Providence care February 2015 Connections newsletter

Connections February 2015

Southeastern Ontario’s leading provider of AGING, MENTAL HEALTH AND REHABILITATIVE CARE

Our Values Respect. Dignity. Compassion. Stewardship.

Our Mission Trusting in Providence and strengthened by the spirit and tradition of our Founders, the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul, we enhance the quality of life by meeting the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of each person.

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Leading the way in compassion and discovery.

Providence Care staff receive award for work on ARTIC project

We work with our partners to innovate and excel in education and research.

We treat each person with respect, dignity and compassion.

What’s Inside 

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Providence Care welcomes top grads to the team Living the Mission - Photos

Donation received for purchase of Functional Electric Stimulator cycling machine for new hospital

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Tea time at St. Mary’s

Carol Mieras (at R in top photo), Manager of our Adult Mental Health program at Mental Health Services, received an award this week for her work on the ‘Adopting Research to Improve Care’ (ARTIC) project that supports mental health clients in the local community. Providence Care launched this project in February 2014 and is one of nine Ontario academic hospitals participating in the research project. It aims to help people living with mental illness make the transition from a hospital inpatient unit back to the community. It is based on therapeutic relationships and has been shown to reduce length of stay and readmission rates.

The award that was presented to Carol was “most involved and visible site lead.”

Congratulations to Carol for receiving this award and for all of her efforts and dedication to this project.

www.providencecare.ca info@providencecare.ca twitter.com/Providence_Care www.youtube.com/ProvidenceCareCA

Michelle Way from the Mental Health Support Network of South Eastern Ontario was recognized as providing the “smoothest transition of peer support into an organization.” She facilitated the integration of peer support into our organization which was fundamental in the seamless type of care that is offered under this project.

A special thanks goes to Kaili Gabriel and Theresa Beskers as the ‘Ward Champions’ and all of the staff (larger photo) on Unit 15 -’Wellness and Recovery’ at Mental Health ca.linkedin.com/company/providence-care Services for their participation and support of the model and the clients. www.facebook.com/ProvidenceCareCA

Providence C a re C on n e c ti o n s

February 2015

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PROVIDENCE CARE

NEWS FLASH

Building of new Providence Care Hospital progressing well Check it out at: www.providencecare.ca/redevelopment

Providence Care welcomes top grads to the team Providence Care is excited to welcome three new Occupational Therapists to the Community High Intensity Treatment Team (CHITT) and the Assertive Community Treatment Team (ACTT). Laura Stanley, Nida Khoja, and Alex Carlsson are all graduates of Queen’s University Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy, each receiving distinguished awards upon graduation.

In, 2013 Laura was awarded the R.W. Leonard prize in Occupational Therapy as well as the Ontario Society of Occupational Therapists Student Award. She is now working with clients as a member of the Community Integration Program ACTT team, based at Montreal Street.

“During my placement, I had the opportunity to spend two months learning about Providence Care and to see what the OTs did from inside the organization,” said Laura. “That is what drew me to mental health.”

Nida received the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Psychosocial Practice in 2014 for her exceptional grades as a student.

“I’ve always wanted to practice mental health,” said Nida. “Occupational therapy is a good lens for me to practice it…my placement here consolidated that for me.”

Alex also received an award while at Queen’s – in 2014, she received an Award of Merit from the Office for Interprofessional Education and Practice for her academic achievements and leadership.

Providence Care welcomes new Occupational Therapists, (LtoR in photo) Alex Carlsson, Laura Stanley and Nida Khoza to the organization. All three young women received distinguished awards upon graduation from Queen’s University.

“I did my first placement at Providence Care,” said Alex. “Ever since then, I knew that mental health was where I wanted to be.”

Providence Care’s Human Resources department uses various strategies to recruit qualified individuals, and in some cases, even completes interviews overseas using Skype and tailoring the recruiting process to make sure that new grads have a fair opportunity to be considered for positions. After completing successful placements here as students, Laura, Nida, and Alex were able to apply and qualify for full time jobs before writing their national exams.

“They put a lot of faith in new grads,” said Nida. “We were all surprised by

the amount of openness they had.

It’s important that they counted our placement as valid work experience.”

Even though they are relatively new, the OTs have already started working towards their goals to make Providence Care a better place.

“I find that working on the program level you can make more meaningful changes,” Laura said. “I want to spend a few years getting to know the ins and outs of working with clients on ground one and take that further into creating a better hospital environment.”

