November 13, 2018
Welcome to E-Connect
Hello E-Connecters!

The end of the calendar year always seems to bring with it an exciting rush of year end projects. Though this keeps Our People busy right up to the holidays, it means more lives being changed in our community and more stories for you to read right here in E-Connect!

Today you will learn about an upcoming program to get children and their parents engaged in mental healthcare, the fun ways we are saying thank you to our staff, a big pledge we've made, and more!

Happy reading,
Maciah
Our Patients
Parents and youth asked to co-design Mental Health program
Parents and youth are being asked to take part in a design-lab taking place on December 8th that will seek input from both groups to co-create Windsor-Essex’s first program to support young people who have a parents with mental illness. The Labs come as the second portion of a $50,000 innovation research grant awarded to Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare (HDGH) this past spring.

Two separate labs will be held in the Jellyfish Room at Windsor International Aquatic and Training Centre on December 8th; parents from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. and youth ages 12-18 from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. They ask participation specifically from those parenting while experiencing a mental illness and youth who have lived or are currently living with a parent(s) that has a mental illness. Each participant will receive $50 for their time, as well as refreshments, travel vouchers, and parking being provided. A third session will be held for mental health service providers on December 7th from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites on Huron Church Road.

“Groups can expect the labs to be interactive, fun, and comfortable,” said Jennifer Voth, Project Lead and Researcher from Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare. “The collaboration is very important. We want to know what a program like this would look like. We want to take all of the feedback and information and use it to develop something useful – what this looks like will be dependent on what the design-lab groups tell us.”

It is estimated that 12 per cent of children in Canada live with a parent who has one or more mental health disorders. A program to support children/youth will be the first of its kind in Windsor-Essex and one of the few in Canada.

Participants can register online at http://www.hdgh.org/DesignLab or by calling 519257-5111 ext. 74033. 
The importance of Canadian Patient Safety Week
Canadian Patient Safety Week is held each year during the last week of October as a way to increase awareness of patient safety issues and aims to share information about best practices in patient safety with healthcare providers, patients, residents, clients, and their families. 
 
The theme of Canadian Patient Safety Week –   Ask. Listen. Talk.   – promotes the importance of communication between and among patients/clients, families, and healthcare providers. It applies to all healthcare settings.
 
Throughout the week, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare’s inter-professional teams promoted safety and the work they do year-round to ensure the safety of our patients and clients. Resources were provided to further educate staff and visitors on important topics. Finally, on Halloween, a “Room of Horrors” was staged to allow staff to recognize health and safety hazards in the care setting.
 
At the federal level, the Canadian Patient Safety Institute focused on the topic of Medication Safety for 2018. With the goal of reducing medication errors across Canada, the theme of “Not All Meds Get Along”, promotes patients and healthcare professionals to seek medication reviews, especially for at-risk populations. 
Our People
A blooming Code of Conduct Tree
Nearly a year ago the Unit Based Council on Inpatient Rehab 1 (RH1) at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare went on a quest to have staff answer the question, “How do you want to be treated at work?”. The responses from staff across the unit were varied and wide-ranging, but the essence behind all them was similar. Staff identified that respect and kindness topped their list of needs.

Taking this information back to the Unit Based Council table, they then questioned how they could capture the great work of our colleagues in a way that was meaningful, in a way that would not be forgotten.

And so, the concept of a Code of Conduct Tree came to fruition. The beautiful piece of artwork, that now proudly hangs on the wall directly entering RH1, is adorned with names of each of the staff members who have promised to adhere to their unique Code of Conduct:

R – Recognize each other’s strengths
E – Empathize with others
H – Help one another
A – Accept each other for who they are
B – Build relationships
1 – One team working together
 
“It is a symbol of our focus on kind and helpful acts,” writes Jill Legrand, Interim Operations Manager of RH1. “It is a beautiful visual that acknowledges our sense of unity – we are all in this together – and our commitment to foster kind, supportive relationships by seeing the best in one another.”
 
A special thank you to Alexandra Dermansky, daughter of RH1 Charge Nurse, Angela Masse, who created the beautiful piece of art. 
Saying thanks can change lives
From Monday October 29 th through Friday, November 2 nd , staff at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare had the chance to unwind while receiving and sharing thanks for the important work that they do.

Our inaugural Employee Appreciation Week was built around the theme of gratitude and was filled to the brim with exciting activities to show our staff just how much we appreciate them.

