September 18, 2018
Welcome to E-Connect
Hello E-Connecters!

Welcome back to another overflowing edition of E-Connect. Today you will hear of the generous gifts shared with the children and youth we serve through our W.E. Care for Kids Residence at HDGH's Regional Children's Centre; you will be inspired by a local family's determination to make a difference in cardiac care; and you will read about a new initiative coming to our community that HDGH is proud to be a part of.

Happy reading,
Maciah
Our Patients
Supporting our youngest clients; Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare's Child and Youth Residence receives donations
At Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare’s Regional Children’s Centre, our team works hard to support and improve the mental health and wellbeing of children and youth in our community. Through our various mental health treatment services, such as Intensive Treatment, Counselling and Therapy and the Walk-In Clinic, we work with children, youth and their families to address their social, emotional, and behavioural needs.

But when their needs are more complex in nature, it is our Day Treatment program and W.E. Care for Kids Residence at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare that provides a safe and nurturing treatment environment for these children in need.

The six-bed Residential program augments a day-treatment component through providing 24-hour care. It offers Crisis Stabilization for children requiring short term stabilization as well as for those who are unable to commute to the program on a daily basis.

Recently, the Residential program received some generous donations with the hopes of enhancing the children’s experience.

Child and Youth Worker (CYW) student, Sierra facilitated a donation of 14 brand new video games through her connections with Absolute Comfort Control Services, a local Heating, Air Conditioning and Ventilation company.

To give the children the opportunity to go out on special community outings, another CYW student, Alesha, brought in over $200 in cash and gift cards to places like Zap Zone, Tim Hortons, Cineplex Odeon, and more! Alesha fundraises throughout the year for mental health awareness under “Fight the Mind”.

“I see so much value in taking the kids in the Residential program out on community outings and these gift cards will help support these daytrips,” say Alesha.
 
We would like to extend our deepest thanks to Sierra, Alesha, and all those who go out of their way to donate to our programs. No matter how seemingly insignificant the donation, it makes a world of difference to those we serve.
HDGH's COAST Team and their families take part in Sunday's Suicide Prevention Walk.
Walking for Suicide Prevention
On Sunday, September 16, dozens of Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare team members joined hundreds of local residents to raise awareness for suicide prevention at the annual Suicide Prevention Walk.

The Walk is hosted by Canadian Mental Health Association in partnership with St. Clair College.

Earlier in the week, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare staff from our Inpatient Rehab Unit 1 South, hosted a bake sale, ultimately donating $500 to the event.
L-R: President and CEO Janice Kaffer, Patient Advocate Joanne Desjardins, Unit Clerk RH1 Kate Prentice.
Our People
The Family up for the Challenge
“The Petro family is more than just those of us who are biologically related. It includes our friends and the cardiac wellness and event staff – both past and present – and their family and friends; It’s those who’ve received care and are giving back and it’s community partners who recognize the need for what we are doing. It includes every single person who has helped us along the way reach the point we are at today.”

A week after HDGH’s Rehabilitation and Wellness Centre was officially renamed The Petro Family Exercise Centre, serving our cardiac and pulmonary patients, Jason Petro is still in awe and wants to share this accomplishment with everyone who helped make his dream a reality.

In 1993 Jason and his family lost their Father to a heart attack while recovering in hospital from a stroke. It was that tragic, unexpected life event that pushed Jason and his family to make significant life changes. Having completed a degree in Human Kinetics, Jason knew the importance of exercise and healthy living and persuaded the other Petros to take better care of themselves. They agreed.

It was at that time that Jason also knew that he wanted to focus his career on cardiac care and helping those in our community facing this common illness. He jumped heart first by proposing a new cardiac rehab program for Windsor-Essex, which at the time, had no government funding. With knowledge from his schooling and trips to Toronto and Ottawa cardiac programs, Jason’s persistence and dedication was rewarded with new Ministry Funding to hire a team to carry out a six-month cardiac rehab program in our community. While this funding was critical, he still had a vision and felt that Windsor deserved to have a state-of-the-art exercise facility to support these patients for years to come.

Eight-teen years later, Jason and the Petro family’s dream is a reality. But it didn’t happen over night.

In 2000, Jason’s fundraising efforts began with a 5 km run/walk along the riverfront. The event raised no more than $1,500, and the Petros were ecstatic.

For the next decade, the run/walk continued and steadily increased funds collected. More events came to fruition: Fashion Shows, Car Rallies, Golf Tournaments, along with various community donations; the team checked every nook and cranny for ways to raise money. And raise they did.

Upon realignment in 2013, Jason and his team had raised significant funds earmarked for Cardiac Services at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare.

As their current events reached their fundraising potential, Jason knew they needed to come up with something new and a suggestion surfaced. So, the Petro brothers piled into a car and travelled down to Indiana to check out the hot new trend in the event world: Tough Mudder. They were instantly inspired and were up for the challenge to bring such an event back home to Windsor. Let the planning begin!

