Nursing News contains synopses of healthcare related and nursing-specific news that has been published in the industry and popular press. It highlights innovations, advances in the state of the art or practice, interesting facts, and transistions in the industry that will help you keep up with what is happening.

Health Canada recently presented two Awards of Excellence in Nursing to nurses serving First Nations and Inuit communities. The winners of the awards are:

Barbara Martin, a community health nurse employed by Health Canada's First Nations and Inuit Health Branch in Six Nations, Ontario. She is also a diabetes educator and Six Nations band member. Ms. Martin co-founded a diabetes program and works with a team of people to provide screening, counselling and classes on managing type 2 diabetes. She has also introduced creative ways to sustain the program.

Jan Kroll, a diabetes nurse educator and supervisor employed by the Prince Albert Grand Council in Saskatchewan. Ms. Kroll set up a diabetes program in the community that aims to prevent type 2 diabetes and help those who live with it better manage the disease. She is a leader in diabetes education in her community, provincially and nationally.

Health Canada launched the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch Award of Excellence in Nursing in 2003, to recognize the contribution of nurses to First Nations and Inuit communities. The department employs 800 nurses, primarily in First Nations communities south of 60¡, and works closely with a further 600 nurses who are now directly employed by communities.

The Ontario Hospital Association recently announced that Esther Green is the recipient of the 2004 OHA Award of Excellence in Nursing Leadership. Ms. Green currently serves as Chief Nursing Officer and Director of Health Human Resource Planning at Cancer Care Ontario. The award is designed to acknowledge outstanding leadership of an individual nurse in a senior leadership position who is employed by a member organization of the OHA. Ester Green exemplifies leadership in healthcare. Her past experience includes positions focusing on nursing practice, education, research and administration. Recent past work experiences include terms at Princess Margaret Hospital and the BC Cancer Agency, where Ms. Green led oncology nursing in both organizations. She holds academic faculty appointments at the University of Toronto and McMaster University.

Ontario's first Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health was recently launched with Senator Michael Kirby as Chair of its Advisory Council. The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario's (CHEO) Provincial Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health will have a broad mental health focus and will link institutional, community-based and academic sectors through a common vision for the children and youth of Ontario.

In June, the first 24 participants in a new national fellowship program - Executive Training for Research Application (EXTRA) - were announced. The EXTRA fellowship is designed to train health services leaders to become even better decision makers by using and applying evidence from research in their day-to-day work. The two-year program combines residency seminars, e-learning, mentorship and networking components with intervention projects undertaken in fellows' home institutions.

The fellows are listed in alphabetical order, and the list includes the title of their intervention projects.

