Battle over language in Winnipeg's St. Boniface General Hospital

A language battle is brewing at one of Winnipeg's leading medical institutions.

Since October 14th, nursing jobs posted for the Woman and Child program at St. Boniface General Hospital list the ability to speak French as one of the qualifications.

That has some nurses worried the ability to speak French is taking priority over skill and experience, possibly putting patient care at risk.

"They've started hiring people into positions and taking French language qualifications over top of nursing experience," said nurse Tamara Burnham, a 14-year nursing veteran who works in the St. Boniface program that includes obstetrics and gynecology.

"With all the things going on in health care, to focus in on that doesn't make sense."

Manitoba Nurses Union Local 5 says it's gone to court to fight the French language requirement because it violates their collective agreement and common sense.

The nurses union went to court October 23rd after the Labour Board refused to hear the matter.
Their suit said the Labour Board erred when it refused to hear their complaint that the hospital committed an unfair labour practice by changing the conditions of employment and refusing to negotiate.

The hospital has a hard time filling all of its nursing shifts, never mind requiring that they're filled by French-speaking staff, said Burnham.

Burnham said she has never seen a francophone patient's treatment hampered because of a language barrier.
Most Franco-Manitobans can also speak English, she said.

"A very real problem, however, exists with the growing number of immigrants who speak neither official language," she said.

"If the hospital wanted to address a real language barrier, it would hire interpreters who speak languages like Urdu, Hindi and Mandarin," she said.
The hospital has volunteer interpreters who speak 60 languages but they're not always available when you need them, she said.

Burnham said she has seen women in labour unable to get pain medication because of a language barrier.

"You can't get informed consent because you don't know if they understand," said Burnham. "If it's a delivery, you can't stop a baby from coming," she said.

"Too bad they couldn't spend this much time and energy to have interpreters on call."

Union local president Debbie Mintz said the hospital hasn't done a demographic study of the patient population since the early 1990s, and doesn't know how the client population in Winnipeg has changed.

The hospital says it has to expand services in French.

"St. Boniface General Hospital has a government-conferred responsibility to actively offer and provide services in French to its patients, their families and the public," hospital spokeswoman Helene Vrignon wrote in a statement.

"To meet our legislated responsibility, a small number of staff in direct patient care positions must be bilingual French and English.
In fact, health services in the language of your choice is a basic component of quality of care."

Violence in hospitals gets out of hand

Violence seems a part of life for those working on the front lines of this country's health care system.

The impact of workplace violence on the health care industry is enormous, exacting a heavy financial toll, according to a 2006 survey by the Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia.

Facts in figures concerning violence against health care workers:

Injury claims

Nine percent of all B.C. health care workers' accepted claims are due to violence.

More than half of the accepted B.C. claims for health care workers are from nurses aides and licensed practical nurses.

One in five of the accepted B.C. claims for healthcare workers, due to violence in the workplace, is from registered nurses.

$24-million was spent from 2002 to 2006 in workers compensation claims involving violence against health-care workers, including physicians, nurses, care aides, pharmacists, housekeeping staff, technicians and administration.

162,934 days were lost in 2006 due to accepted claims of violence against health care workers in B.C.

Fourteen B.C. health workers were injured every week in 2006, as recorded in accepted violence claims.

Most often hurt workers' body parts in attacks

Arms, including wrists, fingers and elbows: 27 percent

Backs and shoulders: 25 percent

Head, including neck, face, eyes, ears and scalp: 14 percent

Violence against nurses in Canada:

A national survey of nearly 19,000 nurses done by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, Health Canada and Statistics Canada in 2005 found the following:

29.6 Percent of nurses working in hospital said they were physically assaulted by a patient over the past 12 months

49.6 Percent of nurses who worked in a long-term care facility, such as a nursing home, said they were physically assaulted by a patient over the past 12 months

43.6 Percent of male nurses have faced physical assaults, be they in hospital, nursing homes, a community health centre or other health care settings

27.9 Percent of female nurses have faced physical assaults in the same settings

46.3 Percent of nurses working in a hospital said they were emotionally abused by a patient over the past 12 months

48 Percent of nurses working in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes, said they were emotionally abused by a patient in the past 12 months

54.3 Percent of male nurses have reported suffering emotional abuse over the past 12 months, be it in a hospital, nursing home, a community health centre or other health-care related settings

43 Percent of female nurses have reported suffering emotional abuse in the same settings

46.7 Percent of nurses under 35 reported they have been emotionally abused by a patient in the past 12 months

38.2 Percent of nurses over 55 reported they have been emotionally abused by a patient in the past 12 months

Brampton Civic Hospital apologizes for cutting in wrong leg

The chief of staff at Brampton’s criticized Civic Hospital has now officially apologized to the 72-year-old Amar Kaur Brar, whose wrong leg got cut by a surgeon, her family says.

