a wonderful life even more complete. “I wouldn’t
change a single thing,” says Patrice.
W
hen Family Nurse Practitioner Patrice
Gordon returned from caring for Ebola
patients in West Africa, she expected to
hop in her vehicle and drive 10 hours to
her home near Tatla Lake.
Instead, she learned that new provincially mandated
Ebola preparedness rules required her to stay within two
hours of Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) for the required
21 days of self-monitoring.
The requirement is part of a strict Ebola protocol adopted
in B.C. The protocol includes the identification of the only
hospitals in the province that will test for the Ebola virus
or care for people with Ebola.
A three-tier model of care for potential or confirmed
Ebola cases provides specific roles for Type 1, Type 2,
or Type 3 facilities. Read the full description in the
CEO Memo, Nov 26, 2014.
She adds that she learned from them and they learned
from her experience at the Kenema Treatment Centre in
Sierra Leone.
“I had never dealt with Ebola in an institutional setting
so it was interesting to see them problem solve around
various challenges. In return, I was able to share with
them different ways of doing things that were more
efficient or effective.”
Dr. Vik Chaubey, Infectious Disease Specialist; Dr. Mike
Ertel, KGH Chief of Staff; Dr. Susan Pollock, Medical
Health Officer; Sabrina Schwanebeck, ICU RN; Sondra
Bader, ED RN; and Missy Blackburn, Infection Control
Practitioner, hold a special place in her heart for their
above-and-beyond attention during her stay in
Kelowna.
KGH was designated as a Type 2 facility and is the
only Interior Health facility where testing can take
place. Once confirmed positive, a patient would be
transferred to a Type 3 facility, which is either Surrey
Memorial or B.C. Children’s Hospital.
Within about a week of her return, Patrice felt a cold
coming on. Since Ebola starts out with a slight fever
and achiness, she reported her symptoms as required
to one of Interior Health’s Medical Health Officers.
At that point, the Ebola protocol went in to place.
Information about the mandatory process for any
potential Ebola patients is available on the InsideNet,
Ebola Preparedness web page.
Patrice was asked to come to KGH where she spent
three days isolated in a private room as she waited for
the results of blood tests. Staff who entered the room
wore personal protective equipment, similar to what
she wore daily throughout December, but in a much
hotter climate.
“Everybody was incredibly nice,” she says. “It was a
really good experience. They made what could have
been a really difficult time, very easy. They were all
fantastic at every level of care.”
Patrice cares for an ailing baby at the Kenema Treatment Centre
where she spent four weeks treating hundreds of sick people,
half of whom who did not survive the illness.
Interior Health has been named a top employer in B.C. for a third consecutive year. This designation recognizes leading
employers in our province who offer the best places for people to work.
The annual competition considers a variety of criteria such as recruitment and retention, workplace environment,
benefits, vacation and time off, employee communications, performance management, learning opportunities, and
community involvement.
“I am very pleased to see Interior Health recognized for who we are and the work we do,” says David Bamford,
Corporate Director, Human Resource Strategic Services.
“I would like to acknowledge the work of the exceptional team responsible for this year’s application. Ken Hutchinson
did a wonderful job of leading this work.”
Ken credits the enthusiasm and hard work of the entire team for making this possible. Pictured above are (L-R):
Liz Marsland, Kristina Nielsen, Ken Hutchinson, David Bamford, Randy Forsyth, Karen Bowen, Ginette
Kruschel, Cherise Sharp, and (front) Lisa Braman. Not pictured: Galadriel Jolly, Crystal Miller, Cindy Lee, and
Cathy Stashyn.
The list of top employers in B.C. was announced Jan. 30. Have a look at B.C.’s Top 100 Employers 2015 and see why IH
was chosen over hundreds of other organizations.
“This award should be a source of pride for all of us at IH,” says David. “Our exceptional staff and physicians have
always been something that sets this organization apart. It’s great to see IH recognized within the province and within
Canada.”
Recruiting Aboriginal Employees to Interior Health
F
resh from the Culinary Arts program at the College of the Rockies in Cranbrook, Judy thought the difficult part
of starting a new career was behind her.
With diploma in hand, she soon discovered it was the job search that intimidated her more. She wasn’t even
sure where to apply outside of the obvious hospitality industry.
That sense of uncertainty is not uncommon, says Tammy Tait, a regional career counsellor who works for the Métis
Employment and Training in Cranbrook supporting job seekers.
That’s why Tammy was elated to learn about Interior Health’s
Aboriginal Human Resources Plan. Launched in May 2013, the plan
is committed to promoting IH as a potential employer to Aboriginal
populations.