• Pierre Jean Allard, Chef, Division de Medecine Palliative, Service de Sante SCO - Ontario
  ƒlaboration d'un plan strategique pour assurer une competence de base en soins palliatifs aux medecins formes a l'Universite d'Ottawa [Developing a Strategic Plan to Ensure Basic Palliative Care Skills in Physicians Trained at the University of Ottawa]
• Luc Boileau, President - directeur general, Agence de developpement de reseaux locaux de services de sante et de services sociaux de la Monteregie - Quebec
  Developpement et ajustements systematiques dans l'encadrement regional des RLS pour maximiser l'offre de services et l'action sur la sante et le bien-?tre a partir d'une 'approche populationnelle' [Development and Systematic Adjustments in Regional Supervision of RLSs to Maximize Supply of Services and Action on Health and Wellbeing Based on a Population-Based Approach]
• Lindsay Campbell, Director, Rural Health, Patient Services, Cape Breton District Health Authority - Nova Scotia
  Hospitalization for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions: Reduction in Admissions Through Chronic Disease Prevention and Management
• Maureen Cava, Manager, Professional Practice, Planning and Policy Directorate, Toronto Public Health - Ontario
  Implementation and Evaluation of Diversity, Access and Equity Model and Curriculum, and of Professional Practice Framework for Toronto Public Health
• Marilyn Field, Vice-President, Corporate Services and Human Resource Management, St. John's Nursing Home Board - Newfoundland and Labrador
  Increasing Organizational Performance by Cultivating Stronger Employment Relationships: How Human Resource Management Strategies Can Increase Quality of Care
• J. Sonja Glass, Corporate Manager, Risk Management and Quality Improvement, Grey Bruce Health Services - Ontario
  Creating a Patient Safety Culture at Grey Bruce Health Services
• Deborah Gordon, Senior Operating Officer, University of Alberta Hospital, Capital Health - Alberta Optimizing Effective and Efficient Patient Throughput
• Heather Hoxby, Director of Nursing Practice, St. Joseph's Hospital - Ontario
  Implementation of Nursing Best Practice Guidelines in an Ontario Urban Teaching Hospital
• Kirsten Krull-Naraj, Vice-President and Chief Nursing Officer, Patient Care Services, Royal Victoria Hospital - Ontario
  An Integrated System of Primary and Secondary Care to Deliver Healthcare at the Right Place, at the Right Time, and at a Research-Based Standard
• Esther Leclerc, Directrice, Direction des soins infirmiers, Centre hospitalier de l'Universite de Montreal - Quebec
  Revision des mod?les de prestation/qualite - securite - continuite - dans un contexte de penurie de ressources humaines, financi?res et materielles [Review of Delivery/Quality-Security-Continuity Models in a Context of Scarce Human, Financial, and Material Resources]
• Nancy Lefebre, Vice-President, Knowledge and Practice, Saint Elizabeth Healthcare - Ontario
  K2P: Integrating the Use of Research Evidence in Decision-Making at Saint Elizabeth Healthcare
• Heather Manson (Award offered but declined), Vice-President, Health Services Integration, Vancouver Coastal Health Authority - British Columbia
  Improving Outcomes for the Highest Needs Population of Vancouver Coastal Health
• Denise Mauger, Directeur, Developpement organisationnel et adjoint au D.G., Institut de readaptation de Montreal - Quebec
  Implantation d'une strategie de developpement organisationnel a long terme (Implementing a Long-Term Organizational Development Strategy)
• Heather McPherson, Chief of Health Disciplines, Professional Advisory Committee, Sunnybrook & Women's College Health Sciences Centre - Ontario
  A Women's Health Institute Model for Sunnybrook & Women's and Beyond
• Patricia O'Connor, Associate Director of Nursing, Montreal Neurological Hospital, McGill University Health Centre - Quebec
  Increasing Patient Safety by Reducing Risk Related to Falls and Other Adverse Events
• Jean-Claude Plourde, Directeur general, CLSC Mer et Montagnes - Quebec
  La transformation du r™le, des responsabilites et des rapports d'influence des cadres dans le developpement d'un reseau de services integres en milieu rural [Transformation of the Role, Responsibilities and Influential Relationships of Executives in Developing an Integrated Services Network in a Rural Setting]
• Linda Sawchenko, Site Director, Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital, Interior Health - British Columbia
  Introducing Advanced Practice Registered Nurses to Promote Primary Healthcare in Rural British Columbia
• Corinne Schalm, Director, Corporate Planning, The Capital Care Group - Alberta
  Development and Implementation of a Balanced Scorecard
• Iain Smith, Pharmacy Manager, Queen Elizabeth Hospital - Prince Edward Island
  An Evidence-Based Functional Plan for the Integration of Institutional-Based Pharmacy Services into a Regional Healthcare System
• Susan Smith, Director, Medical Services Administration, Capital Health - Nova Scotia
  Physician Resource Planning - Impact Assessment
• Steven Soroka, Associate Professor, Division of Nephrology, Capital District Health Authority - Nova Scotia
  Determining and Implementing Components of an Electronic Data Management System to Enhance Management of Chronic Kidney Disease in Nova Scotia
• R. Lynn Stevenson, Leader, Professional Practice/Chief Nursing Officer, Fraser Health Authority - British Columbia
  Patient Safety: Moving from Theory to Practice
• Vincent Tam, Directeur des Services de Readaptation, H™pital de Readaptation Lindsay - Quebec
  L'application du model Case-Mixed Group dans le tri et l'orientation de la client?le en neurologie [Application of the Case-Mixed Group Model in Neurology Client Triage and Referral]
• James Worthington, Vice-President, Medical Affairs, The Ottawa Hospital - Ontario
  With Service Reductions at Hospitals During Christmas/New Year, What are the Savings and how is Access and Quality Affected?
• Brock Wright, Vice-President & CMO, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority - Manitoba
  Striving for Excellence in Patient Care

EXTRA was established in 2003 with a $25 million grant from Health Canada. The first cohort of 24 fellows was selected in May of 2004, and will begin their first residency session in August. EXTRA is a partnership program, administered by the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation and supported by the Canadian College of Health Service Executives (CCHSE); the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (CHSRF); the Canadian Medical Association (CMA); the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA); and a consortium of Quebec partners represented by the Agence des technologies et des modes d'intervention en sante (AETMIS). For more information see: www.chsrf.ca/extra/c_candidates_e.php

Patients across British Columbia will benefit from a $123 million increase in funding to the province's six health authorities in 2004/2005 to a total of approximately $6.2 billion. As part of the government's commitment to providing multi-year budgets to enable more effective planning, health authorities received funding allocations for 2004/05 and planning allocations for 2005/06 to 2006/07. Base funding increases and total allocations for 2004/05 are:

