CentralLine October2008

2 The Central Line - October 2008 - York Central Hospital

Making a Difference...One Moment at a Time

Staff Satisfaction Survey - Don’t Miss Your ChanceProviding high qualityhealth care is something towhich everyone at YCH iscommitted. In order to dothat, we need to know whatimprovements could bemade to our work environ-ment ensure the quality ofhealth care delivered atYCH is the best it can be.

This October, all YCH staffand physicians will begiven the opportunity toparticipate in a compre-hensive SatisfactionSurvey.

It’s been nearly four yearssince the last survey wasconducted and the YCHLeadership Team believesit’s time to survey staffagain.

“We want to see whatstrategies or initiatives wecan put into place to ensureYCH remains a great place

to work and receive care,” says Mary Yates, Director ofOrganizationalDevelopment.

One of the strategies put inplace was the creation ofthe Kiani CompassionateCare Awards. The eventwas established after staffindicated in the 2004Satisfaction Survey thatthere should be morerecognition for staff andphysicians.

How to ParticipateDuring the month ofOctober, staff and physi-cians will receive a pack-age in the mail. The pack-age will contain instruc-tions on how to completethe survey online as well asa paper copy of the survey.

All staff and physicians areencouraged to answer allthe questions and return it

in the postage paid enve-lope. The surveys will then be sent to NRC Pickerfor processing.

Confidentiality AssuredThe survey is completelyanonymous. Managers andother leaders will not knowthe identity of any of therespondents.

Once the surveys areprocessed and the data col-lected, a report will bereleased in December. Theresults will be available forreview by everyone shortlyafterwards.

Acting on the ResultsManagers will receiveinformation regarding theirrespective departmentsand they will then use theresults to formulate anaction plan. The surveywill gather information oncommunication, respect,recognition/compensation,

workplace environment,teamwork and learningenvironment within eachdepartment.

Any staff and physiciansinterested in seeing the fullresults of the 2004 surveycan log onto the YCHIntranet and click on thesurvey icon.

“Last time, we got aresponse rate of more than50 per cent which wasgreat,” says Yates. “Itmeans our staff are reallyinterested in providingconstructive suggestions onhow to improve our work-life.”

With YCH set to launch aStaff Satisfaction Survey inOctober, it may be useful tooutline a few of the changesmade to the hospital sincethe 2004 Staff SatisfactionSurvey.

CCRTOne of the most well-received changes was theimplementation of theCritical Care Response Team(CCRT). The team, whichconsists of 18 trained nurseswho work closely withphysicians and respiratory

therapists to identify patientswho are at risk of furtherdecline, had a great impacton the level of respect andteamwork among staff.

Email for All StaffEnsuring all staff haveaccess to email at YCH wasalso an important step. Allstaff are encouraged tocheck their email regularlyfor updates on events andother hospital initiatives.

YEA TeamThe York Central Hospital

Events Association (YEA)team, a group of staff volun-teers who organize eventsfor staff was a direct result ofthe 2004 Satisfaction Survey.The team has held one eventand is working on organiz-ing another event for the fall.

Mentorship ProgramThe Critical Mentorship pro-gram for nursing staff hashelped advance professionalpractice at the hospital. Todate, more than 20 YCHmentors and 55 menteeshave participated.

Tim HortonsBringing Tim Horton’s andenlarging the Garden Cafewere two other items whichhave been implementedsince 2004.

Cultural CelebrationsThe various cultural celebra-tions which have been facili-tated at YCH is anotherrequest which came fromthe 2004 Satisfaction Survey.Staff and physicians haveenjoyed being able to sharetheir cultures with their co-workers .

You Replied, We Implemented - Accomplishments Since 2004

On Saturday, August 9, mygrandfather Everett Wong-Sue was brought to thehospital by ambulance.

He was at the long end of a10-year journey withAlzheimer's when pneu-monia set in.

He was moved to the 4thfloor so the family couldgather to tell him goodbye.

On behalf of myself, mygrandmother, Vera, andour entire family, I want to

express our thanks anddeepest gratitude for thecare, attention, and helpover the weekend forEverett.

To Dr. Yu in the ER - thankyou for your prompt atten-tion, compassion andpatience during a difficulttime.

