Brenda Scott transitioned into her new role at St. Paul’s Hospital after the closure of Central Laundry.

Edith Matyson is one who’s stayed behind. “It broke up our little family,” says Matyson, who has worked at the laundry for 33 years, currently as a supervisor. “You still feel like you’re in a family. I know some people didn’t get to stay on here and you have to feel for them.”
Brenda Scott, who has been with laundry for a year, is now working at St. Paul’s Hospital in housekeeping along with nine of her laundry colleagues. “We are a very close family. If one of the ten of us doesn’t come to work we wonder if they’re okay.”

Scott says the laundry staff has been welcomed with open arms at SPH. They and other staff redeployed to housekeeping duties at other facilities are working on special cleaning projects. The Health Region has worked with the union to ensure staff have a place to work.

Closing laundry was a difficult decision. “The safety of Saskatoon Health Region employees is more important to us than keeping this facility open,” says Bonnie Blakley, Vice President of People Strategies. “I have met many of our Central Laundry employees over the past several weeks and I know this is the right decision for them and their families. They have done tremendous work to keep our laundry operations going until this point, and we will work with each employee and their union to ease their concerns at this difficult time.”

Both Scott and Matyson say despite the situation, they’re loyal to the job. “We try to provide a service that the patients and the hospitals and facilities need,” says Matyson. “Our customers know we’re here everyday and trying to do our best.”

“We’re working very hard to keep providing laundry service to all our facilities, and to minimize any disruption to our patients, hospitals and care providers,” says Nilesh Kavia, Vice President of Finance and Administration. “Clean linen supplies are still low in the affected facilities. We appreciate the extra effort staff in those facilities are making to conserve linens and to ensure they use linens appropriately.”

“Everyone wanted to find a way to keep the place open,” says Scott. “We would do anything possible to keep our facility going. We understood that the hospitals needed their linen to work. Being shut down was devastating for us.

For 40 years, the plant in Saskatoon’s north end has handled the Region’s laundry services – cleaning as much as 27,000 pounds of soiled linen a day. The Region expects to be out of the Central Laundry building in January and will continue to provide distribution functions from an alternate site.

“The idea for the Resource Centre came directly from patient and family members at RUH,” explains Malori Keller, Saskatoon Health Region’s Client and Family Centred Care Specialist. “Patients and their families expressed a need for a quiet, comfortable, family friendly space within the hospital and they advised on what was needed in the Centre as well.”
Fleming and Waldner became very familiar with Royal University Hospital during the many days while their mother was a patient in the facility. “There really wasn’t a place you could go just to have a quiet moment or to check emails, or get additional information,” says Fleming. “It would have been nice to have a comfortable spot within the hospital to go to while my mother was getting tests or resting.”

The Patient and Family Resource Centre provides comfortable seating, five computer stations with internet access, a printer and, books and magazines. Patients and their families will also have easy access to information on local accommodations and amenities.

The Centre can connect patients and their families with library resources, patient education materials and additional resources within Saskatoon Health Region. “Clients can use the Centre as a starting point to access translation services, spiritual care, social work services, client representatives and other services,” explains Keller.

Funds for the Centre have been provided through donor support of the Royal University Hospital Foundation.

“We are pleased to support such a valuable initiative for patients and their families,” says RUHF Chair Bill Johnson. “It’s our sincerest hope that patients and families find this centre to be a source of comfort and information.” The Centre will be staffed by volunteers who will be able to assist patients and families in gathering information and establishing connections to existing Saskatoon Health Region resources.

As a family advisor to Saskatoon Health Region, Fleming had input into the Resource Centre project from the beginning and is very proud of the end result. “Whatever the reason for coming to RUH, we hope that patients and families take advantage of this caring, comforting space and the resources available,” says Fleming. “Sometimes the simplest convenience, like having a place to gather your thoughts, can transform your hospital experience.”

Emergency Services team members look over their 3D design for the new adult and pediatric emergency department for Children’s Hospital of Saskatchewan. The model was created during the second 3P event for the new maternal and children’s hospital.

Johnston, along with other patients and parents joined staff, physicians and Health Region leaders in a north end warehouse to design parts of the new hospital in the latest 3P event. 3P is a tool used in continuous improvement. It focuses on creating revolutionary change and involves five days of intense work and commitment.