The doctor, who sliced open Amar Kaur Brar’s right leg when he should have cut into her left, has also expressed his regret.
The apologies came after the family filed a formal complaint with the Brampton Civic Hospital ombudsman over the incident.
Her 21-year-old granddaughter Kanwaljot Brar said it has left her formerly agile grandmother in serious pain and handicapped as she now has to recover from incisions on both legs, on top of a broken bone.

“Before the complaint they didn’t apologize. Now they have apologized,” she said. “They do the mistake and after they say sorry. That’s not good.”

A spokesperson at Brampton Civic was unable to confirm yesterday whether these verbal regrets were issued.
Despite requesting a new physician, Amar Kaur Brar was today back under the care of the surgeon who performed the procedure.

"The reduced holiday staffing levels at Brampton Civic made it impossible to have another doctor on the job," Kanwaljot Brar said.
“He’s taking care of her, but after the vacation is over another doctor will be given to her,”

The alleged mistake is the latest in a string of controversies that put Brampton Civic under fire since it opened its doors amid much fanfare last October.

Two patients have died and their families believe it was due to complications caused by long waits for proper care.
In November, Harnek Sindu, 52, perished of pancreatitis 10 days after waiting 12 hours for a bed when he presented with abdominal pain and only last month it was Amerjit Narwal, 42, who succumbed to a stroke.

Calling the two deaths “unacceptable,” Health Minister George Smitherman last week appointed a supervisor to assume control of William Osler Health Centre, the hospital network responsible for Brampton Civic.
A citizen’s group, billing itself as Bramptonians for Better Health Care, held a thousand-person protest last month and is now organizing a petition calling for more funding, better staffing levels and the opening of more beds at a hospital serving one of Canada’s fastest growing communities.

Group spokesman Rajinder Saini, who is also editor of Parvasi Weekly, called the latest incident “unbelievable.”
“It’s tragic, there is outrage in the community. They are losing confidence in the hospital.”

While the apologies were appreciated, Ms. Brar said they come as cold comfort to her grandmother, who arrived in Canada from India last summer and now remains hospitalized.

“She just started crying,” reported her granddaughter.
Mrs. Kaur Brar slipped and fell on the stairs on Christmas day, fracturing her left leg.

Related articles:

Brampton Civic Hospital operates on wrong leg

Brampton Civic hospital has cost $340 million more than planned

Brampton Civic Hospital under fire

Canadian Blood Services needs 'New Blood', literally!

As we continue through the holiday season, there's one gift that's always in demand: blood.

About every minute, someone in Canada needs a blood transfusion.

It's disturbing to learn then that a sizable portion of the population can't donate needed blood or bone marrow because they don't speak English or French.

Apparently, Canadian Blood Services can't accept blood from these people because of concern over their inability to accurately answer sensitive questions about their health and lifestyle that could affect the safety of the blood supply.

The service says it doesn't have either the staff to translate applications or nurses who speak multiple languages.

In a province where more than a quarter of the residents don't speak English or French as a first language, it's a significant issue.

Especially since the best chance of finding a match for some products like bone marrow is within a recipient's own ethnic group.

We'd have thought Canadian Blood Services would try harder to accommodate our multi-racial and multi-lingual reality. The language barrier isn't one that can't be overcome.

As far as safety is concerned, while many questions asked of donors help to pre-screen blood, afterwards the blood itself is tested for hepatitis, AIDS and a variety of other diseases.

The existing pool of blood donors is becoming older and fewer.
If the Canadian Blood Service hopes to do its job in the future, it's going to have to make changes.

We need new blood, literally!

This year, in British Columbia , Canadian Blood Services will need to collect 1,200 red blood cells or platelet donations by January 4th to help meet hospital needs.

For all of Canada, call Canadian Blood Services at 1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-6283) for blood donor clinic information, eligibility information or to book an appointment.

Source: Chilliwack Times

Calgary moms and company owners recall gourmet baby food

A small company, run by two Calgary mothers is voluntarily recalling some of its gourmet baby food after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned the product could harm children with severe peanut allergies.

Some Baby Gourmet products may contain peanut protein or sulphites not mentioned on the label, said the warning issued last Monday.

The baby foods in question include organic Moroccan lamb with couscous, which might contain undeclared peanut protein, and seasonal fruit compote, which contains undeclared sulphites, said Garfield Balsom, a food safety and recall specialist with the food and inspection agency.

Peanuts are not used in any of the locally made foods, but the dried couscous could have come in contact with peanuts in the packing plant before being sent to Calgary, said Jennifer Broe, who launched the company with her sister two years ago.