• Fraser Health: increase $44.8 million for a total of $1,418.3 million
• Interior Health: increase $12.4 million for a total of $935.4 million
• Northern Health: increase $5.2 million for a total of $325.5 million
• Vancouver Coastal Health: increase $10 million for a total of $1,633.2 million
• Vancouver Island Health: increase $11.8 million for a total of $1,012.8 million
• Provincial Health Services: increase $38.9 million for a total of $874.2 million

Funding allocations to health authorities were included in the 2004-05 budget of $10.706 billion for the Ministry of Health Services. The increase includes $148 million in additional federal funding from the Health Accord that is being fully directed to patients.

The BC government is also adding a further $3.5 million to its nursing strategy to continue to strengthen recruitment, retention and education of nurses across British Columbia. The Ministry of Advanced Education has funded 1,813 additional nursing seats in BC educational institutions since August of 2001. This year, an additional 321 seats will be added, bringing the total number of new nursing seats to 2,134.

Ontarians will have better access to quality nursing care through a $50 million strategy to attract and retain new nursing graduates and experienced nurses.The government is investing to:

• create new full-time opportunities for new nursing graduates in hospitals and long-term care homes and support experienced nurses to mentor them for up to a year;
• help nursing schools better prepare nursing students by purchasing clinical training simulation equipment;
• find alternate roles for late career nurses and those who have been injured on the job that allow them to perform less physically demanding work that takes advantage of their knowledge and skills.

In Saskatchewan, the provincial government recently amended regulations that will enable registered nurse-nurse practitioners (RN(NPs)) to practice to the full scope of their license, a move furthering the government's strategy to improve Saskatchewan residents' access to basic front-line healthcare. These regulations support The Registered Nurses Amendment Act, 2001 and allow for a new way of delivering healthcare to rural, northern and urban residents by expanding the scope of practice of registered nurses who are licensed as nurse practitioners.

Manitoba is moving to improve the safety and quality of healthcare services for patients, with the creation of the Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety (MIPS). The Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety, a non-profit organization, will coordinate and promote activities that enhance patient safety and quality care. University of Manitoba professor Dr. Paul Thomas will chair the board of directors that will serve as the advisors and experts of the institute. Seven members will be elected by institutions and organizations that belong to the MIPS while five will be appointed by the minister of health, including two public members.

In Ontario, the government is investing a record $1.3 billion for home care this year. This investment in Ontario's Community Care Access Centres (CCACs) includes new funding of $73.2 million targeted towards acute home care, end-of-life care and chronic home care. During the McGuinty government's four-year commitment to improving these services, 95,700 more Ontarians will receive home care, and 6,000 more Ontarians will receive compassionate, end-of-life care in their homes, by 2007/08.

Alberta will invest $700 million in health spending. The investment will improve access to health services by: increasing orthopedic surgeries by 1,200 this year; reducing wait times for certain heart surgeries, from nine to two weeks; funding health facilities in rural Alberta, including community support for seniors; fast-tracking 600 hospital beds in the Calgary and Capital regions; accelerating the planning and design of the South Calgary Hospital; and eliminating health authority deficits to position regions to better meet patient needs.

Of the $700 million one-time investment, $500 million is in capital funding and $200 million in operating funding. Of the capital funding, $350 million is for health facilities and $150 million for capital equipment. The $200 million in operating funds will eliminate health authorities' accumulated and projected deficits. With no deficits, health authorities can better meet increased demand for services.

Toronto's Princess Margaret Hospital is launching a new research institute devoted to breast cancer which will be led by Dr. Tak Mak. Dr. Mak is most famous for his 1984 landmark scientific paper on the cloning of the T-cell receptor genes, a key component of the human immune system.

The new institute is being launched with a goal of raising $125 million. Already, $60 million is committed to the Institute, with part of the money coming from funds raised by thousands of walkers in the annual Weekend to End Breast Cancer event in Toronto. The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation is pledging to raise an additional $65 million from private donors, corporations and other sources to fund the Institute.

A new study in the four Atlantic provinces will examine how many doctors, nurses, lab technicians and other healthcare professionals will be required, and the training needed to support them. The study has been commissioned by the Atlantic Health Human Resources Association on behalf of Atlantic Ministers responsible for Health and Post-Secondary Education.