To the nurses in the ER,especially Lee and Julia,thank you for your help,your kindness, and for

using the "kid gloves" withour bewildered family.

Dr. Chu - thank you foryour counsel and all the comfort you gave Everetton his last day.

To the nurses on the 4thFloor - thank you forbringing us extra chairs,helping us to clear theroom when needed, put-ting up with our loudness,and for being so kind atthe end.

Our thanks also to anyoneI have missed - you made a difficult situation a littlebit easier for us.

Because of everyone's sup-port and help my grandfa-ther was able to have apeaceful passing sur-rounded by those wholoved him. And that wasthe greatest blessing wecould ask for.

Sincerely,Natalie, Vera Wong &Family

If you have celebrated an accomplishment, achieved a professional designation,spoken at a conference, written an article on health care or been elected presidentof your club within the past three months, let us know about it. Help us celebrateour staff and what they do in the community.

We’re also looking for photo opportunities. Call Alan Gilday, InternalCommunications Officer at ext. 7490, or email him at [email protected]

We want to hear from you!

The Central Line - October 2008 - York Central Hospital 3

My husband ErnestGilmore was recentlyadmitted to your hospitaland we wish to expressour sincere gratitude tothe doctors and staff fortheir understanding andpatience during this diffi-cult time.

I would like to mention RNJean Louis, who displayedexceptional attention andunderstanding for whichwe will always be grateful.

Sincerely,

Eleanor GilmoreThornhill, ON

Family Expresses Gratitude for Kindness and Patience

For more than 10 years,our late father, Sheun-Chee Wong had beenunder the care of Dr. Nathoo and his col-leagues, Drs. Szaky,Manuel, Charest andPandes and various nurseson the Nephrology team.

They are truly experts intheir field. But more thanthat, their compassion andgenuine concern towardstheir patients deserves ourutmost respect.

Renal failure is such achronic disease that ittakes its toll on everyone,but they did more thanthey had to for our fatherand got him through hislast days with pride anddignity.

We are also thankful to allthe nurses in theContinuing Care Unit on 3East (CCCR). They tookexcellent care of our fatherduring his lengthy staysthere between 2005-2007.

Words cannot express howgrateful we are. May weonly wish that under yourexpert management, YorkCentral Hospital will con-tinue to deliver top qualitymedical care to our com-munity.

Yours Sincerely,

The Wong FamilyRichmond Hill

Dignity Along with Quality Medical CareWife ThanksDoctor andStaff forUnderstanding

Compassionate Care


Staff and physicians inYork Central Hospital’sNeo-Natal Unit wererecently called to providecare to a set of twins whohad been unable to findspace at other hospitals.The twins also happenedto be the newest membersof the family of Dr. JamesLangstaff, YCH’s first Chiefof Staff and the man forwhom our main acute carewing is named.

Bruce Langstaff’s wifeKathleen Kent gave birthto twins James and Claireat Mount Sinai Hospital onAugust 15.

The twins came into theworld two months earlierthan expected andrequired specialized care.Both Mount Sinai andToronto’s Hospital for SickKids were unable to

accommodate the couple,and fortunately, YCH’sNeoNatal Intensive CareUnit had the availablecapacity and the skills tocare for them.

“If we weren’t able to getspace at York CentralHospital, the babies wouldhave had to go to Ottawa

or Michigan for treat-ment,” says proud fatherBruce. “It really under-scores the need for more funding for NeoNatal unitsacross the province.”

The Langstaff family hasbeen involved in healthcare in the Richmond Hillarea for a number of years.Bruce’s great, great grand-

father James MilesLangstaff was one of thefirst physicians to practicemedicine in RichmondHill back in 1849. Bruce’sgrandfather Dr. JamesLangstaff cared forpatients and deliveredbabies for a number ofyears before lobbying theregion to build YorkCentral Hospital. He alsoserved as the hospital’sfirst Chief of Staff.

“It’s a great feeling to behere knowing theLangstaff family were ableto help create the greatfacility that York CentralHospital is,” Bruce says.“I’m proud to be aLangstaff and proud to seethe hospital has become agreat facility for treatingpeople from York Regionas well as the province.”

