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Hand Washing

MAC Chair, Dr. Peter McLaughlin and I rotated in to conduct a hand washing audit on one of our nursing units last week. Clipboard in hand, the audit had us observing physicians and staff as they go about their activities and noting if the first (before patient contact) and fourth (after patient contact) moments for hand washing were observed. We fulfilled our auditing duties on the ward ...

PRHC1 · 5/6/2013 11:45 PM ·

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What's that light at the end of the tunnel?

(And no, it's not another train headed our way) Yesterday, surveyors from Accreditation Canada noted that PRHC met or exceeded 97.6% of the 2,400+ standards associated with quality, safety and performance associated with patient care in Canadian hospitals. Following four days of intense review of documentation, on-site interviews with staff, managers, board members, physicians, patients ...

PRHC · 4/26/2013 6:58 PM ·

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Strut your stuff

Not exactly common terminology in healthcare! But for one month, it is a celebration to showcase various improvements we have made across the Health Centre. Twenty-nine posters highlight initiatives in areas including Patient Flow, Inpatient Rehabilitation, Post-Discharge Phone Calls and Antimicrobial Stewardship. Contributing teams include the GAIN clinic, Social Work, Women’s Hea...

PRHC · 4/15/2013 7:10 PM ·

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Continuing Education and Professional Development

One of the touchstones for any profession – e.g., medicine, law, engineering, accountancy, public administration, nursing, pharmacy, etc. – is its commitment to lifelong learning. While most of these occupations are grounded in academic and licensure requirements, the fact remains that lifelong learning – spanning decades of innovation, evolving evidence-based practice ...

PRHC1 · 4/5/2013 6:59 PM ·

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Making a difference

We get letters — mostly complimentary, by the way — that speak to care and caring at PRHC. I think most readers know that good care stems from good people; great care happens when caring is personal, second nature and universal. The following is an excerpt from a recent e-mail that came to my office: Hello, my name is << name removed for privacy >> and I was recen...

PRHC · 4/15/2013 7:20 PM ·

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A tribute to lifelong learning and Dr. Steve Senior

Every Friday morning, PRHC’s large classroom is a hub of learning and continuous improvement and, like most large hospitals, we call them Grand Rounds. Depending on the topic, seating for 60 can easily become standing room only. There are very few events at PRHC that consistently draw as many physicians and health professionals from their clinics, practices and personal lives. They...

PRHC · 4/15/2013 7:20 PM ·

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Consider, if you will, the nuances of Mission, Vision and Values . . .

Virtually every aspect of the healthcare delivery system is experiencing significant change: funding and reimbursement frameworks for providers and professions, deployment of information and clinical technology, approaches to chronic disease and population health, outcome accountability, system integration and transformation, demographics and epidemiology and political action amidst inte...

PRHC · 3/18/2013 1:28 PM ·

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Hmmm . . . how to easily define working capital?

Essentially the difference between mortgaging and investing in Our Future. For hospitals, working capital – funds to purchase medical equipment, diagnostic technology, information systems, facilities and buildings, etc. – come from only five sources: surpluses from operations; depreciation and amortization schedules for applicable assets; fundraising; loans; third party (usua...

PRHC · 3/15/2013 1:42 PM ·

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Your insight, Our future

PRHC’s current strategic plan, which guided our priorities during our financial recovery efforts and clinical directions to the end of 2013-14, has helped build – build a vibrant and strong Regional Health Centre that stands ready and capable of meeting the health and fiscal challenges, and opportunities we face. It mandated a commitment to quality and excellence and recogniz...

PRHC · 2/25/2013 3:07 PM ·

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Gordon Ramsay & Jamie Oliver — eat your hearts out

I was honoured to be asked to participate in a celebrity cooking event supporting Fleming College's School of Culinary Management. While I enjoy all things culinary and am comfortable in the kitchen, I am not a “pro”. To be asked to participate in a dessert competition at a culinary school - that was pressure! That I would have a “sous-chef” student helping me was...

PRHC · 2/4/2013 3:18 PM ·

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Whazzup?

After a multi-year sabbatical, welcome back to our yet unnamed PRHC e-newsletter. As you know, hospitals operate 24/7/365. Creating communication products and processes that can meet the exacting demands of a professional workplace is always a challenge, especially when combined with the high percentage of part-time and casual employees as well as providers who may not be here every day....

PRHC · 1/24/2013 5:47 PM ·

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PCI - one year later

It’s been just over one year since PRHC received approval to expand its cardiac services to include PCI. One year later, I still get a wonderful feeling every time I walk through the doors of our Heart Catheterization Suite and witness our Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) Program. We have a lot to celebrate since commencing this key regional program. While cardiac angiograp...