- Maclean Chadwick Freelance Writer

Providence C a re C on n e c ti o n s LIVING THE MISSION Through the year, our staff, physicians and volunteers particpate in various activities in support of our communities, through ‘Living the Mission’ and other events – here are just some of the recent activities that show how our staff live the Mission and Values of Providence Care:  Dec. 2014 - Christmas luncheon held at Mental Health Services raised $1,336 for the Partners in Mission Food Bank.  Dec. 2014 - Providence Care's Attendant Care Outreach Program made a delivery and a donation to Martha's Table.  Jan. 27, 2015 - ‘Living the Mission’ event - ‘ChiliFest,’ celebrated our Value of Dignity, raising $266 for NightLight in Kingston to buy a computer.  Jan. 25- Providence Care’s Hildegarde Centre particpated in the Alzheimer’s Walk for Memories, raising over $2,400. They placed second for most funds raised by a team.  Feb. 11 - World Day of Prayer for the Sick was recognized with displays, complete with prayer pebbles.  Feb. 11 - in celebration of Therapeutic Recreation month, our Leisure Life Skills Instructors at Mental Health Services held a bake sale. Proceeds to be shared in support of hospital wide programming and the Canadian Tire Jump Start Program.  Feb. 17 - Shrove Tuesday recognized with pancake lunch offered at our main locations for a donation, proceeds going to Martha’s Table.

This ‘Living the Mission’ event celebrated our Value of Compassion and raised $590.25 for Martha’s Table.

February 2015

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Providence C a re C on n e c ti o n s PROVIDENCE CARE

NEWS FLASH

February 2015

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UHKF: Donation received for purchase of Functional Electric Stimulator cycling machine for new hospital

A big thanks to the Electrical Contractors Association of Ontario - Quinte-St. Lawrence for their generous donation toward the purchase of a Functional Electric Stimulator cycling machine - an exciting piece of exercise equipment that will provide many people with the ability to exercise again. The equipment uses electrical impulses to help people who have lost the ability to move their muscles to move their legs in a cycling motion.

The FES machine is one of the new pieces of equipment that will be available in the rehabilitation gymnasium in the new Providence Care Hospital. Pictured in front of the construction site of the new hospital are (L-R) Univeristy Hospitals Kingston Foundation’s Nicole Pierce, Francis Beehler of the ECAO-Quinte-St. Lawrence, Dr. Karen Smith and Jeff Green of the ECAO-Quinte-St.Lawrence. Thank you to the members of the ECAO!

Tea time at St. Mary’s Getting together with friends to catch up over a cup of tea can sometimes be the best part of the week, which is why a group of volunteers at St. Mary’s of the Lake Hospital host a weekly “Tea and Talk” for patients to enjoy homemade desserts, a comforting hot beverage, and most importantly, a chance to socialize with each other.

Social events like this improve a patient’s quality of life, and the Tea and Talk is one of many events that Providence Care hosts to meet the social needs of patients, one of the core values that Providence Care stands for. Todd Helsby, a patient at St. Mary’s, agrees that the event helps his well-being as a patient.

“I’m here to socialize,” said Todd. “It’s nice to have the treats and everything, but the biggest and most important thing is the fact that we get to see other people.”

The Tea and Talk has been a hit among patients for over 20 years. Lynn Dion (far left in photo) has been volunteering for 19 of those years, providing a helping hand at events like the Tea and Talk, sing-along, and church services. She comes back week after week because she loves the community.

“I love it here,” said Lynn. “I love to be with the patients.”

Maggie McDougall (front right in photo), a new volunteer at Tea and Talk, is inspired by the positive effects that the event has on patients.

“It benefits the patients every week because it gets them out and talking,” said Maggie. “I think it’s important to get out of your room and see some familiar faces and some not-so familiar faces. It’s a nice social thing that’s really important to do.”

Every Tuesday, a team of volunteers including Maggie and Lynn work together

to bring patients down to the cafeteria, and serve up delicious homemade treats, tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. The team is cautious about dietary requirements and allergies, and will even help patients with physical disabilities* enjoy their snacks.

But the best part, they say, is seeing everyone out of their rooms and enjoying each other’s company.

“I love making people’s days a little better if I can,” said Maggie, “and that happens every week that I come back.”

- Maclaine Chadwick, Freelance Writer

Connections - Published by: Providence Care Communications Department Email: info@providencecare.ca