YCH Comes to the Rescue of Langstaff Family Twins

Timely and Available Service

Bruce Langstaff and wife Kathleen Kent feed their twinsJames and Claire in YCH’s Neonatal Intensive Care unit. YCHwas able to prevent a transfer of the twins to Ottawa or theUS.

Since May, a dedicatedteam of healthcare special-ists have been roaming thehalls of the EmergencyDepartment as part of asix-month pilot study.

The Roaming AdmissionsTeam consists of NurseManager Linda Waterman,Clinical Co-lead JudySmith and 10 nurses whoparticipate in this educa-tional study over a two-week period. It allowsthem to develop skillsrelated to the admissionproces and patient assess-ment.

“The response has beenphenomenal. We’vereceived nothing but posi-

tive feedback from nursesinvolved in the team,” saysJudy Smith.

According to Smith, thereare roaming admissionsteams at other hospitalsbut none that offer an edu-cational component or themobility.

“At the end of the study,we’re going to evaluateand consider whether it’san initiative which shouldbecome a permanent flowstrategy, “ says Smith.

Admissions Team Dedicated to Providing Quality Care

Judy Smith, Clinical Nurse Educator with the EmergencyMedicine program, right, goes over the patient trackingboard with RN Roya Sadeghi-Tabari, left and RPN Chi Mack.



Preparing for Code Green - What You Need To KnowOn October 15, York CentralHospital will experience a“pre-planned mock disas-ter” in order to test the hos-pital’s emergency pre-paredness.

According to JackieSamimi, PatientRelations/ProjectCoordinator, selected inpa-tient areas will be partici-pating in the exercise with50 volunteer “patients”while others will take partin table top scenario discus-sions.

“On that day, there will bean announcement and allstaff should take a few min-utes to go through theprocess of what they wouldbe requested to do if theywere involved in the emer-gency,” says Samimi.

The exact scenario theunits will be facing is being

kept under wraps but itcould be anything from anexplosion to a hazardouswaste spill.

Start Now to PrepareAll unit and departmentmanagers are encouragedto prepare staff for the exer-cise well in advance by dis-cussing what tasks need tobe completed depending onthe type of disaster. As staff,if you are unsure what todo, make sure you consult

your manager now to bewell prepared for October15.

Emergency ResponsePartnersSamimi says police, fireand ambulance services inthe area have indicatedthey will participate in theexercise. They will beobserving but they will alsobe testing their own emer-gency response skills.

The police will be directingtraffic while the EMS staffwill be handling triage andtransferring “mock”patients. The fire depart-ment will be busy dealingwith the disaster.

What Staff Should KnowStaff should know theemergency codes and whatthey mean. They shouldalso know the emergency

escape routes and wherethey are expected to meetonce they exit the building.Staff should also be familiarwith the staff emergencyfan out list which contains emergency contact infor-mation for department staff.

“Each department has anEmergency Proceduresbinder and staff should takea minutes to review theinformation,” Samimi says.

In order to minimize anydisruption to patients, allactivity associated with thedisaster exercise will beconcentrated in the rear ofthe hospital.

“We’re probably not goingto get everything right butthat’s ok, “ says Samimi.“We’re going to have adebriefing right aftwards sowe can determine whatworked and what didn’t.”

Staff at a hospital participatein a mock disaster.

There are a number ofchanges taking place in thenorth wing of YCH over thenext few months and staffare starting to get excited.

In November, there are fivedifferent departmentswhich will be either mov-ing into new space orundergoing renovations.

All of the details regardingthe moves will be promot-ed well in advance toensure everyone is awareof the changes.

Below is a simplified chartto help staff keep track ofall the redevelopmentactivities.

Redevelopment Update...Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes at YCH

Department Go Live Week New Location

Medical Imaging October 20 Level 2 - Southwest

Chronic Kidney Disease November 20 Level 1 - Northwest

Materials Management November 24 Level 1 - North Wing, West

Mental Health Program November 10 Level 3 - Langstaff Wing

Medical Staff Facilities November 17 Level 1 - North Wing, West


YCH Staff, Physicians, and Volunteers in the Spotlight

YCH was fortunate be ableto add six community lead-ers to its Board of Trustees.

