A publication for Staff and Physicians of IH

Snapshots of our staff in action over the last month.

The @InteriorHealth magazine is a monthly publication created by the Communications Department of Interior Health. Past issues of @InteriorHealth can be found on our website under About Us/Media Centre/Publications & Newsletters. If you have story ideas for future issues, please e-mail: IHAcommunications@interiorhealth.ca Deadline for submissions to the March 2015 @InteriorHealth magazine is February 11. Editors: Amanda Fisher, Breanna Pickett Designers: Breanna Pickett, Kara Visinski, Tracy Watson IH Communications Contributors: Lisa Braman, Lesley Coates, Susan Duncan, Patrick Gall, Karl Hardt, Megan Kavanagh, Breanna Pickett, Erin Toews, Tracy Watson

Learn about Ebola protocol at IH and throughout the province.

Meet Dr. Jeremy Etherington, Vice-President of Medicine & Quality.

Interior Health has been recognized as a leading employer in B.C.

for a third consecutive year.

Shining a spotlight on the many communities that make up where

we live, work, and play.

Nurse Practitioner Patrice Gordon will never forget her patients

from Sierra Leone.

How teamwork helped saved a Salmon Arm man’s life.

Preparing for the 2015 Employee Engagement Survey, we want

to know what each Gallup Q12 question means to you.

Patrice Gordon home with her dogs, Rico and Chica. Story p. 8.

New HR plan taps into valuable employee pool in growing Aboriginal

population.

We get up close and personal with Charlene William, LPN at Mountain

View Lodge in Lillooet.

Every person matters

W elcome to the inaugural

VP guest column, a new feature within @IH.

Throughout the year, members of the Senior Executive team

will share highlights from their portfolio.

So, let’s get started with my portfolio – Medicine and Quality.

One of the outstanding aspects of this

portfolio is that it provides endless opportunities to make positive change.

In Medical Affairs, our focus is on making sure that physician governance is as

effective as possible. This means bylaws are understood and enforceable, medical

staff rules are appropriate to our unique

circumstances and up to date, physicians are engaged, and we have strong

leadership on the Health Authority Medical Advisory Committee, which

governs IH physicians and advises the Board on clinical care.

I’m so impressed with the diverse, collaborative medical leadership that IH

has developed. I’m also convinced that the administrator/physician co-leadership

model we have developed is vital to

delivering the highest quality of care possible.

Within Quality, Risk and Accreditation,

I’m really excited about the new Quality

Awards. There are so many examples of employees at all levels engaged in

improving the quality of care we provide. The monthly awards, and

upcoming annual award, recognize these outstanding efforts.

This team is also responsible for the development and delivery of a strategic

plan for quality across IH, and for ensuring the Ministry’s strategic goals

are reflected in the work we do. Of

course, we are also busy preparing for Accreditation 2015, which is coming this

fall.

Risk management is another key area in my portfolio. This team is responsible

for making sure IH has a consistent

approach to addressing issues of

corporate and clinical risk and, when

something untoward does happen, that we learn from our mistakes and

share our learnings. We are continuously improving our systems approach to risk

management to mitigate harm to

patients, residents, and clients, and to the health authority itself.

A major area of focus right now in

Infection Prevention and Control is on antibiotic-resistant organisms. New

threats are emerging continuously and

we need to ensure IH has a strategy in place to monitor these and minimize risk.

One of the simplest strategies to combat infection is basic hand hygiene, which

we monitor regularly. In addition, we

have established a new Antimicrobial Stewardship Program that will address

inappropriate antibiotic use, which can quickly lead to microbial resistance.

Another area with great potential is the

development of research and academics.

Within IH, research has predominantly been led by nursing. However, with the

opening of the Southern Medical Program (SMP), we took the opportunity to

engage physicians and medical trainees

as well through the alignment of the IH Research Strategy with the SMP

research agenda. To truly become an academic health science enterprise, we

need to start doing research in a more

integrated and collaborative way, with as many health professions as possible.

We are in early days yet, but I see great things happening in the near future.