In November, the focus was on maternal services and pediatric surgery. In December, it was pediatric and emergency services turn. The key was having patients and families sitting at the table along with a strong team from support services such as linen, housekeeping, pharmacy and diagnostic imaging.

Dr. Laurentiu Givelichian, interim head of pediatrics and 3P team leader, says everyone working together was key to success. “At the beginning of the week, I was a little bit suspicious and I didn’t have 100% trust in the process,” he admits. “At the end of it, I can say I feel rejuvenated. This process has truly proven to help us design the hospital.”
The teams’ designs are now with the hospital’s architects. Architects will reconnect with the groups in mid-January to show the updated early floor plans.

Meanwhile, staff and physicians involved in these events know the work has only just begun.
“We are doing our best to try and create a system that flows, that works good, but we can’t be the place for admitted patients,” says Dr. James Stempien, physician lead for Emergency Services and 3P team leader. “If we see system wide change where patients are able to get up to beds and given care they need then this is going to be great, but without that it’s going to be very difficult.”

Health Region leaders will now be planning for how to implement needed process improvements. Some will be tackled through rapid process improvement workshops (RPIWs). Those are similar to 3P events, but on a smaller scale. Training is expected to start in January. The work will ramp up over the next three to four months.

“I think if there is one thing we have learned it is that this is not a small change, it is a whole system change,” says Jackie Mann, Executive Sponsor – Children’s Hospital of Saskatchewan and VP Acute Care. “That is why we have had senior leaders involved in these events because we know as we go forward this is going to take our whole system.”
It’s this new future that has Deb Johnston excited.

“When I was a kid, it was like you are on the titanic and you got from A to B and you know what happened to the titanic,” she explains. “But with this concept, it is bringing us almost to a stage like star trek. So from Titanic going from A to B to ‘beam me up Scotty’, it is really incredible.”

To learn more about the work underway, visit Children’s Hospital of Saskatchewan website at www.saskatoonhealthregion.ca/chs and watch the latest video on 3P.

The new health bus.

Saskatoon Health Region partnered with MD Ambulance to pilot the health bus project in August 2008. MD Ambulance donated a used recreational vehicle (RV) which was then retrofitted into a mobile clinic. The pilot program received permanent funding from the Ministry of Health in February 2009.

“The whole purpose of the health bus is to improve access to health care services,” says Sheila Achilles, Director of Primary Health. “By working with private and public partners, by creating those partnerships we are putting the health care needs of our communities first. We come to them.”

Jodi Spence is very familiar with Saskatoon’s health bus. The 32-year old daycare worker and mother of four young children understands how quickly the need for medical advice and assistance can arise. “I really trust the staff on the health bus,” says Spence. “They are always calm, friendly, they don’t rush you like some clinics and are very thorough when dealing with a young child.”

The health bus served just less than 6,000 clients from April 2009 to March 2010. “We provide care to a diverse group of people, including some who may be transient or homeless or living at risk. Promoting healthy lifestyles and behaviours is an integral part of each patient visit,” says Grolla. “Promotion and education can range from talking to a mother about infant or child care, teaching diabetic management or talking to a drug addict about their addictions. Some clients come every week, some come once or twice a month but they always tell us that they feel safe coming to the bus.”

“Creating that trust and reliability with our clients is what makes this program work so well,” says Achilles. “For example, if we need to change a bus stop location we want to do
so based on client need and access, and without creating a lot of confusion. To accomplish this, we consult our clients and our frontline staff and select the location based on their recommendations.”

Reliability has occasionally been an issue, especially in the winter months says Grolla. “At -40 a 1993 RV isn’t so quick to start and it’s harder to keep the bus warm. During the summer it’s just as hard to keep it cool, as the air conditioning frequently conked out.”
However, the new health bus debuted in Saskatoon on December 19.

The new Crestline vehicle is much longer with room for two patient treatment areas instead of one. “The new bus is also wheelchair accessible which is something that we couldn’t offer on the old bus due to lack of space,” explains Achilles.