So far, only one allergic reaction has been reported in connection to Baby Gourmet products. Calgary Health Region officials said Monday the patient suffered an allergic reaction caused by the peanut protein in the product. The patient was treated at a physician's office and did not require hospitalization.

The recall involves foods that were sold at the Calgary Farmer's Market and at Mise en Place in Lakeview Plaza. The products have only been distributed in Calgary.

There has been one reported illness associated with the products, which are common food allergens.

The recipes included in the recall will be discontinued until Baby Gourmet can finish a thorough investigation of all ingredients, said Broe.

"We make this food like it's for our own children. We will definitely take every precaution to look into the recipes and research all the ingredients to make sure everything is listed," she said.

Source: Canada.com

The Ottawa Hospital starts testing overnight patients for superbugs

The Ottawa Hospital will begin testing overnight patients for two virulent strains of bacteria beginning in January to help combat infections and deaths.

Overnight patients will be screened for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), two strains of bacteria that, along with other hospital-acquired superbugs, kill thousands of Canadians annually.

The mandatory screening follows a pilot project the hospital conducted in the summer, which found that certain members of the patient population should but weren't screened for the drug-resistant bacteria, hospital spokeswoman Allison Neill said.

The Ottawa Hospital will be the second hospital to adopt universal screening for these two superbugs. Toronto's University Health Network initiated testing for these two bacteria in the fall.

If patients test positive for either bug, they will be isolated in private hospital rooms, the hospital said.

In the six months ended September 30th, there were 82 cases of hospital-acquired MRSA at the Ottawa Hospital.

In the same period, there were 18 cases of hospital-acquired VRE at the hospital.

Source: CBC

Children's Hospital in London, Ont., to recruit 4 new heart doctors

An all-out effort will be made in 2008 to recruit at least three new children’s heart doctors to London, the head of the city’s hospitals said.

“It is very, very important to me to sustain Children’s Hospital and therefore we are going to devote a lot of time and energy to try and make this happen,” said Cliff Nordal, president of both London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s Health Care.

Both of London’s children’s heart doctors, Dr. Dion Pepelassis and Dr. Ilan Buffo, have resigned to accept positions at Winnipeg Children’s Hospital at the end of June.

"London needs a minimum of three of the specialists to provide a sustainable service and will try to hire four by the end of 2008, " Nordal said.

“We will be looking as well at international medical graduates that are in training in Canada.”

Nordal called the loss of the two children’s heart specialists “a blip” in an otherwise successful drive to recruit health care professionals to London.

Faced with the closure of hospital beds because of a lack of nurses, London Health Sciences Centre set a target last February to hire 450 new nurses.
To date, the hospital has recruited about 340, allowing it to reopen all of the closed beds.

“We expect by the end of March we will reach our target,” Nordal said.

The closed beds contributed to extended waits for patients in the city’s emergency departments and led to the cancellation of some surgeries.

"Not all the problems will be solved with the beds reopened," Nordal said.

The hospital still has difficulties providing enough beds for acute care because 40 to 70 beds are occupied by people waiting for placement in long-term care facilities or back into the community.

The Ontario government announced it will expand the number of long-term care beds in the London area by 600, but those beds won’t be available until late 2010.

St. Joseph’s Health Care has proposed to the Health Ministry that it opens 50 beds at the Parkwood Hospital site, at least on a temporary basis, to reduce the pressure.

“That has not been approved yet, but we are hopeful that that will be considered as at least an interim step,” Nordal said.

Another challenge that will persist in the face of rising cancer rates is the wait times for cancer scans and therapies.
In the past year, the number of people receiving cancer therapy treatments at LHSC grew by 15 percent.

“It is just a burgeoning amount of care required. It spills over into surgery, it spills over into imaging and as a result those are the areas we are having our greatest wait list challenges.”

“Those will be areas we will try to tackle in the coming year, trying to get down to the provincial average where possible,” Nordal said.

Source: The London Free Press

Related article:

Two children's heart doctors for Winnipeg Regional

Brampton Civic Hospital operates on wrong leg

A Brampton family is frustrated after their 72-year-old grandmother had the wrong leg cut open during Christmas Day surgery at the city's new hospital.

But residents demanding better hospital care say the alleged medical mistake is one more in a long list of complaints they've heard since the Brampton Civic Hospital opened last October 28th.

Amar Kaur Brar, 72, fractured her thigh bone when she slipped from the stairs at the family's Brampton home, her granddaughter Kanwaljot Brar, 21, told The Sun yesterday.

"She just missed one stair and fell down," Brar said.
The family took her to the emergency room at Brampton Civic where doctors told them her left leg was broken and surgery was needed.

"In the operating room, doctors cut Amar's right leg open," Brar said, adding the cut ran almost the entire length of her grandmother's thigh.