Tony Genco, Woodbridge,was appointed to the Boardof Trustees in June. Tonyis thePresident &CEO ofDownsviewPark Inc. andhas beeninvolved in avariety of communityactivities and endeavours.He is currently a memberof the GovernanceCommittee and theNominating Committee ofthe Board.

Appointed to the Board inJune, Richmond Hill’sMarc McAree is anEnvironmental Law

Specialist, certified by theLaw Society of UpperCanada and heads up theenvironmentallitigationgroup atWillms & ShierEnvironmentalLawyers LLP inToronto. He is currently amember of the GovernanceCommittee andRedevelopment Committeeof the Board.

As a Regional and LocalCouncillor, Vito Spataforawasappointed to the Board inDecember2007.

Vito wasfirst elected as a Councillor

for the Town of RichmondHill in 1994.

Since that time, he hasworked to ensure environ-mentally sensitive areas inthe municipality are pro-tected.

As Vice-President of theMedical StaffAssociation, Dr.David Weizmanwas appointedto the Board inJune.

Dr. Weizmanbecame a General Surgeonat York Central Hospital inJuly 2006. He currentlyserves as a member of theBoard’s Quality &Performance ManagementCommittee.

Richmond Hill’s Daisy Wai was recently appoint-ed to the Board. She bringswith her more than 36years in the public rela-tions and publishing field.She currently a member ofthe Quality & PerformanceManagement Committee ofthe Board.

Woodbridge’s Mark Liddywas appointed to the Boardin June 2008, although hehas served on board com-mittees since 2005. He isan engineer with a longhistory of communityinvolvement and he is cur-rently the Chair of theRedevelopment Committeeand a member of theStrategic DirectionsCommittee.

Photos of Liddy and Wai wereunavailable at press time.

Six Community Leaders Appointed to Serve on YCH Board

Tony Genco

Marc McAree

Dr. David Weizman

Vito Spatafora

Timely and Available ServiceYCH Making Changes to Medical Administration RecordYork Central Hospital ismaking some changes tothe MedicalAdministration Record(MAR) format in an effortto reduce the number ofmedication incidents.

Following a review ofmedication incidentreports, the hospital’s edu-cators realized the designof the MAR being used wascontributing to the volumeof medical incidents.

A MAR task force recentlydeveloped and approved for use three new MAR

routines. A number ofinservices were heldacross the hospital to helpeducate staff on the newroutines. Unit championswere chosen to educatestaff who were unable toattend the education ses-sions.

To date, more than 70 percent of the hospital’s clini-cal staff have been educat-ed on the new routines.

The routines will beimplemented over the nextsix months and staff areencouraged to provide

their feedback to man-agers, educators or phar-macists.

All suggestions are beinggathered and changes arebeing made to the routinesas they are being imple-mented.

According to Jo-anneMarr, Vice President,Programs, the new rou-tines are a significantchange for staff, however,they are based on bestpractice and they will helpprepare YCH for the moveto an email-based MAR

system which will be inplace next year.

“This transition was well-planned, “ says Marr. “Weworked on it for almost ayear.”

Marr says the routines area change in the processand involves doing thingsdifferently. She admitsthere will be some chal-lenges along the way butshe’s hopeful the changesto the routines will be inplace by the end ofSeptember.


Earlier this summer, YorkCentral Hospital, one ofthe six founding memberhospitals of the CentralOntario Health CareProcurement Alliance(COHPA) and the provin-cial Ministry of Financesigned an innovativeagreement to create a part-nership that will leveragepurchasing power.

COHPA is a not-for-profit,non-share capital corpora-tion formed voluntarily byMarkham StouffvilleHospital, PeterboroughRegional Health Centre,Ross Memorial Hospital(Lindsay), Royal Victoria

Hospital (Barrie),Southlake Regional HealthCentre (Newmarket) andYCH.

The objective of thealliance is to form a pur-chasing coalition that willsave each member hospi-tal not only money, butwarehousing space as well as streamline purchasingpolicies and procedures.

