A publication for Staff and Physicians of IH
A message from Chris Mazurkewich, Interior Health’s CEO.
Wellness wisdom for work
Training for biological hazards protects you and the people in your care.
Collaborative conversations leading to better residential care.
Meet Interior Health’s new Board Chair, Dr. Doug Cochrane.
Donna Helgeson, Public Health Nurse, and her community of Sicamous.
Staff-submitted photos of places where we live and work.
Snapshots of our staff in action and trending health-care videos.
On the cover: Dr. Trevor Janz chats with resident Annie Newton in the dining room at Mountain Lakes Seniors Community in Nelson. Story on page 10.
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, Ingeborg Keyser Designer: Kara Visinski IH Communications Contributors: Lesley Coates, Susan Duncan, Patrick Gall, Karl Hardt, Erin Toews, Breanna Traynor, Tracy Watson
Every person matters
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President & CEO Chris Mazurkewich
tragic incident in Fernie on Oct. 17 brought home the importance of keeping people safe – our own health-care team and the people living in communities across Interior Health.
fund new projects; from First Nations representatives who acknowledge and appreciate the collaboration with IH; and from physicians who are engaged in integrated primary care and proud of the work they are doing.
The ammonia leak at the local arena led to the death of three people and a resulting public health emergency. It was a shocking tragedy and our hearts and thoughts go out to the families and friends directly impacted, and the community as a whole.
We also heard about areas of concern and challenge – from patient transport and telehealth access, to recruitment and retention in nursing and allied health, to retaining services in rural areas.
I thank the staff, managers, and physicians in Fernie who stepped up to meet the ongoing health needs of their community during the emergency and for their patience in being on standby while the remediation work was completed. As well, kudos for the support and expertise provided from staff across IH in terms of the emergency response. During a tour of the East Kootenay with our new Board Chair Doug Cochrane the week of Oct. 24, we were able to share our appreciation in person with the team at Elk Valley Hospital. Their compassion and their commitment to taking care of people is the heart of what we do. It’s good to be reminded of that as much as possible.
This engagement on the ground is an important part of how we work together to improve the system. It always comes back to people. It’s why we’re here. Circling back to the topic of safety, I want to highlight what we are doing to keep our people and our workplaces safe, so that we can do the best job possible caring for patients, clients, and residents. We are on a journey in IH to embed a culture of safety. That is happening in partnership with our staff and physicians, and with learnings from WorkSafeBC, our partner health authorities, unions, and one another, on how we can do better.
An important factor for safe workplaces is proper training, which has been a priority And, fortunately, our tour provided many for several years across IH. This past year, opportunities to see how the work we we mobilized in an amazing way to take do matters to people – from staff and immediate action on improving workplace physicians, to our foundation and auxiliary violence prevention. By June 30, 2017, all partners, to elected officials and the media. IH employees and managers completed the mandatory education required We heard from auxiliaries eager to help according to their level of risk.
More recently, we developed a Biological Exposure Control Plan (ECP) to better protect you and respond to outbreaks. This plan combines all of our biological exposure policies and procedures into one document, and includes a requirement for employees to complete education modules related to biological agents. On page 6, you can read more about how some of our housekeeping staff are tackling the training as a group, to meet the Dec. 15 deadline. Going forward, we are adopting a system-wide approach to health and safety. This will guide our organization in moving beyond basic compliance to embracing a culture of health and safety, where it actually becomes an intrinsic part of the way we work. A steering committee with representation from all vice-president portfolios and key program areas has been formed to lead this culture shift. As a starting point, a core assessment and leadership survey was completed with each of the senior executive team members; we look forward to hearing the results of that survey later this month. Leadership and organizational commitment make up the first pillar of a Health & Safety Management System (HSMS), which sets a strong foundation for success. See a visual of all five pillars on page 6. Ongoing success in embedding a culture of safety is a call to action for every one of us. We all must lead, influence, and model safety behaviour – it’s a team effort, let’s each do our part.
Members of the Kelowna General Hospital Housekeeping team have signed up to take the Biological Exposure Control (ECP) training as a group.
G
erms. They are everywhere! We know the basics: wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough, and use disinfectants to wipe surfaces and equipment. But in health care, we have to think beyond the every day germs.