When they realized that the bone in Amar's right leg was okay, they stitched her up and performed surgery on her left leg, she said.

"She's in so much pain now," Brar said. "She can't move either leg ... she can't move at all."

Doctors told the family after surgery that they opened the wrong leg, she said.
Along with the pain, Amar has been confused and disoriented since the operation.
She remains in the hospital with her son Gurcharan Singh Brar at her side.

"We don't know what to do now for her," Brar said.

The issue is further complicated because Amar arrived in Canada from India in August and wasn't issued a health card until Thursday.
Brar said the family isn't certain if they will have to pay for the hospital care up to that point.

This week's incident comes a few weeks after 1,000 residents took to the streets protesting conditions at the hospital, where they claim patients wait up to 12 hours in the emergency room only to deal with understaffed and insensitive health-care workers.

In response to inquiries about Amar's case yesterday, the hospital issued a statement.
"William Osler Health Centre's top priority is the well-being and safety of our patients and staff," the statement reads.

The centre is made up of Brampton, Peel and Etobicoke hospitals.

In order to protect patient privacy, the hospital said it could not comment on the specific case. "We cannot release any information about a patient or any information about the care provided to a patient without his or her written consent," the release states.

The hospital does have a quality of care committee, a patient incident reporting system and a patient safety committee in place to respond if an incident occurs.

"We're following all of our processes with regard to this case," hospital communications director Gillian Williams McClean said.

Rajinder Saini of Bramptonians for Better Health Care said the incident is another in a long list of complaints the group has heard about the hospital.

"Things are not good at this new facility," Saini said.
"They use excuses like shortages of funds and staff." He called operating on the wrong leg an 'unbelievable' mistake."

"She had swelling on the broken leg, they had X-rays, they had everything," Saini said.

Media attention focused on the hospital in November when Brampton resident Harnek Sidhu, 52, allegedly waited 12 hours for a bed before he died of pancreatitis 10 days later.

Following the protests in early December, the province stepped in and appointed a hospital supervisor.

Amid the problems at the new hospital the future of the old hospital, Peel Memorial, remains uncertain.
Protesters have maintained the fast-growing city needs both hospitals to serve the burgeoning population.
A plan for the old site, that has been temporarily closed when the new hospital opened, is being developed.
Two public meetings, one January 9th at the Pearson Convention Centre and January 17th at Courtyard by Marriott on Biscayne Court, have been scheduled.
Both meetings start at 7:30 p.m.

Source: Toronto Sun

Related articles:

Brampton Civic hospital has cost $340 million more than planned

Brampton Civic Hospital under fire

Poor people in Canada healthier than in the U.S.

Poor and less-educated Canadians are healthier than their American counterparts, according to a Kaiser health economist based in Portland.

Although overall population health is similar in both countries, there were differences at the lowest levels of income and education, said David Feeny, senior investigator at Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research.
He was co-author of a study that included the largest survey comparing health in the two countries.

"Income and education are well-known predictors of health status," said Feeny.
"What was surprising, however, was the statistically significant health gap between people in the U.S. and Canada at the lowest levels of income and education. The question is, what explains this gap?"

The most obvious difference between the two countries is Canada's universal health coverage, Fenny said.

"From prenatal care through death, there is no co-pay to see a family doctor or visit the hospital," he said.

"Some people think that is probably important in the differences people observe in the less advantaged. The less advantaged in the United States often have no health insurance, or inadequate insurance."

"There is an argument, not a definitive one, that with access to routine care, people seek care earlier in the progression of a disease, instead of coming in late when you've already become a complicated case."

Source: The Columbian

Benefactress to Canadian Health Care Beryl Ivey dies

Beryl Ivey, an iconic philanthropist who for decades supported education, health care and the arts across Ontario and beyond, died on Christmas day at the age of 82.

Ms. Ivey suffered a heart attack Sunday and was hospitalized in Toronto.

She died there Christmas morning, three days shy of her 83rd birthday.

Ms. Ivey's son Richard said that his mother was in "vintage form" right up until her death.

As news of the death slowly spread, praise poured in for Ms. Ivey, who, along with her husband, donated an estimated $150-million to various causes through the Ivey Foundation.

"This city and province and country has lost a great Canadian," said Tony Dagnone, former chief executive of the London Health Sciences Centre.

At the University of Western Ontario, whose business school now bears the Ivey name, the effects of her generosity cannot be overstated, UWO president Paul Davenport said.
A private funeral will take place in London on Friday and a memorial will be held at a later date.

Born Beryl Nurse in 1924 in Chatham, Ontario, she was a celebrated track star when she arrived at UWO in 1943.
She married Dick Ivey, whom she met two months into her first year at UWO.

Dick's father, Richard G. Ivey, incorporated the Ivey Foundation in 1947.
Beryl, however, is credited with the businesslike approach to philanthropy the family adopted in the 1970s.