“The concept of COHPA isreally a very simple one,”says Bill Whittaker, chairof COHPA’s Board ofDirectors and VicePresident, HumanResources and Support

Services at YCH. “Eachhospital can realize signif-icant savings if we pur-chase in bulk and stream-line our processes. Thisultimately frees upresources to invest inother areas of patientcare.”

The startup capital for theproject is financed 75 percent by OntarioBuys, aprogram of the Ministry ofFinance and 25 per cent bythe hospital members.

Although six hospitalsformed the alliance, theorganization is capable of

supporting additional hos-pitals.

For the short-term, theCOHPA offices and staffwill be located atSouthlake Regional HealthCentre.

With the recent fundingand announcement, COHPA will now begin the implementation of theshared services organiza-tion.

COHPA was incorporatedin the fall of 2007.

The York Central HospitalFoundation recentlyannounced it has donatedmore than $7.3 million toYork Central Hospital overthe past year.

“The donors’ gifts wereused to enhance facilitiesand purchase state-of-the-art equipment and tech-nology that assist hospitalphysicians and staff when

delivering patient care,”said Nancy Coxford, Chair, York Central HospitalFoundation.

The funds, which werereceived over the pastyear, consisted of a $5 mil-lion grant from the Sharethe Spirit of CareCampaign, in support ofthe hospital’s expansionand renovation project;

$658,000 for the RegionalChronic Kidney DiseaseProgram; and more than$1.5 million to purchasenew equipment and fundstaff development.

“We enjoyed being onhand to celebrate thegrand opening of The Nick& Rosanne Cortellucci Family EmergencyDepartment,”said Coxford.

Once its completed in2009, York CentralHospital’s Emergency andMedical ImagingDepartments will be triplein size and the CriticalCare and Mental HealthDepartments will be dou-ble in size.

York Central Hospital Receives Record Foundation Grant

Community Donations At Work -York Central Hospital Grant Highlights in 2007/08

YCH Forms Cost-sharing Alliance with Area Hospitals


Construction & Expansion $5,000,000 Drug Dispensing Units $159,481

Satellite Dialysis $67,000 Tracking Board $391,817

Staff Education $658,000 Adult Mechanical Ventilator $128,431

Navigator System for Surgery $220,440 Blood Transfusion Machine $138,669

Digital Mobile C-Arm $152,268 Dyna Vision 2000 – CCC $10,177

Digital Mammography Suite $454,590 Site Rite 5 System $24,750


Upcoming Events andActivities

Sunday, October 5Tastes of the Hill, RichmondHill Sports Centre, 1 p.m. -3:30 p.m. Proceeds to theYCH Hospital Foundation.

Wednesday, October 15Code Green Live TestMore details to follow

Monday, October 20Staff Summit, with membersof the Leadership Team.10 a.m., Room 2LM, CCCR.

November 7YCH Foundation’s StardustBall. 6 p.m. at LeParc BanquetHall, Markham.

November 20-23CME in the Sun - Advances inPrimary Care, Miami, Florida.

Mark Your Calendar

November 21Holiday Dinner Dance, Le ParcBanquet Hall, Markham. Moredetails to come.

Orientation - Introducing the Class of August 2008

Please welcome some of our newest YCH staff members. Back row, right to left are: ChristinaEmblin, RN; Filessa Kingston, RPN; Chandra Veluppillai, PCA; Rachel Karem-Zadeh, PatientAccess Rep; Peggy Pleasance, RN; Selena Saddler, Unit Secretary; Inna Bergelson, Data QualityAnalyst; Shadi Moravej, RN; Kiritharan Nadarajah, Food Services Attendant.Front row: Ryan Bahadoor, Pharmacy Student; Nicholas Fang, Pharmacy Student; MehriFalsafi, ECG Technician; Farideh Parvinjah, RPN; Anuja Goyal, Pharmacy Student.

New YCH staff members. Back row, left to right: Jenna Montgomery, Adult Day Program;Patty Barnes, Associate, Autism Program; Susan Bowes, Recreationist; Monica Leung,Respiratory Services; Zahra Hosseini, RN.Front row: Nima Abdirizak, RN; Jordan Smit, Pharmacy Student; Cheryl Isadas, RPN; AnnieWang, Pharmacy Student; Margot Rosaldo, RN.

Documents

CentralLine October2008