The $1.2 million study, to be conducted by Med-Emerg International Inc., will be funded through labour market development agreements between each of the four provincial governments and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. The one-year study builds on work previously done by each Atlantic province to determine health human resource needs. Based on this earlier work, a profile of regional requirements for major health occupations, now and in the future, will be developed. Also, a re-usable, scenario-based education and training planning tool will be used to assist the four provinces in determining what type and how many education and training programs will be needed to meet future demand for health occupations in the region.

The priorities for healthcare services in Nova Scotia have been confirmed with the approval of district health authority (DHA) business plans by the provincial government. In total, funding to all DHAs and the IWK Health Centre has increased by $78.5 million. Over the last fiscal year, a number of changes have been made to the base funding to recognize the growing cost pressures on the DHAs. An additional $28 million was added to the base for the DHAs' budget - $9 million to cover benefits increases and $19 million for costs associated with overtime and oncology. DHAs also received an increase of seven per cent for non-salary budgets - the second year of a multi-year funding commitment.

New Brunswick has released the four-year Provincial Health Plan - "Healthy Futures: Securing New Brunswick's Healthcare System - which provides a roadmap to meet healthcare needs. Once the health plan is fully implemented, $125 million of new investments in new and enhanced services will be added to the base funding of the health system. This is above and beyond the additional funding that is required to maintain existing services. With this plan the province is saving $46 million through bed reductions, consolidation of non-clinical services and efficiencies found within the department. These savings will be re-directed to front-line health services including enhanced immunization for children, four new satellite dialysis units in the province, more doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners and a new cancer care strategy.

Appointments

Glenda Yeates has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Ms. Yeates, who was the Deputy Minister of Health in Saskatchewan, has extensive leadership experience at the provincial and national levels. As Deputy Minister, Ms. Yeates oversaw the development of the Action Plan for healthcare in the province. The Action Plan enjoyed considerable support from a wide variety of stakeholders, and brought about leading-edge initiatives, such as Canada's first health quality council and the creation of a province-wide surgical care network to improve the prioritization and timely delivery of surgical services.

Dr. Deborah Tamlyn is the new President of the Canadian Nurses Association. Dr. Tamlyn, professor emeritus of nursing at the University of Calgary, takes over from Robert Calnan. Dr. Marlene Smadu has been nominated to President-elect. Dr. Smadu is currently the Associate Dean, Regina site of the College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan.

John Wright has been appointed Deputy Minister of Health in Saskatchewan. He is the former President of SaskPower and is on a three-year secondment to his new post. Premier Lorne Calvert said Mr. Wright is one of the most able public servants in the province, and is needed in Health because "we're entering a very significant period around health-care funding." Mr. Wright was Deputy Minister of Finance in the early 1990s.

The Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) has appointed Sheila Block as the Association's Director for Health and Nursing Policy. Ms. Block comes to RNAO with a wealth of knowledge including as Policy Advisor at the Premier's Office, and with Frances Lankin when she was Minister of Economic Development and Trade.

Cheryl A. Doiron is Acting Deputy Minister of Health in Nova Scotia replacing Tom Ward who is now CEO of the Scarborough General Hospital in Ontario. Ms. Doiron is a senior health executive with extensive experience in operations, planning and systems change management. Prior to moving to Nova Scotia, she was responsible for integrated health services in Surrey, British Columbia.

In Ontario, the Peterborough Regional Health Centre's Board of Directors has announced the appointment of Paul Darby as the hospital's new President and CEO. He was most recently CEO of Collingwood General and Marine Hospital, where he recently guided the organization through restructuring, both physical and programmatic, during a period of significant financial restraint. Mr. Darby has also held the position of Vice President at the Greater Niagara General Hospital.

St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Ori D. Rotstein, as the hospital's new Surgeon-in-Chief. Dr. Rotstein is currently Head of the Division of General Surgery, and Director of Surgical Research at the University Health Network in Toronto. He is also the Director of the Institute of Medical Science, and a Professor at the University of Toronto. In addition, Dr. Rotstein is an active member of a number of national committees, including the Canadian Research Development Committee.

The Board of Directors of the Lady Dunn Health Centre in Wawa Ontario recently announced the appointment of Sally Garland as CEO. For the past six years, Ms. Garland has held the position of CEO of Swan Valley Health Facilities in Manitoba. The Swan Valley organization consists of four separate healthcare facilities providing an extensive range of acute, ambulatory, personal care, residential and nursing home services to the area.

Meanwhile, the Collingwood General and Marine Hospital has appointed a temporary CEO as it searches for a permanent CEO. Margie Ann Draper will serve as interim CEO until a permanent replacement for Paul Darby is found. Ms. Draper is the hospital's recently retired former Director, Patient Services.