Most Interior Health employees are potentially exposed to blood, bodily fluids, or other infectious agents on a daily basis. Basically, if you come into contact with anyone in our care – you are at risk. “Both direct and indirect patient contact puts us at risk of catching a highly contagious or infectious disease,” says Omid Nobakht, Occupational Hygiene Advisor. “Often times, it’s improper handling of waste materials and blood/bodily fluids. But with the proper education and knowledge, exposure is very preventable.” Earlier this year, a biological exposure at Kelowna General Hospital caused a housekeeper to seek immediate medical attention and endure six months of follow-up bloodwork with prolonged stress. “This housekeeper was cleaning a utility room in a surgical area when she picked up a garbage bag containing improperly disposed sharps waste and was pricked repeated times by several needles,” says Jackie Marsh, Support Services Operational Coordinator at KGH. “This incident could have been prevented had the needles been disposed in a safety-certified sharps container, which is why I am very supportive of the new biological hazards training for employees. The two modules are user friendly and give a great overview of biological hazards, proper handling techniques, and protective measures.” Jackie says that some trauma rooms can be a horrific scene after treating patients, which is why it’s important to know
the personal protective equipment needed before entering a room. “Patient rooms have designated precaution signs so health-care workers know what to put on before entering. This could be protective gloves, gown, eyewear, face shield, and/or air purifying respirators.” More than 80 per cent of IH employees are exposed, or at risk of exposure, to biological agents on a daily basis. This includes staff and managers in support services (food, housekeeping and laundry); plant services; acute, residential, and home and community care; laboratory; diagnostic imaging; medical device reprocessing; and mental health and substance use. “Your actions can contribute to or prevent a workplace accident,” says Lorne Cooke, Support Services Manager. “Increasing your awareness and taking the proper precautions reduces the risk of hazardous exposures to you, your colleagues, and the people in your care.” A new Biological Exposure Control Plan (ECP) combines all Interior Health biological exposure policies and procedures into one document, and includes a requirement for employees at risk to complete education modules related to biological agents by Dec. 15 (i-Learn courses 1634 and 1635). Read the Oct. 3 all staff memo from Mal Griffin, VP Human Resources to learn more.
The new Biological Control Exposure Plan is an important part of a safe and healthy workplace. Another is the ongoing and focused effort on violence prevention. And the list goes on, with numerous initiatives aimed at protecting our staff and preventing injury. To bring all of those pieces together and ensure continuous improvement, we are adopting a Health and Safety Management System (HSMS) in IH. This means we will embed safety into everyday practice as everyone's responsibility. With the HSMS, we will have proven methodology and tools to help eliminate hazards, reduce injuries, and move us forward on our journey to a culture of safety.
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year ago, Kootenay Boundary residential care physicians, Interior Health administrators, nurses, and private partner site leads began meeting around a dinner table … and some amazing things happened. Physicians became more involved. Staff felt more empowered. And residents began benefiting from improved quality across the board. The General Practice Services Committee (GPSC) introduced a project to improve quality outcomes in residential care two years ago. Although timelines and tactics have varied among different Interior Health communities, at the crux of the project is collaboration. The aim of the initiative is to bring everyone together around the table – and in the Kootenay Boundary’s case they are literally at a table, as a portion of the GPSC funding through the local Division of Family Practice is dedicated to biannual dinner meetings. “We have a lovely dinner, with between six to 15 of us gathered around to share best practices. Nurses from facilities can sit for two hours with the doctors and work out mutually respectful quality solutions,” says Dr. Trevor Janz, Kootenay Residential Care Medical Director. The Residential Care Initiative aims to achieve three system level outcomes: reduce unnecessary or inappropriate hospital transfers; improve patient-provider experience; and decrease cost per patient as a result of increased care quality.
Dr. Trevor Janz discusses resident Median Logus’s care with her during a morning visit to her room at Mountain Lakes Seniors Community in Nelson.
“This collaborative focus on quality cycles has had a tremendous impact,” says Cindy Kozak-Campbell, Interior Health Residential Services Executive Director. “By bringing everyone together to share ideas we can work as a team to achieve common goals. It’s a really powerful thing.”
In the Kootenay Boundary, results are particularly impressive. Dr. Janz credits the success to an experienced and committed medical leadership, combined with an engaged staff. “When we show staff that they can change the system, they are energized. They feel positive about their job. It is enormously empowering,” he says. Statistics have also played a key role.
L-R: LPN Patti, resident Annie Newton, and Dr. Janz at Mountain Lakes.
