It's Who We Are....

A MESSAGE FROM JANICE KAFFER, PRESIDENT & CEO

It has been a year since our last edition of Identity Matters. The world has changed in many ways and from our lens here at HDGH, the differences we are feeling almost daily are directly related to adapting to the new world of COVID-19. Although much of this edition of Identity Matters will reflect our Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare (HDGH) life pre-pandemic, in the early months of 2020 our roles, responsibilities, and worklife changed within our organization as we planned and implemented processes for the world we are experiencing today. We are also planning for the world and the work ahead as we anticipate further waves of COVID-19 across our community, our province, our country and our world. It is indeed a changed existence.

COVID-19 brought a lot of tough decisions for us here at HDGH. There were many very challenging conversions had by our teams, our leadership, our patients and their loved-ones. Through all of these conversations maintaining the health and safety of our staff and patients was, and will continue to be, the top priority of our hospital. We were and are focused on maintaining our commitment to be the safest hospital in Ontario and that means for our staff and for our patients. Throughout many of the tough conversations, and the challenging decisions that we had to make, it wasn’t uncommon to hear four words uttered by our HDGH Team- “IT’S WHO WE ARE”

I want to talk more about these four simple, yet important, words and their relevance to this edition of Identity Matters. When I say IT’S WHO WE ARE, I am referring to our culture of caring, our culture of safety, our culture of putting our patients and staff at the forefront of our decision making, and our culture of doing the right thing. These words represent, for me, the history and the legacy left to us by our founding sisters; The Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph (The RHSJ). These words do more than just exist at our hospital. They are a grounding force in many of our decisions, they are a touch point in tough times, and they remind us that we stand for something bigger than our own problem of the day. For HDGH, who we are as an organization has always been more than the mission, vision and values plaques hung throughout our buildings. The HDGH story is our shared story – a story of how we have come together as a family to serve our community in new and innovative ways. We have always done that and we always will. It’s who we are.

Throughout this edition of Identity Matters, you will be reading about ways in which Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare continues to inspire trust in its programs and services. We can’t talk about all of the amazing work done here in the past year but we have selected some stories and highlights that really speak to who we are as a hospital and as a family. Since the onset of COVID-19 we have learned so much – as an organization, as individuals and as a community. Today, we will continue to respond to this crisis, and continue to proactively initiate the processes, practices and policies to maintain the safety of our people and our patients. We will inspire, create and sustain excellence here at HDGH because… IT’S WHO WE ARE.

Janice Kaffer President and CEO

HERITAGE WALL

TAKE THE BEST OF THE PAST AND BRING IT FORWARD

Preserving our heritage is not merely holding on to a snapshot of the past, it is the seed that will bring forth the success of our future. Taking a closer look at our HDGH heritage really began in 2017. In 2018, we launched our rebranding work,

centered on our 130-plus-years as one of Windsor-Essex’s most longstanding organizations and first ever hospital. In conjunction with celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Grace Hospital in February 2019, HDGH also unveiled the “Heritage

On Saturday, February 8th, 2020, over 400 Grace Hospital Graduates, former employees, and community members with connections to the beloved Salvation Army Grace Hospital gathered to celebrate its 100 year legacy.

With Windsor experiencing a population boom early in the 20th century, there was a greater need for more hospital beds. Fredrick Martin, an Officer with the Salvation Army, convinced Windsor’s magistrate, Henry Ellis to sell his home and land to be used and expanded upon for a new hospital

On February 1, 1920, Windsor’s second hospital, and the Salvation Army’s first general hospital was opened to carry on the Army’s mission of mercy.

Grace quickly became the place for patient-centred care and had a lasting impact on all those who walked through its doors. Grace is the Place quickly became the hospital’s mantra. Before its doors were officially closed in 2004, over 1,500 nurses were graduated from the hospital’s School of Nursing, tens of thousands of babies were welcomed into the world, and the entire Windsor-Essex community benefited from the care of Grace Hospital.

Today, over 100 years and numerous changes later, HôtelDieu Grace Healthcare stands proud to carry the Grace name now and into the future.

The Anniversary Celebration welcomed a number of dignitaries and special speakers who helped capture the essence of Grace and the truly special place that it was. Laughter, reunions, and love filled the halls of HDGH throughout the joyous afternoon.

Additionally, Amazing Grace, built on a Shoestring and a Showering of Faith and Prayer, the story of Grace Hospital written by Marty Gervais was officially launched at the event. The publication beautifully captures the history of the hospital and the individuals who made it “The Place.”

Grace, and all its stories, people and memories, will always be a strong part of our HDGH Identity.