As VP of such a diverse portfolio, it’s

vital that I don’t lose sight of our

strategic objectives. The thing that keeps me on track is to always bring it back to

one fundamental goal: aligning the work in our portfolio to make sure we support

IH in providing the best possible care to

patients, residents, and clients. To make this happen we, as employees, must

bring more of ourselves to work every day, which is why engagement is such

an important focus across IH. Every person does matter and, as a leader,

it is important that my staff not only

understand this, but feel it as well.

At Interior Health, we want to set

new standards of excellence in the delivery of health services in B.C.

and to also promote healthy lifestyles and provide needed health

services in a timely, caring, and

efficient manner.

To achieve this, we are guided by the following strategic goals:

Goal 1 Improve Health

and Wellness Goal 2 Deliver High Quality Care Goal 3 Ensure Sustainable

Health Care by Improving Innovation, Productivity, and Efficiency Goal 4 Cultivate an Engaged

Workforce and Healthy Workplace

The articles featured in the @IH newsletter are great examples of

how we’re achieving our goals … and realizing our vision and mission.

VP of Medicine & Quality, Dr. Jeremy Etherington.

trust encouragement

camaraderie loyalty

T his June, Interior Health employees will be asked to complete an Employee Engagement Survey. In preparation,

we want to know what each of the 12 questions means to you, and how it relates to your level of employee engagement.

The question for February:

Q10. I have a best friend at work. Research indicates that workplaces in which employees report having a “best friend” are more efficient and productive

than workplaces with fewer best friends. People would rather build bridges than walls around themselves. This element

deals with optimizing group contributions by enhancing the quality of relationships between employees in the workplace, in turn nurturing trust and emotional loyalty.

People look out for their friends. A friend reminds his buddy to put on his hard hat. In the few seconds before a fall

might occur, a friend is more likely to spot the hazard and rush to steady the ladder. A friend guards his comrade’s

safety as much as he does his own.

Additionally, friends are more likely to invite and share candid information, suggestions, and opinions, and to

accept them without feeling threatened. The good

feelings friends share make them more likely to cheer each other on.

Friends are more committed to the goals of the group

and work harder, regardless of the type of task. Group members who identify most closely with the team are

more likely to monitor its performance against the goal.

With this description of a “best friend” in mind, share your thoughts with us. Do you have someone that looks out for

you? Someone you identify with, share with, and cheer on?

Please send your feedback to YourOpinionsCount and we’ll share excerpts in the next @IH.

In last month’s @IH, we looked at two questions from the engagement survey:

Q8. The mission or purpose of my organization makes me feel my job is important.

Q9. My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.

The complete list of responses is posted on the Engagement web page.

the

of the matter

Do you know the signs of a heart attack? Warning signs

can vary from person to person and they may not always be sudden or severe. They include chest discomfort,

sweating, nausea, shortness of breath, lightheadedness and discomfort in other areas of the upper body such

as neck, jaw, shoulder, arms, and back. Some may

experience one of these symptoms, while others experience a combination.

Learn more about preventing, recognizing, and treating

heart disease at www.heartandstroke.ca.

G ayle Bowers knew something was off when her husband, Jack, said he was going to watch the news after lunch because he was tired. After all, this was a 64-year-old man who had completed

