March 2009

CONTENTS

2 Funding for VaughanDialysis Site

Patient Satisfaction Scores Increase

Code of Conduct

3 YCH Staff in the Spotlight

Kiani Award Winners

Ramirez Heads for World Championship

4 Patient Letters

5 Stories from the MAC Committee

6 Parking Lot Improvements

e-Pay Coming to YCH

7-8Orientation The New Faces ofDecember 2008 to February 2009

Upcoming Events and Activities

It’s official, the Town ofRichmond Hill Wing willofficially open onThursday, March 26.

The opening will be thefirst event to be held in thehospital’s new auditorium. The 150-seatvenue is scheduled to becompleted just in time forthe grand opening.

Staff Sneak PreviewAll staff, physicians andvolunteers will be given asneak peek of the Town ofRichmond Hill Wing onWednesday, March 25from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.Level 3 and Level 5 of thenew wing will be open fortours. An official grandopening ceremony isscheduled to take place inthe new auditorium thefollowing day from 3:30p.m. to 5 p.m.

Level 5 will become thenew home of the IntensiveCare Unit (ICU) which wasgenerously funded by theVolunteer Association ofYork Central Hospital. Thenew ICU is almost fourtimes the size of the department’s existingspace. It includes slidingglass doors in front of and

between patient roomswhich will provide clear visibility of thepatients at all times aswell as enhanced infectionprevention and control.

The unit also features twoisolation rooms and nineprivate rooms which canbe used for patients withinfection control issues.

Funded by the Paul B.Helliwell Foundation, theMedical/Surgical Unit onLevel 3 features 19 patientcare rooms including aCardiac Care zone.

The entire new area is outfitted with a cardiactelemetry system whichcontinuously monitors the

hearts of patients andtransmits heart activity toa central unit at the nursing station. This system allows patients tomove freely throughoutthe unit and has an alarmthat notify staff if problemsoccur.

More Events PlannedThe event is just one ofseveral planned before theend of the redevelopment project.There are events plannedfor the opening of the newAmbulatory Clinic areathe renovated DiagnosticImaging Department aswell as Pharmacy,Chemotherapy and theMedical Day Care areas.

Town of Richmond Hill Wing opens

Open for business...the new Town of Richmond Hill Wing wasofficially opened at a ceremony on March 26.

Provincial Health MinisterDavid Caplan recentlyannounced the Ontariogovernment is providingfunding for a new satellitedialysis centre in Vaughan.

Once completed in thesummer of 2009, the sitewill offer treatment forpatients requiring dialysis. Patients referredto this unit will most likelyfind this location moreconvenient than the hospital’s main site in central Richmond Hill.

The new Vaughan SatelliteDialysis Unit will consist of33 renal dialysis units,including a nephrologyout-patient clinic.

The project is expected tocost $10.55 million withthe Ministry of Health andLong Term Care providinga maximum capital grantof $8.24 million.

“Transportation and thetime it takes is one of thebiggest challenges facingour patients and that thenew facility will help alleviate that burden,” saysDr. Bharat Nathoo, ClinicalDirector of the ChronicKidney Disease Program.“Each patient must makethe trip from their home toa treatment centre 156times each year.”

2 The Central Line - March 2009 - York Central Hospital

Health Minister Caplanannounces dialysis centrefunding

Patient satisfaction continuesupward trendThe latest patient satisfaction scores are in and there’sgood news...they are continuing their steady climb toward the hospital’s goal of creating a great patient careexperience for all.

Four areas including Emergency Medicine, Maternity,Med/Surg and Paediatrics all saw increased patient satisfaction scores. Special mentions include: an outstanding satisfaction score of 91 out of a possible 100for physicians in our Nephrology Clinic, an increase from45 to 72 in patient satisfaction regarding patient information and communication on the Maternity Unit,and an increase in the overall patient satisfaction scorefor the Pediatrics Unit from 76 to 89!

Congratulations to our entire healthcare team on ourcontinued progress.

After a year long consultation with YCH staff, physiciansand volunteers, York Central Hospital proudly launchedits new Code of Conduct which has now been widelyshared with all staff and will soon be publicly displayedin all areas of the hospital.