From designing the route in Malden Park, building course obstacles, organizing parking, to managing registration, event photography, and coordinating the logistics of over 1,500 participants Getting Fit, Getting Dirty, and Giving Back , the Petros have since grown the Heart Breaker Challenge to the annual six-figure fundraising initiative that it is today. The success of the Heart Breaker Challenge, along with other generous donors, including Estates, helped complete and pay off the $1.6 million dollar state-of-the-art exercise facility at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare in 2016, bringing the Petro family’s total raised close to one-million dollars.

We would once again like to extend our sincerest thanks to Jason, his wife, children, brothers, sister, and every other extended member of the Petro family for the work that they have accomplished. Your determination to Changing Lives Together is inspiring. As they say in Heart Breaker: “Challenge Accepted!”
Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare's Withdrawal Management Services to benefit from expertise of Dr. Kristina Levang
Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare's Medical Affairs Office is pleased to announce that Dr. Kristina Levang, HDGH Psychiatrist and Clinical Lead of Outpatient Services, will be providing psychiatry consults and addiction support for our Withdrawal Management Program effective August 1st, 2018.

Dr. Levang currently provides services to Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare’s General Psychiatry clinic and Concurrent Disorders clinic and is an Adjunct Professor with the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. We are excited to further integrate Dr. Levang into our Withdrawal Management Services.

Offering an abundance of psychiatric and addiction-related knowledge and expertise, Dr. Levang is both a caring and compassionate individual, with a keen interest in helping those who struggle with mental health and addiction. She is a leader who demonstrates both a commitment and passion to continuously enhance the quality of care that clients receive through the integration of best practice and constant quality improvement. 
 
Dr. Levang’s contribution to program development and enhancement within Withdrawal Management Services, in partnership with Dr. McKay, is instrumental in providing high quality care and an excellent client experience.
 
Dr. Levang will improve client continuity of care, and augment transitions for those with addictions. She also provides physician support at Brentwood Recovery Home, where some of our clients from Withdrawal Management Services attend residential treatment. In her extended role, Dr. Levang will help arrange psychiatric follow up for clients with concurrent mental health and addiction problems, and also equip our staff with knowledge and skills to better serve the concurrent population.
 
We look forward to her involvement with our addictions services and the benefits it will have for our clients and staff.
Our Identity
Unlocking potential with ProsperUs
Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare is excited to be a part of a new initiative in Windsor-Essex that aims to support children in our community as they grow, with the ultimate goal of helping them achieve a successful life.

On the morning of Friday, September 14th, leaders from a number of local organizations came together to officially launch ProsperUs.

The collaborative partnership, co-chaired by Janice Kaffer from Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and Noah Tepperman from Tepperman’s Furniture and Appliance, set out a ‘Cradle to Career’ vision that is ProsperUS, to give children in Windsor-Essex the opportunities they need to succeed and unlock their potential.

“With a vision to transform healthcare and cultivate a healthier community, we at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare believe this begins with investing in the future of our children. A powerful strategy to improve educational outcomes results in healthy individuals, families, and ultimately Windsor-Essex. We are excited to be part of ProsperUs and the future of our community’s young people.”

To learn more about ProsperUS, visit their website:
A great year of Changing Lives Together!
On the morning of September 6th, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare's Changing Lives Together Foundation hosted our Annual General Meeting for 2017-2018 fiscal year.

Along with members from both Foundation and Hospital Board of Directors, community partners, and staff, we celebrated the great year we've had building partnerships and raising significant funds to change lives in our community.

Together, we have raised $1,044,181 in 2017-2018! Thank you! Be sure to watch our Year in Review video above.

While all of our partners and everyone who gives to our Foundation makes a huge difference, we would like to give a big thank you and congratulations to two invaluable groups:

First, In Honour of the Ones We Love, Inc. A long standing partner with Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and our Changing Lives Together Foundation, their generosity and commitment to our community is well deserving of the newly reinstated Sister Cecile LeBoeuf Spirit of Philanthropy Award.

"Our mandate is to make a difference in this community. When I work with Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, we do make a difference together," expressed Anita Imperioli, President and CEO of In Honour, as she accepted the award.

Second is the Petro Family, who put numerous hours, resources, and efforts into many fundraisers over the years, culminating in the very successful Heart Breaker Challenge, raising over $800,000 for Cardiac and Pulmonary programs at HDGH. We have officially renamed and dedicated our Cardiac Wellness Gym, formerly called the Rehabilitation and Wellness Centre to The Petro Family Exercise Centre.

The Petro family began their fundraising efforts over 18 years ago. Read more about their fundraising efforts in the article "The Family up for the Challenge" above.
Ensuring the safety of our community; Please drive safely at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare
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We would like to take a moment to remind all Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare staff, visitors, and contract workers the importance of vehicular safety while driving through campus lots and roadways, and around neighbouring streets.

It has come to our attention that a number of individuals living on Connaught Ave., and surrounding streets, are feeling unsafe due to staff leaving parking lots and pulling out onto the street without coming to a complete stop. Being in a rush is no excuse for endangering local residents. Please be courteous neighbours and adhere to all traffic laws.

We have a busy organization with a number of patient, family, visitor, and staff pedestrians throughout campus regularly. Please keep their safety a top priority while driving.

With the new school year officially beginning, please also be extra mindful of children and families walking throughout our neighbourhood.
 
Thank you.