In June, she was named to the Order of Canada.

Her friend Bill Brady, who called Ms. Ivey "a remarkable force" - said she was "no pushover" when it came to cash.

"You had to make a strong case for financial support.
You had to prove it was worthwhile. I can't think of another philanthropic family who did the kind of research they did."

Globe and Mail

At least a month backlog of radioisotopes Western Health Region

It will take at least a month to clear up a backlog of specialized medical tests for western Newfoundland patients, officials said as a nuclear medicine department reopens.

The Western Health regional authority cancelled tests for 48 patients through Western Brook Memorial Hospital in Corner Brook after the Chalk River reactor shut down in November.

The supply of medical isotopes has been restored and officials were expecting to resume tests, including bone and heart scans, on Monday.

"It's wonderful," said Mike Brake, a nuclear medicine technologist who has worked at the Corner Brook hospital for three decades.

"This is the first incident in which we've had an interruption in service, so it's quite unusual for us, but we're so very happy to be back to normal."

Peter Dawe, executive director of the Canadian Cancer Society's Newfoundland and Labrador branch, said the reopening of the department will reduce anxiety for patients waiting for tests.

"It's very important news for people on the west coast, obviously, because you can't treat them and you're absolutely stuck until you get a proper diagnosis," Dawe said.

Western Health has already begun contacting patients to rebook cancelled appointments.

Source: CBC

Related articles:

Chalk River resumes radioisotope production

Chalk River restarting isotope production

Decision made by the Commons: Chalk River "open for the public"

Isotopes Chalk river: production could start very soon

Breaking news: federal government to legislate temporary production of radio isotope at Chalk River

St. Joseph's Health Care to receive scarce medical isotope today

AECL blunder choked supply of key isotope

Ontario reactor shutdown forces cancellation of cancer tests worldwide

Quebecer complians about "English treatment" in hospital

The reaction of many people to being kept waiting for 20 hours in a hospital emergency ward in Quebec might be to worry, or complain, about what seems like a chronic shortage of medical personnel.

Sitting for hours on a hard chair in a room with other injured or ill people, watching for the faintest hint that the one overworked doctor might see you now, could lead a sensible person to think that whatever Quebec is doing to find more health care workers, it isn't enough.

Jean Dorion, the head of the Société St. Jean Baptiste de Montréal, takes a different approach. His reaction to waiting nearly a day for care was to call for French to be made the working language in all Quebec hospitals, including the few remaining bilingual hospitals.

Why? Because when he was finally seen by a doctor, the doctor asked if he spoke English.
Dorion said he replied that he did speak English. "I was treated in English," he said. "I found it humiliating."
He further suggested that if he had asked for treatment in French the doctor might not have looked at his case "with a very favourable prejudice."

This is ridiculous, to say nothing of offensive. Dorion has the nerve to suggest that a medical practitioner would take less care with his health if he asked to be treated in one of Canada's two official languages.

Dorion provides nothing in the line of proof for this odious suggestion. So pressed is he for ammunition for his make-everything-French cause that he has to go back seven years to unearth a study by the Office Québécois de la langue française.

This dusty study shows, Dorion said, that 18 percent of francophone patients treated in bilingual hospitals said they had been "in contact" with medical workers or other personnel who lacked a "sufficient" knowledge of French. Is he kidding? What does "in contact" mean? Who defines "sufficient"?

More recently, according to information compiled by the Office québécois de la langue française, it received a grand total of five complaints on the subject of language use in hospitals. Four of the complaints concerned language on signs; only one had to do with language of service. Exactly one complaint in the course of a year. In a normal world, that would be considered a triumph. It is a triumph.

Some hospitals in Quebec are allowed to be bilingual but must make French service available - and by the evidence, they do just that. This requirement does not mean that every single person working in a bilingual hospital has to be perfectly bilingual. Dorion, for instance, doesn't even know if the doctor who asked if he spoke English was bilingual. It appears that Dorion preferred getting a chance to complain to the simple expedient of asserting his right to be helped in French. What nonsense.

If any group is having trouble communicating in hospitals, it is rural anglophones. The regions are becoming more unilingually French even as unilingual anglophones grow older and require more medical care. Now there is a real problem.

Source: The Gazette

Editor's opinion:

"How does that work, open heart surgery in French? Or getting a French flu shot? Complaining about something like that, after having waited for 20 hours? To magnify a futility like that can only come from a French speaking nitpicker. Humiliated? What's so humiliating about the English language? How many people, on a world-scale, actually speak French and why is that do you think? Of course there are many nice francophone people, but in general as a people, is there anyone that likes the French? I know in Europe nobody really does. They don't even like each other, hence the cold relationship between the French from France and the ones from Quebec!"