COVID-19

WE STOPPED… AND LEARNED WE COULD TOUCH THE WORLD

In March of 2020, life changed as we knew it. We all learned new ways to see the world, but more importantly, how to feel it.

Humankind as a sum learned we were connected by one virus that had the ability to halt us in our tracks and become not just a public health crisis but a crisis that would touch every sector. It is hard to put into words the way the healthcare sector experienced, and continues to experience, this pandemic. Words do not do justice to the emotions felt. At HDGH, our experience with COVID-19 became very public when we had a physician return from out of country travel who was experiencing symptoms. On March 12, we held a press conference to announce this news and the safety measures put in place.

While the physician’s results were negative, from this point forward, we knew as an organization, that whatever we were called upon to do, then we would do it and also get through it - IT’S WHO WE ARE.

CO-DESIGNING THE COORDINATED CARE PROGRAM

– RESHAPING THE CARE MODEL FOR PATIENTS AT HDGH

In an effort to welcome friends and family back onto the campus, HDGH launched a Coordinated Care Program. This program was developed by staff and members of the HDGH PFAC team, who were originally involved in co-designing the Family Presence Policy 5 years ago. The CCP enables HDGH to welcome Designated Care Partners (DCPs) on site to provide specific aspects of the care plan to a patient. DCPs are family or a close friend, whom a patient identifies as their support in care. We are happy to report that over 130 DCPs are regularly on site and providing care to their loved ones.

Each DCP has undergone specific training associated with enhanced precautions for COVID-19 safety and are able to provide specific aspects of the care plan to a patient. Each DCP is given an ID Badge, along with an orientation booklet with important information.

Should HDGH need to temporarily suspend visitation if COVID-19 numbers increase, DCP’s will continue to be welcome on the campus as a result of this training. LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR

Supporting Long-Term Care

With COVID-19 outbreaks increasing in varying Windsor/Essex long-term care and retirement homes, the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Long-Term Care and Ontario Health requested assistance of hospitals to support LTC homes during the COVID-19 response by voluntarily identifying staffing resources that could provide infection prevention and control assistance, medication administration, along with nursing and personal support worker staffing of homes facing critical shortages. As such, HDGH was responsible for 12 local Long-Term Care and Retirements homes with a total of over 25 HDGH staff applying to be deployed if needed.

Parading our Long-Term Care Healthcare Workers

On April 25, organized by an HDGH Frontline worker, a parade of more than 200 cars took to Windsor’s streets and made their way to varying long-term care and retirement homes to show support and solidarity as many were experiencing outbreaks and deaths of their residents due to COVID-19. Honks, tears and cheers could be heard for miles as our team celebrated their own, saying loudly and proudly

As the team at HDGH works hard to ensure we are maintaining high-quality care as well as a positive patient experience during this time, our community has truly stepped up to make this feat more manageable and rewarding. From lunches, dinner, pop, parades, mask, caps and more, Windsor-Essex responded.

We would like to sincerely thank every single organization, business, and individual who has rallied behind HDGH and made some sort of contribution to our cause. Whether it was food for our nearly 1,200 staff, equipment to keep us protected, individual department perks, or simple messages of gratitude, every act of support has meant the world to our entire organization.

THE MENTAL HEALTH & ADDICTIONS URGENT CARE CENTRE

HDGH and CMHA WECB opened the Mental Health and Addiction Urgent Care Centre as response to COVID-19

Individuals who need urgent mental health and addictions care now have a new option. As of April 16, they can now be referred, phone or walk into the Canadian Mental Health Association Windsor-Essex County Branch (CMHA WECB) located at 1400 Windsor Ave. for a short-term intervention by a multidisciplinary healthcare team.

The initiative was a joint response to COVID-19 and its effects on those suffering from mental health and addictions from Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare (HDGH) and CMHA WECB. A multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurse practitioner, addictions worker, psychiatrists and social workers assess, deliver and coordinate the most appropriate care to these individuals. The goal of the MHAUCC is to also help acute care partners in lessening the burden within emergency departments. In this way, our acute care system can attend to the many individuals arriving at the hospital for truly acute care needs and/ or COVID-19 related medical issues.

HDGH stands in solidarity with our hospital system partners in Windsor-Essex as we embraced the combined motto, Together We Stay Strong. To show our appreciation to all of our staff’s tremendous work, especially during COVID-19 times, and to proudly stand with our acute care partners, HDGH offered all staff two shirts with the Together We Stay Strong heart logo. It was truly amazing to see HDGH standing proudly together, in purple shirts as a reminder of our efforts and teamwork.