four – yes, four! – Ironman triathlons. Inactivity and Jack Bowers are two things that do not go together. Jack’s reaction on a Friday afternoon last June was odd. And even odder when Gayle saw him turning colour and then making an unusual snoring-like sound. And then … she couldn’t wake him. Jack Bowers was in full cardiac arrest. “I would have been less surprised if I had been hit on my bike. There were no signs,” Jack says now. He doesn’t remember it, of course, but he was rushed to Shuswap Lake General Hospital, where the health-care team led by Dr. Geordie Pullin leapt to action. They did so while in the midst of their own shock – a prominent local businessman and owner of Bowers Funeral Service, Jack is a well-known fellow in Salmon Arm. “When we saw it was Jack, we said, ‘Are you kidding me? Mr. Triathlete? How can this be?’ Jack is one of the fittest people on the planet,” says Jo Tighe, an Emergency Room RN who was working that day. “Every life is sacred. Every life has value. But to have lost Jack would have been a crushing blow to us all,” says Dr. Pullin, who is fast friends with Jack’s son-in-law. Dr. Pullin says Jack arrived unconscious but with a cardiac rhythm. He was able to establish an airway and regain circulation. Most patients don’t get that far, he admits. It allowed him to use the uncommon technique of packing ice around Jack to lower his body temperature. It isn’t fancy, says Dr. Pullin, but the cooling protected Jack’s brain and cardiac system by slowing his blood flow, and bought him some time before being airlifted to Kelowna General Hospital for further care. “It was a blur,” says Jo, who has worked at SLGH for 20 years. “But the amount of people involved was amazing. It was a real team effort. Everyone was running to get bags of ice – from the ER, the kitchen, physio. Everybody had a hand in it.” Before coming to Salmon Arm 11 years ago, Dr. Pullin worked in Charleston, West Virginia, at the fourth-largest cardiac facility in the U.S. He says life is different at smaller facilities, where resources and equipment are fewer. “We rely a lot on our nursing staff and the people you

don’t think of, like the unit clerks,” he says. “It’s amazing the work they do and the things they help us with. We rely even more so on teamwork.” That teamwork saved Jack’s life. He spent two weeks at KGH and was then transferred to Victoria Jubilee Hospital, where he had a defibrillator installed in his heart. A week after that, he was home – and today, thanks in large part to his previous level of fitness, he looks fit as a fiddle. Jack is thankful and grateful for all of the health-care professionals who cared for him. As a former volunteer ambulance attendant, he knows a little about the medical system, and could see the dedication in his caregivers – a “vibrant staff,” he calls them. “People ask me if I was worried. I said, ‘Worried about what?’ ” he says. “Everything worked out right. Worry never entered into it.” The real hero of the day, Jack adds, was his wife. With the support of the 9-1-1 operator, Gayle performed life-saving CPR for 12 full minutes until paramedics could take over and defibrillate Jack. Without that first response, the rest would not have been possible. Jack’s experience also made something else possible. His story sparked the Shuswap Hospital Foundation to donate a Stryker Meditherm System. This equipment enables medical staff to quickly and efficiently control hypothermia, when the body has lost too much heat, and hyperthermia, when it needs to be cooled. It offers the safest and most effective way of controlling body temperature during emergency situations. Fewer than two per cent of people survive the kind of cardiac event that Jack had. Jo says it’s “awesome” to see the difference she and her colleagues, including Dr. Pullin, Dr. Scott McKee, and the nursing staff, made for him. “That’s what keeps us coming back every day,” she says.

Gayle and Jack Bowers, centre, are grateful for the care Jack received at Shuswap Lake General Hospital from the health-care team that included ER nurse Jo Tighe, left, and Dr. Geordie Pullin.

N o one could accuse Patrice Gordon of living an ordinary life, although she never set out to be altruistic

or adventurous.

In fact, she’s quite practical.

As a young girl, she planned to be a commercial pilot, but when a career counsellor pointed out that wasn’t the most

realistic choice for a teenager with a baby, she became a registered nurse.

She didn’t give up on her dream of flying; she just did it in a different way, training as an emergency flight transport nurse.

Many of Patrice’s big decisions have been made by following her heart. It was that inner voice telling her she was

needed that led her to Afghanistan in 2008 to work in a multinational medical unit. It’s what prompted her to travel

to isolated regions of the Chilcotin in 2006 to provide primary health care in remote communities, which is where she works today as a family nurse practitioner.

It ultimately led her to Sierra Leone, West Africa, in December where she directly cared for patients suffering from

the highly contagious Ebola Virus Disease. And it may be what takes her back again if the deadly disease continues

to ravage the population.

“Since my return, every single patient has asked me, ‘How was West Africa?’ I struggle because there isn’t an easy answer. But I do say it was a very powerful, rewarding experience and I’m really glad I went. I met many people,

patients and colleagues I will remember all my life. And I feel like I made a difference.”