PRHC · 1/10/2013 4:39 PM ·

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Influenza surge

It almost seems that no matter what we say or do, Canadians get the flu. To improve immunization rates every year, we: increase advertising and public awareness; issue warnings and advisories through public health; sponsor employer appeals about lost productivity; create incentives to providers (doctors, clinics, pharmacies); warn about avoidable morbidity and mortality for those at risk...

PRHC · 1/8/2013 8:00 PM ·

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Best wishes Jayne White

Last week, we celebrated Jayne White’s career of caring and contribution - an acknowledged “nurse’s nurse” and former Chief Nursing Executive for PRHC. Speakers at the dinner noted Jayne’s professionalism, commitment to standards, excellence and unwavering focus on the patient experience. Her career path demonstrates a pattern of courage, lifelong learning a...

PRHC · 12/5/2012 6:01 PM ·

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Award-winning performance

I place a lot of credence in awards. Being recognized for performance and accomplishments by one’s peers and industry experts is evidence that good things are happening – people are rolling up their sleeves, making contributions and getting things done. In healthcare, all improvements eventually lead to better patient care. PRHC won Silver in the 2012 Quality Healthcare Workp...

PRHC · 11/19/2012 9:36 PM ·

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Take Our Kids to Work Day at PRHC

Yesterday, PRHC hosted Take Our Kids to Work day for a group of 30 students. Have a look at the complete photo album here .

PRHC · 11/19/2012 9:35 PM ·

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It's flu season!

They say that you see the world from the chair you occupy. So let me get this straight: public policy and popular opinion is that we’re spending too much money and taxes on healthcare – certainly too much on disease management, and not enough on wellness and disease prevention. To motivate hospitals, we are required to report on preventable disease, statistically avoidable mo...

PRHC · 11/19/2012 9:35 PM ·

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A conversation with a volunteer about our LEAN journey . . .

A volunteer approached one of our leaders the other day and asked: “What is the biggest room in the world?” While wheels turned and the respondent tried to think of what the corny punch line was going to be, the reply came: “It is the room for improvement.” Well, okay … in the spirit of full disclosure it was actually Jayne White who had this encounter and ...

PRHC · 11/19/2012 9:34 PM ·

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Just $2 a pay can change a family's life

We’re gearing up once again for one of our most significant investments in our fellow residents in need – the PRHC United Way campaign. Over the years, this fundraising initiative has become a cornerstone of the Health Centre’s active participation in and dedication to the Peterborough community. PRHC’s 2012 campaign launches on Wednesday, Sept. 26 with a “g...

PRHC · 9/25/2012 5:36 PM ·

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Celebrating PRHC's Regional Renal "Centre of Excellence"

As one of our regional “centres of excellence” at PRHC, the regional renal program cares for more than 600 patients through our renal insufficiency clinics, the hemodialysis unit and independent dialysis programs such as home hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. All told, this program provides more than 40,000 patient treatments annually – through the central “hu...

PRHC · 9/21/2012 12:24 PM ·

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Ready, set, go

Just a few short weeks ago, and then again for the Paralympic Games, those words announced the beginning of various sporting events. For participants, it marks the pinnacle of their career and years of preparation and training. After many years in healthcare, these words also relate to what we sometimes refer to in golf as a “shotgun start.” After a brief summer hiatus, gover...

PRHC · 9/14/2012 2:52 PM ·

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One donor can save up to eight people

As an organization committed to providing excellent care, saving lives and making a difference every day, we can do more when it comes to organ donation. While the Trillium Gift of Life Network has made important gains in Ontario, improving the number of potential donors will mean that many others can benefit from the gift of life. For those of you who read my Healthcare Quarterly interv...

PRHC · 9/14/2012 2:56 PM ·

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Ready, set, go

PRHC · 11/19/2012 9:23 PM ·

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Hospital beds, emergency departments, urgent care centres, walk-in clinics and primary care

All important elements of the patient access bundle PRHC Chair Gary Lounsbury and I have been making the rounds with municipal and township councils, sharing our successes and our challenges, answering questions and gathering their thoughts and suggestions. Our reception has been warm as they acknowledge the hard work involved with PRHC’s road to fiscal health, our emerging regiona...

PRHC · 11/19/2012 9:32 PM ·

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What do a tow truck, flatbed trailer, two police cars and two cranes have in common?

They were all involved in delivering the first modules of the Dysart Radiation facility to PRHC. Construction is on schedule for both the site (concrete pad, roadways, service connections) and the arrival and assembly of the building modules for the control room and inner and outer shells of the bunker. While things were made a little more complex by the construction at the Parkway/Lansd...

PRHC · 11/19/2012 9:30 PM ·

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