IH Aboriginal Health Director Brad Anderson is a strong proponent
of the strategy, saying the growing Aboriginal population provides a
great pool of labour for IH and adds an important cultural component
within the workforce.
“A strong ratio of Aboriginal employees in the health-care industry
will help create a culturally safe environment for patients, residents,
staff, physicians, and volunteers,” he says.
“
A strong ratio of Aboriginal
employees in the health-care
industry will help create a
“
Discouragement also sets in when resumes are submitted and
there is no response from an employer, she notes.
culturally safe environment for
patients, residents, staff,
physicians, and volunteers.
To ensure Aboriginal people have IH top of mind as a potential employer, Carrie Desjarlais, an external recruiter with
Interior Health, is committed to building relationships around IH where there are 54 First Nations communities, 13 Métis
chartered communities, and nine Aboriginal Urban organizations. Carrie will partner with the First Nations and Métis
employment and training centres to promote jobs within Interior Health.
She says she is receiving an enthusiastic response from skills and training agencies that represent First Nations and
Métis applicants. They see it as critical information both for students entering careers with a medical focus and for
those people who may not realize Interior Health also needs people trained in non-medical fields.
Along with nurses, care aides, physicians, rehab professionals, and sonographers, the health authority can’t function
without janitors, groundskeepers, power engineers, cooks, and administrative, business, and computer support staff,
along with a host of other skills that aren’t always apparent to people outside the system.
Liz Marsland, Leader of Talent Acquisition & Marketing (L), works with Carrie Desjarlais on the recruitment and retention strategy
for Aboriginal people within Interior Health.
“We have such diverse jobs in the health authority,”
says Carrie.
portal dedicated to assisting Aboriginal job seekers
in researching and finding opportunities to develop their
careers. As well, all IH jobs are advertised on an
As she takes that message out through a variety of means, Aboriginal Careers site for maximum exposure.
including career fairs and social media, she is also able to
help applicants navigate the application process, which is
Continued success and growth of the Aboriginal Human
so valuable from Tammy’s perspective.
Resource Strategy has been identified as a priority in the
upcoming proposed Aboriginal Health and Wellness
“It’s important to break down as many barriers as you
Strategy 2015-2019.
can,” says the career counsellor. “Connecting with Carrie
is going to be very important and students are already so
Christina Robbins, a multicultural therapist for Mental
pleased to learn there is help with possible placement and Health and Substance Use Services whose clientele
direction.”
includes people with an Aboriginal background, sees
strong value in increasing the number of Aboriginal
Interior Health’s decision to target HR resources to this
people working within the health authority.
audience is supported by B.C. statistics that places the
Aboriginal population within the IH region at 7.7 per cent. As a Métis woman herself, Christina believes Aboriginal
Our workforce representation of Aboriginals is 3.7 per cent, clients feel safer seeking health services when they have
up from 2.06 per cent in 2012.
a cultural connection with the provider.
“We are on the right track,” says Carrie.
Other strategies to recruit Aboriginal people include
partnering with Aboriginal Link, a specialized employment
Carrie is confident the recruitment and retention
strategies underway will help IH successfully tap into the
estimated 600,000 Aboriginal people who will enter the
workforce by 2026.
Charlene William, LPN
@IH: How long have you been working at Interior
Health?
I have worked for Interior Health for almost 23 years. My
first job was in 1992 with Lillooet Home Support. In 1995,
I took the Resident Care Attendant Certificate program and
moved into the position of Home Support Worker. I moved
from working in the community into residential care when
I was hired at Mountain View Lodge in 1998. I worked as
a care aide until 2002 when I took a Practical Nursing
Program. In early January 2003 I started working at
Mountain View Lodge as an LPN.
@IH: Tell us about your role in IH.
A day spent at MVL is very busy. We prioritize residents’
needs and we work together to get done what needs to
be accomplished throughout the day. My day may include:
medication passes for meal times or assessing residents
that may not be feeling well; providing diabetic monitoring,
glucose testing, Insulin injections, B12 injections, wound
care, ostomy care, and maintaining IVs; working together
with doctors and processing orders; and communicating
with family members around their family member’s care
and how we can best provide what is needed. We also
care plan around palliative care when it is needed.
@IH: Why is your work important for residents at
Mountain View Lodge?
It is important for residents to have LPNs at MVL because
our scope of practice enables us to provide care that allows
residents to remain in their home at MVL from the time they
join us to their end-of-life care. Residents recognize that they
have a whole team that is there for them at all times.
@IH: What makes for a really great day at work?
When staff work together and residents’ needs are met.
Seeing residents happy and comfortable and enjoying their
day.
