December 18, 2014

• Rider raffle winner announced

• Inspired by care

• Lights and sirens; stay alert

• Inspections part of improvement plan

Continued on Page 2

Touchwood Qu’Appelle Primary Health Care opening event On December 10, the communities of Fort Qu’Appelle, Balcarres and Lestock celebrated the Touchwood Qu’Appelle Primary Health Care Network Grand Opening event.

The Touchwood Qu’Appelle Primary Health Care Collaborative is an innovative multi-community partnership which improves access to, and quality of, primary health care services. The network includes Fort Qu’Appelle, Balcarres and Lestock as well as First Nations communities in the area.

The event kicked off in Fort Qu’Appelle at the Primary Health Care Centre.

Greg Ottenbreit, Minister Responsible for Rural and Remote Health, joined members of the public and Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region (RQHR) representatives, health care providers and local officials for the event.

“This network will provide easier access and more reliable health services to people in a broad area,” said Ottenbreit. “Together with our partners, we’ll continue efforts to improve patient experience and ensure more stable, sustainable primary health services for everyone in the province, no matter where they live.”

The RQHR and All Nations Healing Hospital led the development of the multi-community model of care in consultation with communities, First Nations and health care providers.

After the kickoff in Fort Qu’Appelle, event attendants toured the building, as well as the Balcarres Integrated Care Centre in Balcarres, St. Joseph’s Integrated Care Centre in Lestock, and the Women’s Health Centre at the All Nations Healing Hospital in Fort Qu’Appelle.

(Top photo) Greg Ottenbreit, Minister Responsible for Rural and Remote Health, spoke at and attended the day-long opening event. (Below photo) Patient participant David Yee shared his experience and insight about primary health care at the event.

“This network will provide

easier access and more reliable

health services to people in a

broad area. Together with our

partners, we’ll continue efforts to

improve patient experience and

ensure more stable, sustainable

primary health services for

everyone in the province,

no matter where they live.”

Greg Ottenbreit, Minister Responsible for Rural and Remote Health

Dec

embe

r 18,

201

4 - p

age

2

e-link is published weekly by the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region. We welcome submissions. Please submit items no later than two weeks before publication. Submissions are subject to the editorial guidelines of e-link. For more information, contact Communications at 306-766-5227 or email elink@rqhealth.ca.

© Copyright 2014Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region

“I appreciate the effort of those involved in creating this innovative approach to delivering health care by developing partnerships between communities and establishing primary health care teams that provide a broad range of services at Primary Health Care centres in Fort Qu’Appelle, Balcarres and Lestock,” said Keith Dewar, President and CEO, RQHR. “Enabling people to access the care they need, when they need it, closer to home will result in healthier communities.”

The primary health care network is an integrated team of health care providers who work together with the client

to increase their ability to manage their own health by improving access, building relationships, developing teamwork and enhancing knowledge. Many of the health care providers rotate between sites. This helps provide more reliable, predictable services and reduces the clients’ need to travel.

“This center offers all the services a patient needs in a rural town,” said David Yee, a patient from Fort Qu’Appelle who spoke at the event. “There is access to doctors, dietitians, mental health services and home care at any time. Having all of these services in one place make this centre a success.”

Yee has had patient experience with both the old primary health care system and the new system under the Touchwood Qu’Appelle Primary Health Care Collaborative.

The Touchwood Qu’Appelle Network also includes the introduction of an Electronic Medical Records system to improve communication between health care providers, and provide more efficient, better coordinated care for patients.

The Touchwood Qu’Appelle Network is one of the eight primary health care innovation sites funded by the Ministry of Health.

Touchwood Qu’Appelle Primary Health Care

(Left) L-R: Minister Ottenbreit; Dan Drummond, Director, Primary Health Collaborative; Ed Mostad, Lestock town council member; Claudia Stachiw, Primary Health Care Registered Nurse; Marci Scott, Strategic Planner, Primary Health Care; Donald Bashutski, RM of Kellross council member; Karen Earnshaw, Vice President, Integrated Health Services. (Right) Lorelei Bentz, Cook at the Lestock Integrated Care Centre, shows off the centre’s award for excellent food to Minister Ottenbreit.

Rider raffle winner announcedOn December 12, Gainer the Gopher joined the Pasqua Hospital Auxiliary volunteers to draw the winner of the Pasqua Hospital Auxiliary Saskatchewan Roughriders Raffle Draw. The Hospitals of Regina Foundation was also on hand at the draw event to receive the annual donation to the HRF for the Pasqua Hospital. The donation goes towards the purchase of much needed medical equipment for the hospital. This year the volunteers raised $208,000. Gainer the Gopher with HRF staff and Pasqua Hospital Auxiliary volunteers. Photo credit: Medical Media Services.