We kicked off the week with a hilarious game of Minute to Win it, where teams made up of members of our Executive Leadership Council weren’t shy about diving right in to the competition. Throughout the week, staff put together their own teams to compete. Ladies from our Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) program to home the winning title at our final round on Friday.

A travelling photo booth with tons of props brought our silly sides and comradery while an ice cream social and barbecue lunch filled our hearts and stomachs.

A flurry of Gratitude Cards were filled out by Our People and displayed at both of our cafeterias throughout the week as a small way to say thanks. Each member of our team also received a small gift that was hand-delivered by their manager.

As the grand finale of the week, President and CEO, Janice Kaffer alongside Chief Human Resources Officer, Mary Benson-Albers announced Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare's revamped Changing Lives Together Recognition Program . With multiple levels of recognition including perfect attendance, peer-to-peer, President Awards scholarships, and more, the program will continue the theme of gratitude throughout the entire year.

Thank you again to the many teams and individuals, including the Employee Appreciation Week Committee, who all made this great week possible.

And thank you to our fantastic staff who go above and beyond for Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and all those we care for each and every day.
Our Identity
A focus on local homelessness at The Pledge launch
In our 6th year as Gold Sponsor, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare used Bell Media's The Pledge launch event, held on November 5th, to continue a very important conversation on the topic of local homelessness.

While bullying is a prevalent societal issue many face each day, the annual Pledge to End Bullying has made an effort to broaden their focus in order to bring awareness to more issues, some, as a result of bullying.

or 2018 we felt this would be a good opportunity to publicly continue a very relevant and important conversation about local homelessness. HDGH along with community partners, are taking the Pledge as an opportunity to remind us all about humanity, kindness and respect.

At this year's launch event, attendees heard from some key community partners on this issue including Rita Taillefer, Executive Director of Windsor Essex Community Health Centre, Joyce Zuk, Executive Director of Family Services Windsor-Essex, and Claudia den Boer, CEO of CMHA-WECB. They were also be joined by co-gold sponsor, Conseil Scolaire Catholique Providence, with Director of Student Achievement, Frédéric Rivière, speaking on behalf of our french educators and students.

We encourage all to the take The Pledge so that we can make the world a kinder place where bullying no longer exists.
Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare awarded for safety work
Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare continues its strong advocacy for safety in the health sector, but this time on an international stage. Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare Director of Human Resources, Sheri McGeen and Tina Dunlop of Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA), presented at the 6th International Conference on Violence in the Health Sector last month where the presentation won best abstract amongst more than 100 submitted from over 31 countries. 

The abstract entitled, "Communicating the Risk of Violence: A Paradigm Shift for Flagging", explained work on developing a toolkit for employers to better identify risk of violence using a flagging alert system. Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare was a key participant of the toolkit developed by PSHSA as an expert advisor. This proactive safety approach identifies visual and other cues of patients to communicate a potential risk of violence to the care team.

Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare implemented a flagging system in the late 1990s and described our organization's experience in developing the program along with its successes and challenges. A hospital that takes the safety and well-being of both its patients and staff equally seriously, a spring refresh of our strategic plan includes a strategic goal of "being the safest hospital in the province." Every day, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare continues to work toward this goal.

"The recognition is really affirmation of the important nature of safety work in our sector," said President and CEO, Janice Kaffer. "It is always nice being recognized, but more importantly, critical that other organizations and hospitals can learn from us and make their environments safer." Kaffer adds that the partnership developed with the team at PSHSA is critical to Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare's ongoing work to create a safe work environment. Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare also provides support for other safety related resources developed by PSHSA.

Kaffer's involvement on workplace safety extends beyond Windsor-Essex where she co-chaired the Leadership and Accountability Working Group presenting recommendations to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labour on  Workplace Violence in Health Care Prevention.  She currently sits at the Leadership table for this ongoing work.

Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare along with PSHSA were awarded 600 euros, or $500 each. Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare's half will be held by the hospital's Workplace Violence Prevention Committee to be used for projects to reduce workplace violence as determined by the committee.
Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare's Changing Lives Together Foundation presents:
On Friday, November 9th more than 600 guests enjoyed delicious dining and entertainment at the Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare's Changing Lives Together Foundation's annual Big Night Gala. This year's Big Night was proudly presented by Diamond Sponsors RBC, LiUNA! Local 625, In Honour of the Ones We Love Inc., as well as a number of other sponsoring organizations.

The smells from the array of hors d'oeuvres, generously provided by Koolini's Italian Eatery and Romano's Specialty Meats and Italian Deli, were mouthwatering and enticed guests to indulge. As the appetizer hour continued, guests were welcomed with the musical talents of Joe Iannicello.