“When we put the numbers up and compare sites, looking at the number of residents being sent to the emergency department for example, or the number of residents who are on anti-psychotic medication, the ability to compare notes is extremely powerful. It allows everyone to look at their practice and ask each other ‘how did you do that?’ And then behaviours start to change.” In combination with ongoing initiatives, such as PIECES education, the SBAR tool (Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation), and practice standards around medication review and falls prevention, the Residential Care Initiative has so far resulted in: a 15 per cent decrease in residential to emergency eepartment transfers; a 19 per cent decrease in residential care patient hospital admissions from the emergency department; and a 15 per cent reduction in residential care falls-related emergency department transfers. The Residential Care Initiative has also paved the way for the introduction of a Palliative Approach in Residential Care (PARC) – a fundamental shift that will embed palliative care practice into residential care to enhance residents’ quality of life, regardless of the stage of their illness. For more information about the Residential Care Initiative or PARC, contact Cindy Kozak-Campbell.
Doug Cochrane is the new chair of Interior Health’s Board of Directors.
a quality guy T
he new board chair of Interior Health is a private person. Rather than talking about himself, he prefers to discuss quality care for patients, strengthening the health system, and responding to social needs.
An early riser, after a light breakfast – yogurt and granola – Dr. Doug Cochrane, a well-known name in B.C. health circles, is ready for the day. “I’ve learned from experience that the hours can get away from you and you end up working far later if you don’t get going early.” He says his early rising was entrenched by on-time charge nurses and patients. He may not be quite as busy these days as before he retired as a pediatric neurosurgeon at B.C. Children’s Hospital, but his mind is still fully occupied by health matters. He is chair of the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council; the Provincial Patient Safety & Quality Officer; and as of September, chair of the Interior Health Board of Directors. For the past two years, he and his wife, Barbara, have lived permanently in West Kelowna, but they’ve had a historical connection to the Okanagan through relatives and bought their retirement property long before making the final move. Doug is the only health-care professional in his family. His dad was a teacher, his mom was a homemaker, and his wife was trained as a chemist and engineer with “amazing organizational skills” that allowed Doug to focus on his unquenchable drive to improve health care for patients. They also have two daughters and three grandchildren. That’s about all the personal information he’s likely to reveal at a first encounter, but he will happily discuss what motivated him to accept the position as IH board chair. It’s an extension of his work to improve patient safety and reduce errors in health care that began in 1997 when he was on a team fighting to reverse the effects of a medication mistake that eventually resulted in the death of a young girl. A full interview on his mission to improve patient safety is available on the Canadian Patient Safety Institute website. “I have had the honour of caring for patients from all areas of IH over many years and I relied on the strength of the health system to help me take care of the babies, children, and teenagers who needed the clinical services I could offer through Children’s Hospital. Now, if I can do anything to strengthen that system as chair of the board, then I want to do that.” While he believes having clinical knowledge will be helpful to him as he navigates board decisions, it’s not the only thing. “Our job as board members is to provide reflective advice on the systems of care that IH provides to patients. We set the bar for health-care performance and make sure that it is high enough. “The issues facing a health authority need a forward looking, thoughtful plan and implementation that respects and addresses patient and community needs. With the CEO and his staff, we support the relationships with communities and the health system.” … continued on page 14
… continued from page 13
Doug considers the opiate crisis as one of the challenging areas of work that will continue to remain a crisis until all partners put their minds to it in an organized way and join in providing safe care for those in need. “Until that happens, we will remain reactive to the crisis and will not address critical underlying issues that drive this tragedy.” Many aspects of the health system work really well, which gives him inspiration as he continues to do his part for the most vulnerable people in the province – those who need strong health-care services. He is pleased to be leading a health authority that has a history of strong management and governance upon which a quality future can be built. Along with the new chair, two new members also joined the IH board in September. They are Dr. Selena Lawrie, a general practitioner in Kamloops, and a site director for the University of British Columbia Family Medicine Program; and Cindy Stewart from Vernon, who holds a Bachelor of Science in rehabilitation medicine and has worked as a physiotherapist. Cindy is also a former president of the Health Sciences Association of B.C. and former vice president of the B.C. Federation of Labour. The biographies of the Interior Health Board of Directors are available on the IH public website. New Board Chair Doug Cochrane, left, joins CEO Chris Mazurkewich in Cranbrook on a recent tour of IH sites in the East Kootenay.