Funding for the new bus came courtesy of the Synergy 8 Community Builders who raised a total of $360,000 including PotashCorp’s matching sponsorship of $180,000. The Ministry of Health and Saskatoon Health Region contributed $100,000 towards the purchase of the new bus.
“These partners have done an incredible job in supporting this program and we are so grateful to them,” says Achilles. “It’s our hope that joint initiatives like these can set the stage for future partnerships.”

Grolla agrees. In fact, she would like to see additional focus on developing partnerships with more social agencies and community partners. “We need to provide more education and preventative health care and I think having additional partners in both the private and public sectors can help us achieve that,” she says. “We need to go beyond basic health care.”
As for the old bus, Achilles doesn’t know what the plans are for it yet. “We’re not sure how we are going to use it at this point but we are definitely going to keep it.”

Click here to take a virtual tour of the new health bus: http://www.youtube.com/user/SaskatoonHealthReg#p/u/4/YlngLKV5JPA

The first Manager Development Program graduating class (not in order – missing is Cheryl Cummings, Christina Sparrow and Tara Young) Nicole Bletsky, Kara Cote, Lynne Fitzsimmons, Tracey Kushniruk, Lana Linton, Michael Losie, Gary Paydli, Cheryl Sinclair, Donna Strilaeff and Lisa Williams stand with Saskatoon Health Region Vice-President of People Strategies Bonnie Blakely, Lorna Clarke, Executive Director of Acute Care, Christine Witt and Christina Benzing, Program Facilitators, Organizational Learning & Effectiveness and Betty Mutwiri, Manager, Organizational Learning & Effectiveness.

Over the course of the year long program, Region leaders’ competencies grew 5.2 per
cent – more than double the
national average.
“The program was a great success,” adds Witt.
Many aspects of the program are designed to aid managers in doing their job as effectively as possible, including change management, staff engagement, mentoring and collaboration. The pilot is unique in that it leverages the knowledge base of others (other managers, directors and the senior leaders) to encourage peer-to-peer learning, on-the-job training and integrated transformational leadership practices.

“I was excited to see the results. I know programs like these yield results and I consider it a great return on our investment,” says Bonnie Blakley, vice-president of People Strategies, Saskatoon Health Region. “I really have to applaud this group for taking the time to improve their leadership.”

Based on Transformational Leadership principles, the program includes:
- An Individual Learning Plan – based on pre-assessment tool results
- Cumulative Competencies
- Mentoring and Coaching Components
- Various Learning Tools
- Self-evaluation and Formal Evaluation
- LEARNERS making and implementing real-tme plans, based on what they have learned

]]> http://regionreporter.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/first-class-graduates-from-manager-development-program/feed/ 0 The Region Reporter icon - Manager Development Program 014 http://regionreporter.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/air-ambulance-celebrates-65th-year-in-service/ http://regionreporter.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/air-ambulance-celebrates-65th-year-in-service/#comments Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:47:09 +0000 The Region Reporter http://regionreporter.wordpress.com/?p=1456 ]]> Health Minister Don McMorris was at the Saskatchewan Air Ambulance hangar on Thursday, December 8 to wish the staff a Happy 65th Anniversary. Saskatchewan Air Ambulance is the oldest non-military air medical transport program in the world.

Government Services Minister Laura Ross along with Saskatoon Regional Health Authority Chair Jim Rhode were also on hand to offer congratulations.

]]> http://regionreporter.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/air-ambulance-celebrates-65th-year-in-service/feed/ 0 The Region Reporter icon - Don McMorris http://regionreporter.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/royal-university-hospital-auxiliary-creates-a-million-dollar-endowment/ http://regionreporter.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/royal-university-hospital-auxiliary-creates-a-million-dollar-endowment/#comments Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:45:08 +0000 The Region Reporter http://regionreporter.wordpress.com/?p=1451 ]]> After more than 55 years of giving, the Royal University Hospital Auxiliary has made a legacy gift that will last long into the future. In October, past and present members of the Auxiliary created the Royal University Hospital Auxiliary Endowment Fund with a $1.125 million gift to the RUH Foundation.

