Report from the Chief of Staff

Report of the Chief of Staff

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REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF DR. CHRIS BOURDON HSN ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING June 19, 2014 2013 proved to be another year in which our staff and physicians dealt with substantial challenges and yet still achieved remarkable results.

This past year, there were over 66,000 visits to our Emergency Department. This was 5,000 more visits than the previous year, making HSN one of the busiest EDs in the province. Yet, the overall Length of Stay for all Emergency Department patients improved by two hours.

Ambulance offload times were almost cut in half, and are now 22 minutes better than the provincial average. The time for getting a hospital bed for ED patients being admitted has decreased by 17 hours from the previous year.

Great credit must be given to the entire ED team for adopting new methods of improving access to care for patients. Improvements were also made in other areas of our hospital.

We admitted 250 more people to the hospital this year, bringing our total annual admissions to well over 22,000 patients. Yet despite this increase, our Length of Stay is among the best in the province.

The number of Alternate Level of Care patients in the hospital has dropped considerably over the past year. We have reduced ALC numbers by 50%. This is due to the incredible collaboration between HSN and key health care partners such as the CCAC, St. Joseph’s Health Centre and the North East LHIN. There is still progress that needs to be made. We owe this initial success to all those directly involved in the care of our patients, from our doctors and nurses, to home support workers and families.

Another area of progress for HSN was seen in its academic mandate. We increased the number of learners of all disciplines at HSN. Over 1800 medical students, nursing students, and allied health learners received valuable training at our centre. Not only are they learning, they are also providing direct front-line care to our patients.

Approximately 1000 learners and employees logged over 10,000 hours in our state-of-the-art Simulation Lab where they are learning new skills and honing existing skills.

We launched a number of new programs and services this year, all designed to improve the care for our patients.

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Our surgical program has always been renowned for its innovation, and this year was no different. Our surgical team introduced new procedures that are improving the results for patients and offering faster recovery times.

One of our surgical teams performed HSN’s first ever Trans-oral Laser Microsurgery. It uses a laser to remove a tumour in a patient’s throat. There is no external incision and therefore no scarring, and faster recovery times.

We’ve also begun to perform laproscopic hysterectomies, which involves minimal scarring, reduced risk of post-op complications, and a much quicker recovery period.

Two new cardiac procedures were introduced to HSN. One is a minimally invasive aortic valve replacement which involves an incision two-thirds smaller than a standard procedure. The other is a mini-thoractomy in which a small incision is made to insert an electrical lead on a patient’s heart, which is then connected to a mini defibrillator implanted under the skin. This helps synchronize a patient’s heartbeat.

Another excellent example of innovation is the introduction of our new Virtual Critical Care Unit, the only service of its kind in Ontario. It uses the latest videoconferencing and electronic health record technology to link our Intensive Care Unit with smaller hospitals in northeastern Ontario. This will allow smaller hospitals to have instant, live access to HSN’s expertise to improve patient care, while reducing the need to transfer patients.

At the Northeast Cancer Centre, a new method of radiation therapy called SABR was introduced. With pinpoint accuracy, SABR administers doses of radiation six times stronger than traditional therapy. There is less impact on surrounding tissue, and patients can complete their radiation therapy in as few as four treatments, compared to over 30, with potentially better results.

In our Family and Child Program, front-line staff, physicians, midwives, and managers completed another phase of the MORE OB program. MORE OB is a best-practice training system that helps standardize the skills and protocols for all health care professionals working in obstetrics. The result has been greater communication and collaboration among professionals.

These are just a few examples of how our physicians, nurses, allied health professionals and leaders have embraced innovation and taken the initiative to improve care for our patients. The result is that HSN is clearly becoming a destination of choice for some of the best medical talent available.

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That is not just a statement. It’s backed up by hard data. Since 2002, Greater Sudbury has enjoyed a net gain of 100 new physicians, almost half of whom are specialists.

There have been many accomplishments at HSN this past year. But we know there are still a number of systemic challenges facing HSN and all major hospitals across the province and country. They include extremely busy Emergency Departments, longer than desired wait times for some procedures, and high demand for acute care beds.

These pressures will remain as long as we exist in a climate of an aging population, increased levels of chronic illness and disease, gaps in community care infrastructure, and limited public funds.

Together, these factors will continue to put sustained pressure on the acute care resources of hospitals. But I can assure you that HSN is advancing at a remarkable rate as one of Canada’s emerging academic health sciences centres.

As a front-line physician, and as Chief of Staff, I am confident HSN has the people, the willingness, and the ability to meet these challenges.

Report of the Chief of Staff

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