She said the profound impact of the experience hit her in mid-January as she was unpacking some final items and

came across a small, red notebook, containing names and medical notes on all the patients she cared for at the treatment centre.

During her four weeks caring for Ebola patients at the Kenema Treatment Centre, Family Nurse Practitioner Patrice Gordon shared her experience in the blog posts under the photo captions on our Facebook page.

Extraordinary

Kenema Treatment Centre

“I burst into tears at the sight of it and

it hit home that I have a lot of work to do to find a good place

within me to put all these memories.”

She hasn’t opened the notebook because she is not

yet ready to process all of the emotions that she knows will

arise as she reflects on each of the individual people she cared

for.

“About half of those people

died and so many of them were children. They came in droves

and they all had stories of loss

that were enough to slay you. Each one of them touched my life

and I did my best to touch theirs.”

As a humanitarian, Patrice became a member of the Red Cross

Emergency Response Unit in 2010.

As an animal lover, she travels regularly to Thailand to work at a

Buddhist elephant rescue sanctuary and has ended up as part owner

of a rescued elephant.

At home, she is attached at the hip

to her Pyrenean mastiff Rico and, as of January, his little sister Chica,

a Great Pyrenees.

Those dogs are also favourites with her patients, especially

the children, who sometimes get rewarded with a visit with the dogs after they have bravely accepted their medical treatment.

Whether she intentionally set out to live an extraordinary life is not clear to her.

“I think we all have different ideas of what will help us feel fulfilled. I want to help the people in this world, but I also want to help the trees, the oceans, animals of all shapes and sizes, so that we all have a place in a healthy

environment.”

Patrice, who is the mother of three grown sons, spends eight months of the year living in the Chilcotin without fear of

loneliness. She has an affinity with isolated wilderness regions.

She happily drives hours on rough roads to reach her patients in Toosey, Nemiah, Stone, Anaham, Red Stone, Alexis Creek Health Centre, and Anahim Lake.

“I absolutely love my job,” she says.

Patrice’s partner, Dr. Rob Coetzee, has led an equally extraordinary life having moved to the Chilcotin from Antarctica where he had been the physician at the South African National Antarctic Expedition base. Their companionship along

with a shared love of dogs, snowy adventures, and medicine has made a wonderful life even more complete. “I wouldn’t change a single thing,” says Patrice.

Extraordinary

W hen Family Nurse Practitioner Patrice

Gordon returned from caring for Ebola patients in West Africa, she expected to

hop in her vehicle and drive 10 hours to her home near Tatla Lake.

Instead, she learned that new provincially mandated Ebola preparedness rules required her to stay within two

hours of Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) for the required 21 days of self-monitoring.

The requirement is part of a strict Ebola protocol adopted

in B.C. The protocol includes the identification of the only

hospitals in the province that will test for the Ebola virus or care for people with Ebola.

A three-tier model of care for potential or confirmed

Ebola cases provides specific roles for Type 1, Type 2,

or Type 3 facilities. Read the full description in the CEO Memo, Nov 26, 2014.

KGH was designated as a Type 2 facility and is the

only Interior Health facility where testing can take place. Once confirmed positive, a patient would be

transferred to a Type 3 facility, which is either Surrey

Memorial or B.C. Children’s Hospital.

Within about a week of her return, Patrice felt a cold coming on. Since Ebola starts out with a slight fever

and achiness, she reported her symptoms as required

to one of Interior Health’s Medical Health Officers. At that point, the Ebola protocol went in to place.

Information about the mandatory process for any

potential Ebola patients is available on the InsideNet,

Ebola Preparedness web page.

Patrice was asked to come to KGH where she spent three days isolated in a private room as she waited for

the results of blood tests. Staff who entered the room wore personal protective equipment, similar to what

she wore daily throughout December, but in a much

hotter climate.

“Everybody was incredibly nice,” she says. “It was a really good experience. They made what could have

been a really difficult time, very easy. They were all

fantastic at every level of care.”

She adds that she learned from them and they learned

from her experience at the Kenema Treatment Centre in Sierra Leone.