Two children's heart doctors for Winnipeg Regional

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority has successfully recruited two children's heart doctors from London, Ont.

WRHA spokeswoman Heidi Graham confirmed doctors Dion Pepelassis and Ilan Buffo of the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario were "aggressively recruited" to come work at Winnipeg's Children's Hospital, which has only one pediatric cardiologist for a population of 1.2 million.

The London doctors will leave their positions in Ontario at the end of June. The two are then expected to start in Winnipeg next summer, said Graham.

The move has left the Southwestern Ontario region with no such specialists for 450,000 kids.

"As every other jurisdiction does when there's a shortage, we recruit," said Graham.

"Manitoba has been short two cardiac specialists since this past summer," she said. The WRHA has been searching for specialists across Canada and the U.S. for months.

The two heart doctors weren't talking yesterday, but the London Health Sciences Centre's senior medical director for women and children said he believes they were offered "a very attractive overall package" in Winnipeg.

Winnipeg Sun

Hospitalists reduce patients' stay in the hospital

Patients cared for by doctors called "hospitalists," who work full-time in hospitals to focus on general patient care, fare slightly better than those cared for by general internists or family doctors, finds a new study.

Hospitalists reduce a patient's average hospital stay by 12 per cent, and modestly lower treatment costs, the study found. But they do not help lower patients' death risk or the chance that they will have to be readmitted.

Hospitalists are doctors who work full-time at hospitals, performing generalist duties traditionally handled by family doctors or internists making rounds.

Though hospitals in Canada are just beginning to make use of "hospitalists", many hospitals in the U.S. have well-established hospitalist programs. In fact, the category has been one of the fastest-growing medical specialties of the past decade in the U.S., according to the Society of Hospital Medicine.

Researchers from Tufts University School of Medicine decided to take the first wide-scale look at hospitalists, to see whether their use saves hospitals time and money.

They followed 75,000 patients admitted to 45 U.S. hospitals between September 2002 and June 2005 for such common conditions as pneumonia, stroke, chest pain, heart attack or heart failure, and urinary tract infection.

As compared with patients cared for by general internists, those under the watch of hospitalists had a slightly shorter hospital stay, about half a day off the average of four days.

Read the full story here

IT solution makes Jewish General Hospital in Montreal more efficient

At Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, you won’t hear the buzzers triggered by patients’ call buttons, and you won’t hear the public address system paging doctors.

Physicians and nurses now carry wireless telephones that work over the hospital’s computer network.
Call buttons with voice capabilities are linked to the phone system, so a patient in need can let an assigned nurse know what the problem is right away rather than just ringing a buzzer at the nursing station.

"It means better response to patients’ needs and it means doctors waste less time," says Stephen Rosenthal, the hospital’s associate director of medical informatics.

In the past, Dr. Rosenthal explains, the usual way to reach a doctor was to page him or her via the public address system. This added noise in an already busy environment where patients need quiet. The doctor being paged had to find a telephone to call back, and by that time the person at the other end might be unavailable.

Cellphones weren’t an option because of potential interference with some sensitive medical equipment, Dr. Rosenthal says.
But the wireless IP phones serve the same purpose: Calls can now go directly to the doctor, eliminating the paging and telephone tag.

Jewish General first tried a wireless phone system in its emergency room, using older technology, then switched to a voice over IP (VOIP) network and expanded throughout inpatient areas about a year ago. This past summer it was extended into outpatient clinics as well.
Put together by IBM Canada Ltd. and Symbol Technologies Inc., the system now supports about 100 phones for physicians, nurses and administrators.

Read the full story here

Editor's opinion:

"This is a great example of how technology can make communication processes in the hospital more efficient. It will reduce time which can be better used to serve patients. More institutions in health care and hospitals should adopt initiatives like this to cut costs.

There's a task for IT companies to promote their solutions and cater to the health care industry."

Hamilton's Henderson General Hospital being redeveloped

Yesterday, Hamilton Health Sciences and Infrastructure Ontario has announced they signed a contract with EllisDon to build and finance the redevelopment of the Henderson General Hospital.

The total project at Henderson General Hospital consists of approximately 400,000 square feet of new construction and more than 25,000 square feet of renovation.

The expansion will result in enhanced general hospital services, including a full-range of acute inpatient and ambulatory services supporting cancer care and patients from the Juravinski Cancer Centre.
It will include additional oncology and critical care beds and more capacity in emergency services, surgery, diagnostic services, outpatient clinics and support areas.

"A tremendous milestone has been reached today - a milestone that paves the way for improved access to health care in Hamilton," said Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal David Caplan.
"The final contract is signed, demonstrating that the McGuinty government has delivered on its commitment to this community."