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Donna Helgeson, Public Health Nurse @IH: Tell us a little about yourself and your background in health care. I have been a Public Health Nurse (PHN) for 37 years and thirty of those years were with Interior Health. I moved from Edmonton in October 1987 to Salmon Arm. For the past 15 years, I have been working as a staff nurse in the Sicamous Health Unit office.
@IH: Tell us about your role in IH. What do you do? My PHN role is a generalist role. I work with families, from prenatal, postnatal, and through the school years. I also provide immunizations across the age span, from infants to seniors. I am lucky to have the opportunity to do lots of community development work in Sicamous with many different agencies.
@IH: Why is your work important?
I believe I am working with people to help them help themselves. The variety of my job keeps me interested as not one day is the same in Sicamous.
@IH: What do you most enjoy about your work?
I love working with children and families in the community. I love to see children happy, and when we host community events that have a health or safety message, it brings a smile to my face.
@IH: Do you have a highlight or two from your
career with IH? Anything that really stands out for you? Seeing the community of Sicamous grow, the network happening, the free services happening for parents, and the agencies working cooperatively for the good of the community. The willingness for community agencies to start new programs is amazing. One of my greatest developments is the creation of the “baby wall” in my office. Parents can
bring a photo in and we post it on the wall, and over the years we can show the photos to the children who come to our Kindergarten Immunization Fair.
@IH: What is great about working in Sicamous?
The great thing about working in a rural office is the supportive staff I work with. We are a close team. We have some resident staff such as Marjorie Dewit in Administrative Support and Pamela DeBruin, Manager of Communicable Disease Prevention and Immunization. Others are in and out – like Colleen Wagner from Dental Health and Bonnie Johnson with Speech Language – because they travel regularly as part of their work.
@IH: Final thoughts?
In my role with Public Health, I have a continuity of care that is very satisfying. I can see clients several times and build rapport with them and also a sense of trust. I feel like I have a dream job here in Sicamous.
Community of
Sicamous
Nov. 7, 1885 Completion of Canadian Pacific Railway nearby
23
Babies born in community (2017)
30 yrs 3
Age of Sicamous Health Centre
Permanent health centre staff
Stats and photo: hellobc.com. Nominate a colleague, manager, or place for a future spotlight.
3,055
Population (approx.)
4
Provincial parks in the area
Fernie Submitted by: Dee O’Connor
Slocan Valley Submitted by: Kenneth Sedore
Penticton Submitted by: Sarah Carrington Lower Nicola Submitted by: Jessie Tubbs
Did you ever stop to think that someone has to clean and decontaminate many of our medical devices? At Interior Health, we rely on well trained and knowledgeable staff to do this very important behind-the-scenes job. This process is known as Medical Device Reprocessing (MDR). Pictured here, Megan Collins is in the decontamination area of Kelowna General Hospital’s MDR department. Find out more about what this job entails In The Loop.
East Kootenay (EK) Public Health Nursing (PHN) has partnered with EK Children First & Success By 6 to pilot a project designed to promote safe sleep for infants as well as an early and meaningful connection with Public Health nurses and community resources for first-time parents. In the photo (L-R): PHN Pam Smith, PHN Caroline Shepherd, PHN Team Leader Terri Fergus, EK Children First & Success By 6 Regional Manager Gina Panattoni, and PHN Diane Cameron.
IH nurses Nadine Rigby, Nicole Campbell, and Avneet Khela met recently with MLA Steve Thomson (Kelowna–Mission) and his constituency office to discuss the overdose crisis and provide naloxone training.
Keeping families together is critical, especially when you have a little one who is sick. Every year, thousands of families are forced to leave their homes and travel to Kelowna General Hospital for specialized medical care. Accommodation in this rapidly growing city is expensive and nearly impossible to find. That’s why the KGH Foundation has committed to raising $8 million to build JoeAnna’s House, a home away from home for families travelling for care.
People often think that palliative care is just for the last days or weeks of life, but actually it should be initiated much earlier. Having a proper palliative care plan in place can eliminate many negative consequences, including inappropriate treatment choices and lack of symptom control.
Have you ever wished you could connect more meaningfully with people? Have you ever wondered what you could say to make someone’s day more special? Watch this short video to see what Dr. Lachlan Forrow, MD, advisor to The Conversation Project, has to say.