Dr. Tom Faulds is the new Vice President, Medical Affairs at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital (STEGH). This position will include the duties of Chief of Staff. Dr. Faulds will continue his work as an emergency department physician. He has served as President of the Medical Staff, as a member of the Board of Governors and as Physician leader to STEGH's Ambulatory Program. Dr. Faulds' appointment follows the retirement of former V.P. Medical and Chief of Staff, Dr. Don Lawrence.

Sault Area Hospital recently announced Jerome Quenneville is its new President and CEO. Mr. Quenneville was the Interim President and CEO and former Vice President Finance and Corporate Services of the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance. He holds a Certified Healthcare Executive designation from the Canadian College of Health Service Executives and the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital announced that Tom McHugh has accepted the position of President and CEO, replacing Brenda Butters who is retiring. Mr. McHugh was Vice President, Clinical Services at North Wellington Health Care, which operates hospitals in Mount Forest and Palmerston. He has been a senior leader in healthcare for ten years, and was previously a member of the Executive Team at Thunder Bay Regional Hospital and Peterborough Regional Hospital.

St. Michael's Hospital is pleased to announce the appointment of Janice M. Dusek to the position of Executive Vice-President, Programs and Chief Nursing Executive. Ms. Dusek's extensive experience in the healthcare sector is complemented by previous leadership positions at Lakeridge Health Oshawa, Oshawa General Hospital, Brantford General Hospital, and the Hospital for Sick Children. In addition, Janice holds a Master's in Business Administration from Athabasca University and is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology.

Royal Victoria Hospital's (RVH) Board of Directors has announced its new President and CEO will be Janice Skot who is currently the Vice President of the Regional Cancer Program and Clinical Services at H™pital regional de Sudbury Regional Hospital (HRSRH). She will take over from Ted Long who is retiring after 45 years at RVH. Prior to Ms. Skot's current posting as Cancer Care Ontario's senior leader for Northeastern Ontario, she was CEO of Sudbury's Laurentian Hospital, which was amalgamated with two other hospitals in 1997 to form HRSRH.

Vendor News

STERIS Corporation has received clearance from Health Canada to market a new device that takes a revolutionary approach to flexible endoscope processing. As a longtime leader in infection control, STERIS believes the Relianceª Endoscope Processing System can help transform flexible endoscope processing in the gastrointestinal (GI) suite - much as their SYSTEM 1¨ Sterile Processing System has transformed the sterilization of critical medical devices in the operating room during the last 16 years.

The product's Canadian launch comes amidst recent news reports and growing concerns in Canada about the proper reprocessing of medical devices such as endoscopes and other semi-critical instruments. Flexible endoscope reprocessing errors can be a result of inconsistent cleaning and rinsing of the devices, ineffective disinfectants, improper exposure times or user error.

BMO Financial Group and University Health Network (UHN) have announced the creation of the BMO Financial Group Chair in Health Professions Education. BMO's $2 million gift establishes a Chair modeled on improving and strengthening the education component of health professions leadership. The new Chair, which will be inaugurated as a Professorship, will help set a global standard of excellence in education research. Education of healthcare professionals at UHN is central to the organization's mission, and UHN is the largest teaching hospital fully affiliated with the University of Toronto.

Bell Canada, the Fondation de ma vie, and the Complexe hospitalier de la Sagamie (CHS) have announced a project to develop communication technologies at the CHS to support the hospital's mission in the areas of teaching, research and the provision of specialized care to residents of the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region. Bell Canada provided $200,000 in funding to support this initiative.

Implementation of this project entails the deployment of advanced technologies that will enable the hospital to expand teaching activities in conjunction with universities outside the region (Universite de Montreal, Universite de Sherbrooke and Universite Laval), improve knowledge-sharing between hospital researchers and their university partners and promote the development of mentoring and remote consultation services between health professionals.

Mount Sinai Hospital has signed an exclusive partnership with Oxegen Inc. to develop and market a full suite of electronic Infection Control training and testing modules. Mount Sinai's Division of Infection Control in the Department of Microbiology will develop courses covering a range of topics including SARS Protection, Routine Practices, Airborne Precautions, Aseptic Techniques and Disinfection Procedures. The courses will be offered exclusively through Oxegen's Occupational Health and Safety Compliance System, an e-training, tracking and compliance program designed specifically for healthcare workers.

Training healthcare workers on Infection Control is mandated by the Ministry of Labour, and compliance is audited during the Ministry's healthcare workplace inspections. The Mount Sinai Infection Control e-Training and Tracking solution, running on the Oxegen (HC) platform, will not only allow facilities to provide its healthcare workers with self-paced training, but it will also provide the Program Administrator with an automated tracking mechanism that will support the facility in demonstrating due diligence upon inspection.

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