“I had never dealt with Ebola in an institutional setting

so it was interesting to see them problem solve around

various challenges. In return, I was able to share with them different ways of doing things that were more

efficient or effective.”

Dr. Vik Chaubey, Infectious Disease Specialist; Dr. Mike Ertel, KGH Chief of Staff; Dr. Susan Pollock, Medical

Health Officer; Sabrina Schwanebeck, ICU RN; Sondra

Bader, ED RN; and Missy Blackburn, Infection Control Practitioner, hold a special place in her heart for their

above-and-beyond attention during her stay in Kelowna.

Patrice cares for an ailing baby at the Kenema Treatment Centre where she spent four weeks treating hundreds of sick people, half of whom who did not survive the illness.

Interior Health has been named a top employer in B.C. for a third consecutive year. This designation recognizes leading

employers in our province who offer the best places for people to work.

The annual competition considers a variety of criteria such as recruitment and retention, workplace environment, benefits, vacation and time off, employee communications, performance management, learning opportunities, and

community involvement.

“I am very pleased to see Interior Health recognized for who we are and the work we do,” says David Bamford,

Corporate Director, Human Resource Strategic Services.

“I would like to acknowledge the work of the exceptional team responsible for this year’s application. Ken Hutchinson did a wonderful job of leading this work.”

Ken credits the enthusiasm and hard work of the entire team for making this possible. Pictured above are (L-R): Liz Marsland, Kristina Nielsen, Ken Hutchinson, David Bamford, Randy Forsyth, Karen Bowen, Ginette

Kruschel, Cherise Sharp, and (front) Lisa Braman. Not pictured: Galadriel Jolly, Crystal Miller, Cindy Lee, and Cathy Stashyn.

The list of top employers in B.C. was announced Jan. 30. Have a look at B.C.’s Top 100 Employers 2015 and see why IH was chosen over hundreds of other organizations.

“This award should be a source of pride for all of us at IH,” says David. “Our exceptional staff and physicians have

always been something that sets this organization apart. It’s great to see IH recognized within the province and within Canada.”

“ “

F resh from the Culinary Arts program at the College of the Rockies in Cranbrook, Judy thought the difficult part

of starting a new career was behind her.

With diploma in hand, she soon discovered it was the job search that intimidated her more. She wasn’t even sure where to apply outside of the obvious hospitality industry.

That sense of uncertainty is not uncommon, says Tammy Tait, a regional career counsellor who works for the Métis Employment and Training in Cranbrook supporting job seekers.

Discouragement also sets in when resumes are submitted and

there is no response from an employer, she notes.

That’s why Tammy was elated to learn about Interior Health’s

Aboriginal Human Resources Plan. Launched in May 2013, the plan is committed to promoting IH as a potential employer to Aboriginal

populations.

IH Aboriginal Health Director Brad Anderson is a strong proponent

of the strategy, saying the growing Aboriginal population provides a great pool of labour for IH and adds an important cultural component

within the workforce.

“A strong ratio of Aboriginal employees in the health-care industry will help create a culturally safe environment for patients, residents,

staff, physicians, and volunteers,” he says.

To ensure Aboriginal people have IH top of mind as a potential employer, Carrie Desjarlais, an external recruiter with

Interior Health, is committed to building relationships around IH where there are 54 First Nations communities, 13 Métis chartered communities, and nine Aboriginal Urban organizations. Carrie will partner with the First Nations and Métis

employment and training centres to promote jobs within Interior Health.

She says she is receiving an enthusiastic response from skills and training agencies that represent First Nations and

Métis applicants. They see it as critical information both for students entering careers with a medical focus and for those people who may not realize Interior Health also needs people trained in non-medical fields.

Along with nurses, care aides, physicians, rehab professionals, and sonographers, the health authority can’t function without janitors, groundskeepers, power engineers, cooks, and administrative, business, and computer support staff,

along with a host of other skills that aren’t always apparent to people outside the system.

A strong ratio of Aboriginal employees in the health-care industry will help create a

culturally safe environment for patients, residents, staff, physicians, and volunteers.