Members of our health care team have welcomed thenew Code as truly representative of the kind of workingand patient care environment that each of us would likeachieve for the benefit of all concerned. To help ensureall staff are aware of the new Code, members of the Codeof Conduct Committee will soon be visiting every patientcare unit and service department offering pocket sizedversions of the code as well as a leave behind postercopies for the Capacity Building Boards.

Hospital launches new Codeof Conduct

The YCH Code of Conduct is a set of principles, valuesand practices that guide the behaviours of everyonewho works or volunteers at YCH and for all patientsand visitors.

York Central Hospital is committed to a safe, caring,compassionate, and inclusive environment where we:

Treat one another with compassion, kindness, courtesy, respect, and dignity.

Recognize the unique role and contribution of each individual.

Work together.

Listen and communicate responsibly.

Take responsibility for our actions.

Act with integrity and fairness.

Resolve differences and concerns in a sensitive andtimely way.

York Central HospitalCode of Conduct

The Central Line - February 2008 - York Central Hospital 3

YCH Staff, Physicians, and Volunteers in the Spotlight

The Kiani Awards, whichare presented to staff whoexemplify dedication topatients were recently givento four outstanding YCHstaffers during a recent emotionally-charged ceremony.

Although the awards arenormally given to three staffmembers and aphysician, the physicianchosen was out of the country and will be recognized at the next KianiAward ceremony.

Considered extremely compassionate and caringtowards patientswith her soothing comments and presence,Kiani Award winner SharonDe Beaucampworks as an InstrumentTechnician in the hospital’s Urology Clinic.

The second Kiani Awardwinner Barbara DiMambrospent many hours trying tohelp a young cancer patientfind the resources he needed to survive.DiMambro works as a socialworker in the SurgeryProgram.

Known for displaying her

compassion, respect andcaring and for always beingwilling to make great effortsto accommodate herpatients’ needs, the thirdKiani Award winnerOksana Sklifasovska worksas a nurse with the Woundand Skin Care Team as wellas Continuing Care.

The fourth Kiani Award wasgiven to a man who alwaysgoes that extra mile when itcomes to providing service to our patients. Onone occasion this man wentout of his way to providefresh strawberries to a seriously ill patient. DavidStrome works as a storekeeper in the hospital’s Food ServicesDepartment.

Each of the Kiani Awardwinners receives a plaque, apin as well as a cheque for$500.

The Kiani Awards are givenout semi-annually to thosewho demonstrate exceptional dedication topatients at YCH.Nomination forms are located throughout the hospital.

Kiani Awards...leading others through dedicated service

The most recent recipients of the Kiani Awards were honoured at a recent ceremony. From left to right are:Oksana Sklifasovska, Barbara DiMambro, David Strome andSharon De Beaucamp.

Ramirez sets his sights on the World ChampionshipTo say York CentralHospital’s Emilio Ramirezis committed to jujitsu andmartial arts is an understatement.

On March 15, Ramirezbeat eight oponents to wina spot on a team whichwill compete at the WorldChampionship in AbuDhabi, United ArabEmirates in June.

It was only last Novemberwhen the 33-year-oldRichmond Hill resident,

who works as a transporter at York CentralHospital, won theCanadian WelterweightJujitsu Championship.

“The World Championshipis the equivalent of theOlympics in jujitsu, “ saysRamirez, who has beentraining about 15 hours aweek to prepare for thetrials.

Ramirez started learningjujitsu a few years ago forthe health benefits but he

has been studying martialarts for the past 15 years.He is now teaching andcoaching others and soonhopes to be able to develop his own jujitsutechniques and possiblytake his skills to theworld of UltimateFighting.

Jujitsu is very therapeutic,says Ramirez. Once anindividual learns the basicskills, they have to usetheir mind to outsmarttheir opponent.

“For me, more than anything, I want to succeed and set an example for my son andmy family,” says Ramirez.

Emilio Ramirez with the medalhe won at the North Americantrials.

A few months ago, mymother, Lillie Yanowas admitted into thehemo-dialysis program atYork Central Hospitalwhen she could no longerperform peritoneal dialysis at home. Shereceived excellent carefrom all of the staff on thatunit.

Sadly, my mother alsodeveloped pancreatic cancer and she wasadmitted into the palliative care division,under Dr. Wu, early inDecember, where shereceived exemplary careuntil her death on Dec. 26,2008. All of the nursesthere were extremely caring, compassionate and thoroughly sensitive caregivers. They all workvery hard to ensure thatthe final days of thepatients are the best they can possibly have.