"Projects like the redevelopment of the Henderson site are an essential part of our government's plan to renew hospitals and lower emergency room wait times in the local community and across the province," commented Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, George Smitherman.

"Once complete, this redeveloped hospital will improve access to important health services so that Hamilton residents will get the care they need, when they need it."

The deal commits EllisDon to build and finance the hospital expansion and redevelopment project for $198.1 million.
The estimated total cost of this redevelopment project has been approved by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care at $259.2 million.
This includes the hospital's early works demolition project for 70 Wing South, the fixed construction contract with EllisDon as well as other estimated costs related to the project such as furniture, equipment, permits, architectural and engineering fees and transaction and project management fees.

"This brings us one step closer to providing the residents of Hamilton with an expanded Henderson General Hospital," said MPP Hamilton Mountain, Sophia Aggelonitis.

"This major redevelopment project will enable Henderson General Hospital to continue to provide this excellent health care for years to come."

"We appreciate the government's continued commitment and support of the redevelopment of the Henderson General Hospital," said Murray Martin, President and Chief Operating Officer, Hamilton Health Sciences.

"Our patients, staff and community will benefit from having a modern facility designed to meet the growing health care needs in our region."

Editor's opinion:

"Let us please keep an eye on the total costs spent afterwards and see if this is not going to be another 'Brampton case'"

Samsung to make donation Saku Koivu Foundation

Saku has become synonymous with the word survival in Montreal and since beating cancer, he has been working hard to ensure that world-class cancer treatment and trauma facilities are available at the Montreal General Hospital.

Samsung Electronics Canada, a long-time supporter of sports and the Montreal Canadiens, is pleased to support the team's captain by making a significant donation to the Saku Koivu Foundation.

"Samsung salutes Saku's efforts, not only to overcome his illness, but to ensure that others suffering from cancer or trauma can attain the treatment they need in Montreal," said Benjamin Lee, President of Samsung Electronics Canada.

"Saku is truly an inspiration and Samsung is honoured to support him in his ongoing efforts to ensure the city has top-notch facilities."

Two years ago, the Saku Koivu Foundation helped raise $2.5 million to acquire the first PET/CT in Montreal, located at the Montreal General Hospital.
"After receiving excellent cancer care from all the doctors, nurses and support staff at The General, I remain committed to ensuring that future patients have access to the most current treatment technologies and facilities," said Koivu.

"With this generous support from Samsung, we're one large step closer to reaching our goal for this year."

This year, the Saku Koivu Foundation is again committed to raising $750,000 for the Montreal General Hospital.
$300,000 will be allocated specifically for the Injury Prevention Initiative and the Trauma Special Care Unit, and additional funds raised will help upgrade the cancer care equipment at the hospital, and provide financial support to families of patients from outside the Montreal area.

Source: CNW Group

Editor:

"Great initiative from Samsung.
I wonder though, if they couldn't have donated some technology since they have medical branches too"

Increasing number of ski and snowboard injuries

The number of skiers and snowboarders suffering head and spinal cord injuries is on the rise internationally.
This is probably the result of greater risk-taking on the slopes, according to researchers.

In a review of data on these injuries from 10 countries, Canadian researchers found increasing rates of brain and spinal cord injuries among skiers and snowboarders between 1990 and 2004.

These injuries account for a relatively small proportion of all injuries on the slopes; head trauma constitutes anywhere from 3 percent to 15 percent of all injuries, depending on the study, while spinal cord trauma accounts for an estimated 2 percent to 4 percent of injuries. Still, these injuries can be devastating or even fatal, the researchers note in a report published in the journal Injury Prevention.

They conclude that their findings highlight the need for better prevention efforts, particularly when it comes to young male snowboarders, who appear to be at greatest risk of fatal head injuries.

A key step is to always wear a helmet, according to Dr. Charles H. Tator of the University of Toronto in Ontario, the senior researcher on the study.

"Even those highly skilled can lose control," he told Reuters Health, "and therefore every skier and boarder, no matter at what level of skill or age, should wear a helmet."

The researchers based their findings on 24 studies from 10 countries, including the U.S., Canada and Japan. Across countries, there was evidence of a rising trend in traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord trauma.

Click here for the full story.

Reuters

Toronto's Bridgepoint Health launches latest eHealth presentation.

Last Tuesday, an exciting new Bridgepoint Health LiveWell! Podcast and Videocast were aired by first featured speaker and initiator Dr. Alex Jadad, Chief Innovator and Founder, Centre for Global eHealth Innovation.

His presentation, entitled "Living Well with Chronic Disease in the Age of the Internet and Social Networks" is now available as a Video(pod)cast: here.