Recruiting Aboriginal Employees to Interior Health

“We have such diverse jobs in the health authority,”

says Carrie.

As she takes that message out through a variety of means, including career fairs and social media, she is also able to

help applicants navigate the application process, which is

so valuable from Tammy’s perspective.

“It’s important to break down as many barriers as you can,” says the career counsellor. “Connecting with Carrie

is going to be very important and students are already so pleased to learn there is help with possible placement and

direction.”

Interior Health’s decision to target HR resources to this

audience is supported by B.C. statistics that places the Aboriginal population within the IH region at 7.7 per cent.

Our workforce representation of Aboriginals is 3.7 per cent,

up from 2.06 per cent in 2012.

“We are on the right track,” says Carrie.

Other strategies to recruit Aboriginal people include partnering with Aboriginal Link, a specialized employment

portal dedicated to assisting Aboriginal job seekers

in researching and finding opportunities to develop their careers. As well, all IH jobs are advertised on an

Aboriginal Careers site for maximum exposure.

Continued success and growth of the Aboriginal Human

Resource Strategy has been identified as a priority in the upcoming proposed Aboriginal Health and Wellness

Strategy 2015-2019.

Christina Robbins, a multicultural therapist for Mental Health and Substance Use Services whose clientele

includes people with an Aboriginal background, sees

strong value in increasing the number of Aboriginal people working within the health authority.

As a Métis woman herself, Christina believes Aboriginal

clients feel safer seeking health services when they have

a cultural connection with the provider.

Carrie is confident the recruitment and retention strategies underway will help IH successfully tap into the

estimated 600,000 Aboriginal people who will enter the workforce by 2026.

Liz Marsland, Leader of Talent Acquisition & Marketing (L), works with Carrie Desjarlais on the recruitment and retention strategy for Aboriginal people within Interior Health.

@IH: How long have you been working at Interior

Health?

I have worked for Interior Health for almost 23 years. My first job was in 1992 with Lillooet Home Support. In 1995,

I took the Resident Care Attendant Certificate program and moved into the position of Home Support Worker. I moved

from working in the community into residential care when I was hired at Mountain View Lodge in 1998. I worked as

a care aide until 2002 when I took a Practical Nursing Program. In early January 2003 I started working at

Mountain View Lodge as an LPN.

@IH: Tell us about your role in IH.

A day spent at MVL is very busy. We prioritize residents’

needs and we work together to get done what needs to be accomplished throughout the day. My day may include:

medication passes for meal times or assessing residents that may not be feeling well; providing diabetic monitoring,

glucose testing, Insulin injections, B12 injections, wound

care, ostomy care, and maintaining IVs; working together with doctors and processing orders; and communicating

with family members around their family member’s care and how we can best provide what is needed. We also

care plan around palliative care when it is needed.

@IH: Why is your work important for residents at

Mountain View Lodge? It is important for residents to have LPNs at MVL because

our scope of practice enables us to provide care that allows

residents to remain in their home at MVL from the time they join us to their end-of-life care. Residents recognize that they

have a whole team that is there for them at all times.

@IH: What makes for a really great day at work?

When staff work together and residents’ needs are met. Seeing residents happy and comfortable and enjoying their

day.

@IH: Do you have a highlight or anything that stands

out for you?

What really stands out for me as a highlight is how I make a difference. I am always advocating for safety. I make sure

that all safety precautions are in place for the residents. Other staff seem to be aware when I am working and know there

aren’t going to be any problems in that department. I get teased about this.

@IH: What is great about working at Mountain View

Lodge?

We are a small town and everyone knows everyone. Our

staff is a really dedicated team and very flexible, and make themselves available on short notice if needed. We have a

Resident Care Coordinator that has made positive changes in the short time she has been with us.

@IH: Final thoughts, or words you live by?

I am very proud of our little facility and all of our staff. We

have an amazing team as well as residents. I believe the level of care we provide is above and beyond what is needed.

Each resident gets the best care that we can provide to them.

As a team, that is our main goal.

Health care plays an important role in the William family – Charlene (R) is an LPN at Mountain View Lodge in Lillooet, while sister Debra is a care aide at Ashcroft Hospital.