The nurses there are to becommended for their professionalism andhumanitarianism. I amvery grateful they made

my mother feel loved andrespected.

Donna Bellmore, theNephrology Social Workerfor the York RegionDialysis Program wasamazing. Not only did shevisit my mother severaltimes, but her attentive,empathetic manner alsohelped both my motherand I deal with death andthe process of dying. Shespent considerable timewith both of us throughoutthe several weeks of palliative care. All nursingstaff could learn muchfrom this kind and lovingwoman.

Above all, the Nephrologyphysicians are to be commended for their outstanding care ofpatients on dialysis. Oneof the team, Dr. AndreCharest, who was mom’sphysician when she wason peritoneal dialysis forthree years, is outstanding.He is an exceptional doctor who has great rapport with his patients.

Even though he had

stopped being her doctorafter she stopped receivingdialysis treatment, he andhis staff continued to visither when she was placedinto palliative care. Hetook on the difficult task ofbreaking the news of herimminent death to her. Hespoke to her with suchcompassion. I certainlyappreciated his wonderfully sensitive bedside manner. Actually, mom had visitsfrom all of her peritonealdialysis team. JudithFerguson, especially, wasexceptional. She cameseveral times to see mymother before her regularday at the Oakridges Clinicstarted, to make sure shewas alright. In my opinion,this team a group ofextraordinary professionals who exemplify York CentralHospital's mission statement.

After my mother passedaway, I was extremely surprised to receive beautiful flowers from thenephrology physicians.

Then, a few days later, Ireceived a card from theYork Central HospitalFoundation informing methat Dr. Nathoo, Dr.Manuel, Dr. Szaky, Dr.Charest, and Dr. Pandeshad made a donation inmy Mother's memory tothe hospital. I have neverexperienced in my entirelife such personal caringand generous gestures bydoctors. My family and Iare truly appreciative ofeverything which wasdone for my mother. YorkCentral Hospital is certainly fortunate to havesuch dedicated doctorsand nurses who are models of humanitarianism.

In closing, I can honestlysay that my mother couldnot have received bettercare anywhere else. Ithank all York Central staffwho made my mother'spassing bearable.

With Gratitude,

Lillian Blakey and thefamily of Lillie Yano

If your program, department or service has celebrated a major accomplishment, or professional certification,please let us know so we can help celebrate that success. Also, if you have achieved something special in yourpersonal life - received a community service award, or been elected president of your club within the past threemonths, let us know about it. Help us celebrate the many successes of our hospital, our staff, programs and volunteers.We’re also looking for photo opportunities. Call Alan Gilday, Internal Communications Officer at ext. 7490, oremail him at agilday@yorkcentral.on.ca

We want to hear from you!

4 The Central Line - March 2009 - York Central Hospital

Compassionate Care

Patient’s family offers heartfelt thanks for care received

The Central Line - March 2009 - York Central Hospital 5

Timely and Available Service

Recently, the Woman andChild Program(WCP) andEmergency Unit received acall from EMS about a critical situation involvinga young woman who wasexperiencing a verydifficult delivery of herchild - partially at homeand partially in an ambulance.

The EMS worker was ableto deliver the baby butupon delivery, the babyneeded to be resuscitated.The WCP team,Obstetrician/Pediatrician/

NICU RN/L&D RN/LC/ andManager as well as residents ran to theEmergency Department tosupport the Emergencyteam.

Upon arrival, the baby wasreceiving compressionsand bag and mask and theWCP and Emergency teamsmoved into action. Theteamwork of not only thestaff from two programsbut all of the allied healthmembers including RT, pharmacy/pharmacist,SPD, the Lab technician, DI

(portable ultrasound) didan incredible job getting the baby stabilized.

As the team workedtogether, there were noraised voices, onlyquestions of what can I doto help, what do you need,clarifying and ensuring theorders were received andcarried out in a timely fashion. As soon as something or someone wasasked for, they or it wasthere.

What a pleasure to work

with and observe anincredibly multidisciplinary teamwork so well together in anevent that can be so emotionally charged.

Many thanks to everyoneinvolved for their expertise, professionalism,dedication and commitment to providingthe highest standard ofcare. You make us all proudto work at York CentralHospital.Submitted by: SamMacLachlan

Stories of dedication from the Medical Advisory CommitteeThere are many stories regarding the many wonderful things which take place within York Central Hospital, manyof them go untold. These are just a few of them.

