Message from President & CEO Debbie Sevenpifer
Debbie Sevenpifer,
President and Chief Executive Officer
I hope you will find this integrated, more frequently published newsletter helpful in keeping up with the fast pace of change within the Niagara Health System. Since our last publication, the first of early opportunities for the Hospital Improvement Plan (HIP) have been implemented within the surgical program. This involved consolidating all inpatient and outpatient surgery to St. Catharines, Welland and Niagara Falls sites. To the physicians, nurses and OR technicians who were impacted by the changes, a sincere thank you for your patience and cooperation throughout this time of change. For those nurses who have chosen to take early retirement, thank you for your many years of providing dedicated, compassionate care to the residents of Niagara. I wish you all the best in your retirement.
The next HIP changes involve the conversion of the 24/7 Emergency Rooms in Port Colborne and Fort Erie to 24/7 Urgent Care Centres. We are targeting July for the conversion in Port Colborne and September for Fort Erie. The staff in the Emergency Program are working closely with Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to plan for a smooth transition.
A comprehensive communications effort is now underway to help residents in the lakeshore communities understand the changes taking place and the healthcare services that will be available to them after the changes take place. Many residents are under the unfortunate and incorrect impression that the Fort Erie and Port Colborne sites are closing.
On pages 4 and 5 of this issue of Niagara Health Now, you will find more about the future vision and the important services that will continue to be provided at these two sites. We are running ads in the local newspapers. An insert will be distributed to households outlining the differences between emergency and urgent care, when to call 911, and much more. Public information sessions have been booked, and presentations to service clubs and other groups are underway to explain what these changes will mean to the local communities. During this time of change, we understand and appreciate the concern, the passion and sometimes anger of our communities, our physicians and staff. As we move forward, I would like to assure you that we remain committed to ensuring all of our stakeholders have the information they need to work within, and be served by, our hospital and to working collaboratively with staff, physicians and the community to implement the vision articulated in the HIP for a sustainable hospital system in Niagara.
Medical School
A couple of weeks ago, Niagara received great news with the announcement of an additional 13 spaces for medical students attending the Niagara campus of the Michael G. Degroote School of Medicine. This means that by 2011, the Niagara campus will have 84 medical student spaces!! This is wonderful news, particularly when you consider the fact that Niagara is currently short over 90 family physicians. Our hope is that many of the medical students who are educated and trained in Niagara will stay in Niagara.
At the announcement, I had the opportunity to speak to a number of the 15 current medical students who are in their first year at the Niagara campus. They could not say enough about how welcomed they felt within the Niagara Health System and also by our region’s Mayors and the communities they visited as part of their training. These eager and enthusiastic students also commended the calibre of the medical teaching they are receiving from the physicians teaching at the Niagara Campus.
Our affiliation with the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine is a great asset for all of us, and I look forward to watching our Niagara Campus Class of 2012 flourish as they work towards completing their education right here in Niagara.