Health care plays an important role in the William family – Charlene
(R) is an LPN at Mountain View Lodge in Lillooet, while sister Debra
is a care aide at Ashcroft Hospital.
aren’t going to be any problems in that department. I get
teased about this.
@IH: What is great about working at Mountain View
Lodge?
We are a small town and everyone knows everyone. Our
staff is a really dedicated team and very flexible, and make
themselves available on short notice if needed. We have a
Resident Care Coordinator that has made positive changes
in the short time she has been with us.
@IH: Do you have a highlight or anything that stands @IH: Final thoughts, or words you live by?
out for you?
What really stands out for me as a highlight is how I make
a difference. I am always advocating for safety. I make sure
that all safety precautions are in place for the residents. Other
staff seem to be aware when I am working and know there
I am very proud of our little facility and all of our staff. We
have an amazing team as well as residents. I believe the
level of care we provide is above and beyond what is needed.
Each resident gets the best care that we can provide to them.
As a team, that is our main goal.
Mountain View Lodge, Lillooet
22,377
Meals to residents
700
Hats crocheted
by one resident
2
32
Resident cats,
Dudley and Trouble
Volunteers
291 21
Days average
length of stay
Gathered
from 2013-2014 data
●
Long-term care beds
1,040
Litres of fluid milk
purchased
34
Years old
Kelowna
Submitted by: Joelle Wall
Cranbrook
Submitted by: Brandi Polier
Ashcroft
Submitted by: Darcie Barbeau
Kimberley
Submitted by: Sandra Bergman
Enderby
Submitted by: Caitlin Chadwick
Where We Live & Work ... A Spotlight on Our Communities
Covering over 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: [email protected]
snapshots from the region ...
Together with local government representatives, Interior Health
leaders give the pending $325-million expansion of Penticton
Regional Hospital the thumbs-up. They include (L-R) Dr. Brad
Raison, Regional Chief of Staff SOK; Lori Motluk, Acute Health
Services Administrator SOK; Dan Ashton, MLA Penticton; and Judy
Sentes and Michael Brydon, vice-chair and chair respectively for
the Okanagan-Similkameen Regional Hospital District. To stay up
to date on what’s happening with the project, visit
www.buildingpatientcare.ca.
Home Health Knowledge Coordinator Sandra Hlina,
Professional Practice Lead Karen Cooper, and Home Support
Team Lead Bev Moody have prepared a detailed overview of
Home Health services available in Kamloops. They presented
the information to two local family physicians and six family
physician residents at a lunch-and-learn session in January.
The doctors noted the benefits of knowing what is available
for patients to self-manage their illnesses in the community.
The Kamloops Blazers helped welcome baby Matteo
to the world when they visited Royal Inland Hospital
on Jan. 12. The WHL team makes an annual visit to
RIH to hand out stuffies from its Teddy Bear Toss
game to patients at the hospital. Their visit made
an already remarkable day for Matteo's parents even
more memorable.
Thor Bjarnason, Medical Physicist/Radiation Safety
and Quality Control Lead from Diagnostic Imaging
at Kelowna General Hospital, recently received an
IH Quality Award certificate for his dedicated work
and effort to reduce patient-dose radiation from
CT scans. The outcome of his work has reduced
head CT patient-dose radiation by 18 per cent and
spine CT patient-dose radiation by seven per cent!
Picture here (L-R): Zeno Cescon, Tim Rode,
Thor Bjarnason, and James Chan.
If you know someone who has done work that
improved patient safety, appropriateness of care,
efficiency, or accessibility to care, nominate them
for an IH Quality Award today!
Members of the Health Protection team seized the spirit of Clean
Sweep Week by wearing fun maid costumes. This was the first
clean sweep held for sites moving into the new Kelowna
Community Health & Services Centre (CHSC) in 2016, and it was a
huge success. A clean sweep is an opportunity to purge your
workspace of broken and unneeded supplies, equipment and
furniture, and free yourself of outdated education material,
manuals, books, magazines, and paper.
“The uptake was more than anyone expected,” says Anne
Winters, CIHS Manager, Administrative Services and the lead for
the CHSC Admin Working Group. “We’re really glad people had
fun!”
They’ve been bitten by the recycling bug at 100 Mile Hospital!
Barbara Matfin (L) and Sally Neale, both of OMH Food Services,
and care aide Cory Greaves are nearly dwarfed by the new
recycling containers on the hospital campus, which includes
Fischer Place and Millsite Lodge residential care facilities.
Employees are dedicated to becoming the greenest hospital in
Interior Health – and it looks like they are well on their way.
Even the cafeteria’s used deep fryer oil is recycled into
bio-diesel and bars of soap!