Recently, there was a very difficult case in theEmergency Department when a three-year old wasunable to breathe after getting a grape stuck in thethroat. Dr. David Swartz removed the grape and thechild was stabilized and later sent to the Hospital forSick Children. At the time of transfer, the child wasalready showing signs of improvement.

Everyone along the entire continuum of care was spectacular. Everyone worked as a team. EMS was greatin their prompt transfer to the hospital and their assistance here.

There is now a lab tech stationed in the ED and sheplayed an important role. The anesthetist and pediatrician on call responded promptly and were alsocritical to this positive outcome.

Lastly, and certainly not least were the nurses who handled this difficult situation with grace and skill. Dr.Swartz should also be congratulated for what could havebeen a very different outcome.Submitted by: Dr. Nalin Ahluwalia

Each year, the Volunteer Association of York CentralHospital recognizes several of its members withDepartmental Service Awards.

These awards are given to volunteers who have been part ofa department or service for five or more years and have hadpositive interactions with patients, staff and other volun-teers. The nominations come from hospital staff and fellow volunteers. If you know someone in your department/service who you believe is deserving of thisaward, please pick up a nomination form from theVolunteer Services Department, Room 5929, DouglasStorms. The deadline for nominations is March 27.Recipients will be acknowledged at a reception duringNational Volunteer Week, April 18 – 25.

If you are uncertain as to how long your volunteer has beenin your department, please call ext. 2057.

Do you know an outstanding volunteer?Nominate them for a volunteer award

Positive outcome thanks to timelyand available service

Team effort leads to successful delivery of baby

6 The Central Line - March 2009 - York Central Hospital

In recent months, therehave been several improvements made to existing parking lots atYork Central Hospitalwhich have improved serv-ice for staff and the public.

Valet ServiceOne of the first improvements was the introduction of valet parking service which hasincreased the capacity ofthe East Parking Lot bymore than 100 spaces.This service is well uti-lized from Monday toFriday during peak workhours and has done muchto alleviate overcrowding in this lot.

Conveniently LocatedParking OfficeThe parking office wasmoved to a building adjacent to the NorthParking Lot outside theEmergency Department.This has been a great movefor all staff, volunteers andthe public as they no

longer have to enter thebuilding to have theirparking needs met.Instead, all parking matters can be addressedon the spot.

User Friendly Public PayStations To help make the parkingpayment system easier touse and more responsive tothe needs of our patientsand visitors, new ParkingPay Stations will beinstalled in spring 2009.

These stations will bemore user-friendly, meetaccessibility standards,and allow patients and visitors to purchase weekly and monthly passes directly from thepay stations. Visitors willalso be able to pay at thepay stations as they leaveallowing them to pay onlyfor the time they haveparked in the lot. It is ourhope that these new paystations will help toenhance the overall

parking experience forthose visiting York CentralHospital.

Visitor Parking Rates toIncrease The visitor parking ratesare going to increasedeffective April 1, 2009.The scheduled increase isbased on a survey of allother hospitals within ourLHIN and annual review ofparking rates which foundthat York Central Hospitalrates were below that ofour neighboring hospitals.

Parking fees provide avaluable source of fundingfor our hospital helping tofund the ongoing maintenance for our parking lots such as snowremoval, lighting, andsecurity, asphalt repairsand are also used to helpfund quality patient care services at York CentralHospital. As a suburbanhospital, the vast majorityof our patients and visitorsarrive by car and need ade-

quate parking to receivehospital services or sup-port a friend or loved onein hospital.

Staff Parking RatesUnaffectedThe parking rates for staffwill remain the same subject to further review.

Additional Improvementson the way:

- Additional 14 Physicianparking stalls near thenew Physician Lounge

- Redesign of the NorthOverflow Lot – expanding the vehiclecapacity by 50 additional spots

- New Hang Tags connected to the staffmember rather than thevehicle

- Security Cameras forall lots and the ParkingOffice.

Updated parking machines coming to parking lots

E-Pay is a service thatallows employees the ability to view and printcurrent and past pay statements electronicallyover the internet /intranet 7days a week, 24 hours aday.