Dec

embe

r 18,

201

4 - p

age

3

Holiday e-link notice This is the final e-link for 2014. E-link will resume January 8, 2015. Happy Holidays from everyone in Communications!

At the end of October, Kira Callahan and her sister, Katie, were traveling from Toronto on the TransCanada Highway headed toward Calgary.Callahan's sister was starting a new job that following Saturday and Callahan was helping her move across the country.

The Callahan's and Mona the dog were traveling through Saskatchewan around 8 a.m. when they hit a patch of black ice that caused their car to swerve and roll three times eventually landing wheels up in a ditch.

In shock, the Callahan sisters unbuckled their seat belts and crawled out of the vehicle’s smashed window. Mona crawled out with her tail between her legs – thankfully unharmed.

Their U-Haul trailer looked like it had exploded – everything inside the trailer was now scattered amongst glass in the muddy snow. After a few moments of shock, the sisters ran up the hill to flag down help.

The sisters were admitted to the Broadview Hospital. The nurses and doctors were amazed that they had survived and did not sustain serious injuries. Two nurses gently washed Callahan’s cuts in a large basin of soapy water while the doctor assessed their injuries. She sustained a small concussion, three stitches below her eyebrow and seven stitches across her right hand. Emergency personnel from the accident scene told the sisters that their car and trailer were totaled and being taken to a nearby junkyard.

The sisters tried to absorb the gravity of it all. There was so much to sort out in such a short

time; they needed a new car and trailer, and had yet to reclaim anything still of value from the scene of the accident.

Mona lay on the hospital floor with her head on her paws, looking exhausted. Katie began to worry about her health and asked if she could get a number for a taxi to the nearest vet. The nurses looked at each other in bewilderment at first. “Taxi?” There are no taxis in Broadview.

Thankfully, Father Valentine, a local priest from Our Lady of Victories, offered to drive Katie and Mona to and from the vet. Valentine and his staff also gave her lunch and helped her sort out the next steps to retrieving their belongings.

Later that morning, the doctor and Kira decided that she should be admitted to the hospital as a precautionary measure for the night. She worried where her sister would sleep that night. A nurse looked up from examining

Callahan’s hand and smiled saying, “Don’t worry; she can sleep here at the hospital in a bed next to you.”

Shortly after, a nurse offered to drive the sisters to Regina. Another offered to let the sisters stay at her farm until they were ready to get back on the road.

“We were thankful that fate brought us to Broadview, where we were surrounded by such caring and lovely strangers,” said Kira Callahan.

Although the car accident was terrifying, the experience left the sisters with a deeper appreciation for the sense of community in a small town. Both felt that the community of Broadview gathered together to help them in their time of need and kept them moving forward toward their destination.

“We cannot thank the community of Broadview enough for their help in restoring our health and keeping our spirits high during such a difficult time,” said Callahan.

In honour of the nurses and doctors at Broadview Hospital, the sisters have donated to the Hospitals of Regina Foundation (HRF) and Our Lady of Victories Church in Esterhazy.

The Callahan sisters look forward to returning to Broadview – next time under better circumstances. In the meantime, the Callahan's are trying to raise funds for HRF. You can make a donation at www.hrf.sk.ca/Donate.

Editor’s note: this article is adapted from a letter written by Kira Callahan to the Broadview Express, published November 17.

Inspired by care, sisters hope to raise money for HRF

From left to right: Katie Callahan, Mona the dog and Kira Callahan.

Dec

embe

r 18,

201

4 - p

age

4

I would like to thank the ladies in the Women’s Health Centre working on November 28. I’ve never had such great care and fantastic nurses. My visit was not of a pleasant variety, and these women truly care about giving the best experience possible to their patients. Thank you for making me feel comfortable, taking fabulous care of me, and for being understanding. I do not know all their names, but Dr. Mahood and her team of nurses – Janice, Shelly and Nicole – are truly a blessing.

Submitted by Anonymous

bouquetPatient truly appreciates care

Improved emergency room care recognized My mother has had many experiences with the Emergency Department due to her health condition. Unfortunately, many of them have involved lengthy waits and un-coordinated care. She often felt her voice was not heard.

However, the first week of October my mom went to the Emergency Department around 12 p.m., and there was no lineup to see the triage nurse. She had her blood pressure taken at triage and was immediately put in a monitored room. My dad told the registered nurse what the usual procedure for her condition was, and she began a thorough assessment right away.