A silent auction filled with numerous, tremendous prizes, including two ticket to anywhere Air Canada flies, created a buzz throughout the beautifully decorated room at the Ciociaro Club of Windsor.

This year's event was, once again, emceed by AM800's Patty Handysides who introduced a number of guest speakers including LiUNA! Local 625's Rob Petroni, RBC's David Ochs, and Joe Fraser, Coordinator for the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Program, who talked about the significance of the program, this year's recipient of the evening's table challenge. In total, over $10,000 was raised during the table challenge, funds that will support a general fund for the ACT program.
The Big Night Gala not only treats guests to a memorable evening, but funds from the event always go to support the Mental Health Programs and Services at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare. The Big Night Gala is just one of the many ways that the Changing Lives Together Foundation raises much money to support the programs and services at our organization. Thank you all for a wonderful evening of changing lives together .
Enhanced Parking at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare
Did you know as of October 15th visitors are now able to pay online or through a mobile app for parking? Our security team at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, who is responsible for parking, has been working hard to find ways to make it easier for visitors coming to see their loved ones. Visitors can either download the Passport Canada App on your smartphone or go to  ppprkca.com .

Users will be prompted through the app and website. For the purposes of our campus, our zones are as follows:
  • Lot A (3844)
  • Lot B (3845)
  • Lot D (3846)
  • Lot M (3847)

Rates for the lots will remain the same however there is a $0.15 transaction fee that will be charged to the individual. Individuals will be able to add time to their parking while inside our building. No more going outside and adding more change to the meter! Signage will be going up to inform our visitors of this new option. As has been the case, visitors are still able to pay for parking at the machines with coins or purchase tokens through the cashiers office. 

For questions regarding the Passport Canada parking app, please contact the City of Windsor's  Parking Enforcement Office  at 519-255-6298.

For questions regarding parking at HDGH, please contact  Pat Keane , Manager of Security, or  Jim Storey , Security Operations Supervisor.
Lighting up the Season of Giving
The Changing Lives Together Foundation of Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare (HDGH) is kicking off a longstanding community tradition on Wednesday, November 21st with the official launch of the 32nd Annual Tree of Lights Campaign.
 
The event, held in the Ken Lewenza Sr. Lobby at 1453 Prince Road, will be hosted by AM800 CKLW's Patty Handysides. As per 32 years of tradition, members of the local Salvation Army Band will be on hand providing festive entertainment as staff members from each of the departments at HDGH hang an ornament in remembrance of a loved-one.
 
Members of the community are encouraged to participate in making a difference in how Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare delivers care with proceeds from this year's campaign going to support the Patient Benevolent Fund. Often staff at HDGH hear stories of patients and clients who cannot afford transportation costs and comfort items, as examples, that are such an important part of their care. This fund, will support those patients and clients and allow HDGH to seamlessly assist with purchasing the necessary equipment, comfort items and tools that contribute to each person's unique care plan. 

Each supporter of this year's Tree of Lights Campaign will receive a paper ornament which they can place on the tree in our lobby as well as bring one home to place on their own tree.
 
To support the campaign and honour someone special this holiday season, please call 519-257-5234 or visit  our website .
Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare is improving patient care through Change Day Ontario
What drew you to Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare? What ignites your passion? What step, big or small, could you take to make compassionate quality care better for our patients/clients?

We invite you to participate with us in Change Day Ontario  , a movement launched in Ontario on September 13th and culminating in a day of celebration on November 22nd. We hope you’ll join us and make a pledge for your patients/clients, community, colleagues - or yourself!

“HDGH is proud to participate in Change Day Ontario – it’s time to get Windsor on the map and show our commitment to changing lives!” explained Alison Murray, Director of Quality, Health Information Management and Technology at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare.

Everyone at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, as well as our community partners are invited to participate by making a pledge. We have worked with our Patient and Family Engagement Council to create a group pledge. 

Here's how you can get involved:
  • Visit our pledge page on the Change Day Ontario website
  • On the right hand side, click "+" to join our pledge
  • You can also Like and Share our pledge to social media
  • Leave a comment or print a pledge paper and write how you will finish our pledge sentence
  • "We pledge to involve patients/clients and families in their care by...."

As we continue to change lives together, let's also make change!

We are asking our Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare community to help us win "Most Liked" pledge. Be sure to visit our pledge page and click the heart to Like our pledge!