Members of the RUH Auxiliary mark the creation of the RUH Auxiliary Legacy Endowment Fund: From left to right (back row) Bess Candline, Ila Hlasny, Jean Laxdal, Sharon MacNeill, Helen Phenix, Marilyn Billinton, Doris Montalbetti, Bjorg Birt, Edna Sproule, Myrtle Erickson, Helen Pries, Marion Tracey, Betty Wheatley, Glenn Peterson, Anne Moran, Elaine Ogilvy, Ruth Harker, Joyce Billinton, (front row) George-Ann Murray, RUH Foundation CEO Arla Gustafson, RUH Auxiliary President Alice Hamp, RUH Foundation Volunteer Chair Bill Johnson, Gloria Reid, Iris Buchko and Orest Buchko.

Annual earnings will support the priority purchase of medical equipment and furnishings at RUH as well as fund annual Auxiliary scholarships and education. RUH Auxiliary President Alice Hamp is overwhelmed to be in a position where the Auxiliary can make such a generous donation.
“It is history in the making,” she says. “It’s a wonderful legacy for the Auxiliary to leave our hospital.”

Since its inception in 1955, the Auxiliary has been providing care and comfort for patients and their families at RUH through volunteerism and fundraising. Since 1974, members have raised and invested $3.5 million in support of RUH.

Arla Gustafson, CEO of the RUH Foundation, says each and every year, the Auxiliary Endowment will benefit patients, their families and staff at RUH. “This endowment will remind future generations of the great impact the Auxiliary has had on healthcare at RUH,” she says. “We know that others will want to make donations to the Endowment, and it will continue to grow.”
“We’re truly grateful for how hard the Auxiliary has worked to preserve the efforts of past and present members,” adds Gustafson.

The Auxiliary’s gift shop is rated as one of the top gift shops in North America, and it is run entirely by volunteers under the leadership of Ila Hlasny. Hamp says the Auxiliary wants to do whatever it can to make a patient’s stay at RUH comfortable.

“There’s a joy in giving and receiving,” she says. “It’s a blessing for all.”

]]> http://regionreporter.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/royal-university-hospital-auxiliary-creates-a-million-dollar-endowment/feed/ 0 The Region Reporter icon - Auxiliary http://regionreporter.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/conservation-corner-get-around-get-around-how-do-you-get-around/ http://regionreporter.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/conservation-corner-get-around-get-around-how-do-you-get-around/#comments Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:37:55 +0000 The Region Reporter http://regionreporter.wordpress.com/?p=1442 ]]> It’s no secret parking at our urban sites is in short supply. It is also not a secret that like the rest of Canada, 80 per cent of drivers in Saskatoon and 80 per cent of Saskatoon Health Region employees drive alone to and from work.

As part of our ongoing efforts to go green and to enhance transportation options for Saskatoon Health Region staff, physicians and volunteers, the Sustainability Department is providing educational workshops on cycling, releasing a new online carpool service, and expanding the subsidized bus pass program (Ecopass).

Interested in carpooling?
Look for us at RUH, SCH and SPH in the second week of January, where you can see on our maps where the best potentials exist for carpooling in the city. Check out our new online service at www.carpool.saskatoonhealthregion.ca
If you live in a rural area, contact us by phone (655-0676) or email sprout@saskatoonhealthregion.ca and we can help you engage fellow employees.

Would you like an Ecopass?
The passes are issued on an annual basis, at a cost of $21.50 per pay period, deducted through payroll. Application forms are available on the infonet: http://infonet.sktnhr.ca/sustainability/Pages/ProgramsServices.aspx

Interested in cycling to work?
Through a partnership with Saskatoon Cycles, we are offering cycling workshops throughout the region, both in summer and winter. If you are interested in having a workshop delivered in your facility, please contact us to set up a date and time.

Did you know??
Over four years, using public transit instead of driving to work would save $38,575.20, a healthy sum that can go toward retirement, renovations, education and other household priorities. You can calculate the cost of your commute at Natural Resource Canada’s Fuel Focus web site.

Conservation Corner is a regular feature of The Region Reporter written by Jocelyn Orb, Saskatoon Health Region’s Sustainability Coordinator.

]]> http://regionreporter.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/conservation-corner-get-around-get-around-how-do-you-get-around/feed/ 0 The Region Reporter