They saw a doctor roughly 15 minutes after arriving in the room. The doctor listened to my dad and his concerns and was very thorough in his assessment. He had the RN start an IV and the usual therapy and ran exclusionary tests. She was in the Emergency Department for roughly six hours and then transferred up to Unit 3F where she says her medical information was adequately passed along.

She was pleased with the patient gowns, which were more modest and comfortable than the old gowns, as well as the use of a white board in both the Emergency Department and Unit 3F. The whiteboard

included the name of the registered nurses, her doctor for the shift, and a list of her most up-to-date vital signs for her knowledge and for the nurse on the next shift.

It was nice to see these improvements in the Emergency Department’s care.

Submitted by Andrea Dutchak on behalf of my mother, Marlene Flaman

bouquet

New shuttle location at Pasqua Hospital Effective January 5, 2015 the new pickup and drop off location for the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region inter-facility Staff Shuttle at the Pasqua Hospital will be the east staff entry doors directly to the south of the Emergency Room ambulance bays.

Wishing you a safe and happy holiday season!© Photoeuphoria Dreamstime.com

You are driving home from work one afternoon, when you hear the sirens of an ambulance and see red and white lights flashing in your rear-view mirror. e-link recently caught up with Colin Giesbrecht, Advanced Care Paramedic, Operations Deputy Superintendent, Emergency Medical Services at the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region (RQHR) to ask what drivers should do when an ambulance is trying to get by traffic.

“The most common thing people do is not what they are supposed to do – which is pull to the right and stop,” said Giesbrecht. “We have seen drivers pull up against the boulevard and stop there, or cross over a centre line, which is dangerous because you are going into oncoming traffic. Even if it’s somewhere where there are three lanes of traffic, you should always pull to the right and stop when you can.”

What to do at an intersection when an ambulance approaches confuses many drivers. It is also one of the most dangerous places paramedics pass through. Leading up to an intersection, if all the lanes of traffic are full when an ambulance is approaching, the paramedic will turn the lights and sirens off and attempt to pull to the left. Once

a lane opens up, (for example, if a turn signal light comes on), they proceed through the intersection and turn their lights and sirens back on. In this situation, drivers should stay put.

If space is open in an intersection, the paramedic will manoeuver around the left side of the vehicles that are in the intersection. Drivers should stay where they are and leave the lane open for the ambulance to pass by.

When possible, paramedics try not to use the emergency lights and sirens. They are only activated in urgent cases. If the situation is urgent and the traffic light is red, the emergency vehicle operator will stop and look both ways to see if there are drivers that don’t see/hear the ambulance. They will make sure that all drivers are looking at them and stopping before driving through the red light.

When an ambulance is stopped on the side of a highway/roadway, drivers should move

to the left lane, or as far left as possible, and slow down to 60 kilometres an hour.

“If everyone is on the same page, which in an ideal world, we would hope for, they should all be moving to the right,” said Giesbrecht. “But if some people are moving left and some people are moving right, it causes a dangerous situation.”

Disclaimer: recommendations are provided by the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region EMS Services.

Lights and sirens; stay alert

Corporate wall walk video now online The Corporate Business Plan Wall tracks progress towards the initiatives identified in the 2014/2015 Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region Business Plan. The December 16 wall walk is now on the Region’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/user/RQHR, and the Intranet site, http://rhdintranet/rqhr/StrategicFramework/Corporate/Corporate VisibilityWall.htm.

When passing an ambulance that is pulled over on a double lane highway, slow to 60 kms/hr and pass with caution in the left lane.

When an ambulance approaches, pull to the right and stop.

Inspections part of improvement plan The Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region has contracted Johnson Controls to inspect both Pasqua Hospital (PH) and Wascana Rehabilitation Centre (WRC) to provide recommendations for improvements to the facilities’ mechanical and water systems. These improvements will extend the life of each building by about 30 years.

Inspections will take place in both PH & WRC facilities until March. Johnson Controls is currently conducting some of the initial inspections on its own. Down the line, various engineers and subcontractors will assist the Johnson Controls’ team with the inspections. Facilities will do their best to give you notice when Johnson Controls will be in your areas, however, please know that this is not always possible if plans change at the last minute.

The inspections are the first steps in the improvement plan. Facilities will work to keep you informed throughout the entire process. For more details, contact Peter Whiteman, Manager, Energy Centre, at 306-766-3348.

Dec

embe

r 18,

201

4 - p

age

5