Charlene William, LPN

● Gathered from 2013-2014 data

Health care plays an important role in the William family – Charlene (R) is an LPN at Mountain View Lodge in Lillooet, while sister Debra is a care aide at Ashcroft Hospital.

1,040 Litres of fluid milk

purchased

22,377 Meals to residents

34 Years old

2 Resident cats,

Dudley and Trouble

21 Long-term care beds

291 Days average

length of stay

Mountain View Lodge, Lillooet

700 32 Volunteers

Hats crocheted

by one resident

Kelowna

Submitted by: Joelle Wall

Kimberley Submitted by: Sandra Bergman

Submit your photos of the beautiful places that make up IH: InsideNetWebmaster@interiorhealth.ca

Where We Live & Work ... A Spotlight on Our Communities Covering over 215,000 square kilometres, Interior Health is diverse in nature and composed of vibrant urban centres

and unique rural communities. Photos are submitted by employees and posted to the InsideNet. Select photos are featured in @IH.

Ashcroft Submitted by: Darcie Barbeau

Enderby Submitted by: Caitlin Chadwick

Cranbrook Submitted by: Brandi Polier

snapshots from the region ...

Together with local government representatives, Interior Health leaders give the pending $325-million expansion of Penticton Regional Hospital the thumbs-up. They include (L-R) Dr. Brad Raison, Regional Chief of Staff SOK; Lori Motluk, Acute Health Services Administrator SOK; Dan Ashton, MLA Penticton; and Judy Sentes and Michael Brydon, vice-chair and chair respectively for the Okanagan-Similkameen Regional Hospital District. To stay up to date on what’s happening with the project, visit www.buildingpatientcare.ca.

The Kamloops Blazers helped welcome baby Matteo to the world when they visited Royal Inland Hospital on Jan. 12. The WHL team makes an annual visit to RIH to hand out stuffies from its Teddy Bear Toss game to patients at the hospital. Their visit made an already remarkable day for Matteo's parents even more memorable.

Home Health Knowledge Coordinator Sandra Hlina, Professional Practice Lead Karen Cooper, and Home Support Team Lead Bev Moody have prepared a detailed overview of Home Health services available in Kamloops. They presented the information to two local family physicians and six family physician residents at a lunch-and-learn session in January. The doctors noted the benefits of knowing what is available

for patients to self-manage their illnesses in the community.

Thor Bjarnason, Medical Physicist/Radiation Safety and Quality Control Lead from Diagnostic Imaging at Kelowna General Hospital, recently received an IH Quality Award certificate for his dedicated work and effort to reduce patient-dose radiation from CT scans. The outcome of his work has reduced head CT patient-dose radiation by 18 per cent and spine CT patient-dose radiation by seven per cent! Picture here (L-R): Zeno Cescon, Tim Rode, Thor Bjarnason, and James Chan. If you know someone who has done work that improved patient safety, appropriateness of care, efficiency, or accessibility to care, nominate them for an IH Quality Award today!

They’ve been bitten by the recycling bug at 100 Mile Hospital! Barbara Matfin (L) and Sally Neale, both of OMH Food Services,

and care aide Cory Greaves are nearly dwarfed by the new recycling containers on the hospital campus, which includes

Fischer Place and Millsite Lodge residential care facilities. Employees are dedicated to becoming the greenest hospital in

Interior Health – and it looks like they are well on their way. Even the cafeteria’s used deep fryer oil is recycled into

bio-diesel and bars of soap!

Members of the Health Protection team seized the spirit of Clean Sweep Week by wearing fun maid costumes. This was the first clean sweep held for sites moving into the new Kelowna Community Health & Services Centre (CHSC) in 2016, and it was a huge success. A clean sweep is an opportunity to purge your workspace of broken and unneeded supplies, equipment and furniture, and free yourself of outdated education material, manuals, books, magazines, and paper. “The uptake was more than anyone expected,” says Anne Winters, CIHS Manager, Administrative Services and the lead for the CHSC Admin Working Group. “We’re really glad people had fun!”