Highlights are:

• Why a "tidal wave" of chronic illness is coming
• How can we minimize its impact
• How are Virtual Social Networks impacting chronic care
• Facebook: Bringing friends, students and patients together for chronic disease management
• How patients are self organizing today
• Joining forces
• Embracing innovation and change

Bridgepoint Health launched the new LiveWell! lecture series to support the community's understanding of the economic, social and public impacts of people living with Complex Chronic Disease.

Bridgepoint Health has taken the lead in recognizing that Complex Chronic Disease patients require a different kind of care than the current system was designed for.

With our commitment to changing the world for people living with Complex Chronic Disease, Bridgepoint Health is building a unique "campus of care".

This hospital will provide specialized care to meet the complicated medical needs of our patients. It will also create an environment to foster a new generation of researchers, doctors, nurses and therapists.
These professionals will be equipped with new knowledge and new skills to help people live well while living with Complex Chronic Disease.
Which means we'll be ready to help you enjoy your extra 10 or 15 years.

Dr. Alex Jadad Dr. Alex Jadad's mission is to help improve health and wellness for all, thorough information and communication technologies (ICTs). Dr. Jadad is the founder of the Centre for Global eHealth Innovation. He is also spearheading the development of the Global eHealth and eWellness Network Initiative (GENI, pronounced as "genie").


More info can be found at www.lifechanges.ca or www.bridgepointhealth.ca.

Brampton Civic Hospital under fire

March for better care because of 2 deaths at Brampton's state-of-the-art facility

The second untimely death in less than a month at Brampton Civic Hospital spurred 1,500 marchers who rallied to protest the shortage of staff and beds, long wait times, and lack of funding at the new facility.

Organized by a grassroots group calling itself Bramptonians for Better Health Care, marchers staged a peaceful rally, carrying signs that read: "We demand full capacity," "Reduce wait times," and "Treat us with a smile, we are patients."

Gathering at Brampton City Hall at noon yesterday, they walked a one-kilometer route along Queen St. E. to the mothballed Peel Memorial Hospital, which Brampton Civic replaced on Oct. 28.

Virtually all of the marchers were from the area's large South Asian community, riled up by the recent deaths of Harnek Sidhu, 52, and Amarjit Narwal, 42, at Brampton Civic.

Among the marchers was Narwal's cousin, Inderjit Nijjar. He told reporters that Narwal, who had suffered a stroke, was taken to emergency at Brampton Civic by ambulance from Trillium Health Centre in Mississauga. Narwal was put on blood thinning medication, but slipped into a coma and died less than 24 hours after being admitted to Brampton Civic, Nijjar said.

Officials at the hospital were not available for comment yesterday.

"He died because of the lack of doctors,'' said Nijjar, who accompanied his cousin to the hospital. "He wasn't looked after at all. The doctor never saw his face, just ordered the medication over the phone.Until we started screaming, nobody came to see him. Then finally the doctor came, looked at him and the chart and said, `Sorry, it's too late.'"

Sidhu's family was also part of the march.

"We don't want any family to go through what we went through," said his widow, Surinder. Her husband died of pancreatitis after a 12-hour wait in emergency and a 10-day stay at the hospital.

The two deaths highlight the crisis at Brampton Civic said rally organizer Rajinder Saini, editor of Parvasi Weekly newspaper and host of Parvasi Radio, where the topic has been hotly debated for weeks.

"People are outraged. They want answers," said Saini. "What happened to Mr. Sidhu and Mr. Narwal can happen to anyone. We came here from India for the best health care in the world and now we're scared to go to that hospital."

Adds Bruce Haines, provincial Green party candidate for Bramalea-Gore-Malton and rally organizer, "Brampton is the second-fastest growing city in Canada and we haven't received our fair share of health care funding ... these deaths heighten those concerns."

Bramptonians for Better Health Care has a list of five demands, including reduced wait times in emergency, reported to be up to 24 hours in some cases, said Saini.

Dr. Naveed Mohammad, the hospital's chief of emergency, has said the average wait time is 212 minutes, slighter higher than it was at Peel Memorial.

The group wants Brampton Civic to operate at full capacity immediately, including hiring additional doctors and nurses. Though built to accommodate 608 beds, the hospital is using only 479 until it can hire staff to handle the rest, a move which is expected by 2012, hospital CEO Robert Richards has said.

Reopening Peel Memorial is also among the group's demands because one hospital can't serve the needs of a community of half a million people, said Raj Sharda, a lawyer and another rally organizer.

Saini said people have complained that hospital staff have been rude.

The South Asian community, which helped to raise millions for the hospital, also feels betrayed that the hospital was built as a public-private partnership, after the Liberals campaigned against so-called P3 projects in the 2003 election, said Jagtar Shergill of the Brampton Health Coalition.

"Their (Liberal) attitude is, just give us the money, but don't ask any questions."

TheStar