York Central Hospital willbe implementing thissecure service to all YorkCentral Hospital staff

within the next fewmonths.

e-Pay is designed with staffconvenience and ease-of-use in mind. It has beenintroduced at other hospitals with much success. No longer will youhave to wait for your paperpay statement to arrive onThursdays. Instead, youwill be able to view thestatement on the same day

as your pay is depositedinto your bank account.You will have access to current or past pay statements at your convenience, whether atwork or at home.

Once the e-Pay system has been thoroughly tested itwill be rolled out to all staff.

When staff register for e-Pay, they will receive an

email with instructions onhow to log onto the e-Pay system.

e-Pay system coming to York Central Hospital

The Central Line - March 2009 - York Central Hospital 7

Orientation - New Faces at YCH December - January

Please Welcome to Our Newest Staff Members, December 2008

Back row, from left to right are: Ainsworth O’Connor, RN;Veselinka Miskovska-Nedevska, Environmental Services;Donna Forte, Environmental Services; Azim Shabestary,Environmental Services; Jeanine Latigar, RN.

Front row: Carol Cruden, Utilization Coordinator; NaomiHigenbottam, RN; Archielynn Atif, RN; Lorraine Inglis,Utilization Coordinator.

Back row, from left to right are: Nella Di Rienzo,Environmental Services; Anne Paul, Admin Assistant;Antonietta Giordano, Environmental Services; ChristineMeszaros, RN; Marth Chase, Unit Secretary; StephanieMayerhofer, Med Lab Technologist; Constantina Vornicu, RN.

Front row: Chandrani Amarasinghe, Food Services; DanitFischtein, RN; June Wilson, RPN; Anna Wright, RPN.

Back row, from left to right are: Josie Ladines, RN; Mojgan Banisaeed, RN; Rajdeep Poonia, RN;Amanda Chan, MLT; Hea Jung Lee, RN; Becky Ng, RN; Suzi Panovski, Admin Assistant; ChrisWylie, Capital Planning Manager; Negin Nikfar, RN.

Front row: Doriann Duncan Johnson, RN; Dianne Cosentino, Administrative Secretary;Edward Berkovsky, RN; Andrew Lotto, Manager, District Stroke; Svetlana Douvidzon, RN.

Absent from the photo are: Leslie Yaff, Social Worker; Carla Palmer, Director, CommunityPrograms; Lionel Mann, ICT/PMO Analyst; Trevor Campbell, RPN; Hamid Mirtaheri, MRT.

The Class ofJanuary2009

The Central Line - March 2009 - York Central Hospital 8

Upcoming Events andActivities

Wednesday, March 25Staff Sneak Peek - Townof Richmond Hill Wing, 10a.m. - 12 p.m., Levels 3and 5.

Thursday, March 26Grand Opening - Town ofRichmond Hill Wing,Ceremonies and tours ofLevel 3 and 5, 3:30 p.m. -5 p.m.

Wednesday, April 22AdministrativeProfessionals WeekCelebration - invite only.10 a.m. - 11 a.m., BerwickFamily Auditorium, Level 1,Town of Richmond HillWing

Wednesday, April 22Volunteer WeekCelebration - 1 - 3 p.m.,Atrium, CCCR

Coming Soon

Saturday, May 2Spirit of Care Run, YCHFoundation Fundraiser

Tuesday, May 5Palliative CareConference - Open toClinical Staff only

Monday, May 11 - 17National Nursing Week -details to follow

Orientation February 2009 - Meet Our New Staff

Back row, from left to right are: Emmelia Lau, Pharmacist; Judith Panopio, RN; Susan Kerr,MRT; Sabrina Cheverie, Environmental Services; Marianna Galeano, Environmental Services; Melanie Jover, Professional Practice Coordinator; Maureen Hunter, Environmental Services.

Front row: Iryna Malyshava, ECG Technician, Lucy Lourdusamy, RPN; Raymond Wong, ECGTechnician; Paul Ficarella, Environmental Services and Hamid Mirtaheri, MRT.

Back row, from left to right are: Ludmila Kaplansky, RN; Colleen Kozak, RN;Ingrid Fanfair-Reid, RN; Sammy Alif, RN; Laura MacIsaac, CNS; IIdiko Nanai,RN.

Front row: Kim Glen, Account Associate; Alexander Farkas, EnvironmentalServices; Luigi Caruso, Environmental Services; Jimmy Perez, EnvironmentalServices; Carole Speirs, Unit Secretary.