1. health and fitness

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February 3, 2015
This week I will share a letter from the Deputy Minister of Health, Max Hendricks with you.
There has been a barrage of media attention to the Saskatchewan Health System’s Lean
transformation recently. In his letter the Deputy Minister provides clarification that we are
continuing this quality improvement journey using the lean tools and methodologies that have
been shared with us in recent years. This is our “made in Saskatchewan” approach to strategic
deployment and quality improvement.
Deputy Minister’s Message to Health System Staff—January 2015
“To all staff, health providers and system partners across the province – my personal thanks and appreciation for your efforts to
provide high quality, safe health care services to Saskatchewan patients.
As you know, there has been much public focus recently on Lean in the health sector. I recognize the effect this can have on
those providing services, and want you to know that the province remains committed to the current direction of our health
system. Continuous improvement and a focus on patient safety are the foundation for the exceptional health system we all
want to build for our patients. We believe this remains the right approach for Saskatchewan.
Lean processes are only one aspect of our efforts to better serve patients and families. Other large-scale initiatives are
underway to improve patient care and safety, such as our work on emergency department waits and patient flow, mental health
and addictions, patient safety, and appropriateness of services.
These initiatives have tremendous potential to make a difference for every patient we serve. To succeed, we have to create a
culture of continuous improvement and find ways to work better and smarter, with patient and family needs motivating every
change and improvement we make.
We remain committed to giving everyone the opportunity to contribute and provide input. Your ideas are welcomed. I
encourage you to continue speaking up, voicing your opinions, adding to the discussion - and most of all, being open to
learning more. We have built up considerable quality improvement expertise in the province and will continue on this road.
Outside eyes can sometimes give us perspective on what’s happening close to home.
I want you to know that others across Canada and around the world – researchers, leading health providers and policy experts
- are watching Saskatchewan’s progress on various fronts, including Lean. Many have expressed their interest and admiration
for what we’re accomplishing. They believe, as we do, that we’re on the right track.
Patients, families, providers and staff who participate in quality improvement work and witness the successes are also telling us
to stay committed. I want to particularly thank all those who have been personally involved in improvement events in health
regions. It takes courage to try something new, keep an open mind and be prepared to change. But it’s so much better than
just doing the same thing because that’s how we’ve always done it. The potential benefits of working together this way are
staggering. We owe it to our patients and families to give it our best effort.
I sincerely thank each one of you for the hard work, commitment and compassion you display every day as you care for our
patients and families. Health system transformation will not be accomplished overnight. It will be a long but rewarding
journey. Thank you for taking it with us. Together, we’re creating a health care legacy for our children, our grandchildren, and
all Saskatchewan people.”
____________________________________
Max Hendricks
Deputy Minister of Health
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Immunize or Mask for Fall Flu Season
Although there are no active outbreaks in our facilities, influenza still
remains prevalent in most communities. In addition to that, community
Get Immunized!
immunization rates remain at around 31%. Please remind community
members not to visit facilities if they are sick except for medical attention. When they are
visiting encourage them to wear a mask if they have not had their influenza immunization.
Please also advise them that influenza immunization is still available through their nearest
Public Health office.
As we are still very much in an active influenza season, all staff in the health region are
reminded that the influenza ‘Immunize or Mask Policy’ remains in effect, and staff who
have not as yet had their influenza immunization should get it as soon as possible or
otherwise mask while they are working in patient care areas. Staff is also reminded to
remain vigilant in preventing infections in our facilities and communities, including
ensuring optimal infection control practices like:


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If you are ill, stay at home, contact your doctor if symptoms are severe.
Cover your cough,
Get immunized, and
Wash your hands thoroughly, properly and frequently, particularly before and after
patient/client care, washroom use, blowing your nose, and after touching
surfaces.
To date (as of January 22nd) we have achieved a rate of 79% of active Heartland Health
Region employees immunized and approximately 31% of the public. The immunize or
mask policy is in effect, and a big thank you goes out to all who are working hard to
protect the safety of our clients.
Remember, the Influenza season will last a few more months with a number of strains of
influenza circulating, and specific strains will predominate at any particular time. Most of
the strains so far circulating are covered in the vaccine.
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The risk of Ebola in Canada is still considered low but not zero. To
date no known case has occurred in Canada. Protocols are being
continuously refined, regionally, provincially, nationally and
internationally to ensure we prevent Ebola getting into Canada, and
should a case occur in Canada, to treat as promptly and optimally as
possible and prevent any further spread.
The basic principle in the event of a potential suspect presenting in country, and eventually in region having
traveled from an affected Ebola area are:
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
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At the port of entry into Canada, the individual will be screened by Canadian Border Services agents and if
suspect will also be seen by a federal quarantine officer.
If deemed highly suspect, the individual will be transported immediately to the nearest designated Ebola
treatment centre.
If not having symptoms but deemed as having possibly been at risk of exposure, the individual will be ordered
to self-monitor in their home jurisdiction for 21 days (the incubation period for developing the disease), and
monitored daily by local public health in their home area.
 If no symptoms develop in the 21 days from potential exposure, the individual is no longer deemed as
being at risk of acquiring or transmitting Ebola.
 Should they however develop symptoms during this time they will then be assessed by the local
physician in conjunction with the Medical Health Officer and if necessary the Infectious Disease
Consultant from Regina or Saskatoon. If they are deemed as possible Ebola, they then will be
transferred to the nearest Ebola treatment facility for further management.
 In Saskatchewan, Ebola treatment centres are located in Saskatoon and Regina.
Acute care facilities in the health region are required to designate a special isolation room, in their facility, that
would be used for a few hours as a holding room for a suspect case pending provincial EMS transfer to the
nearest designated Ebola treatment center.
Special provincial designated Emergency Medical Systems (EMS) transport, not local EMS, would be used in
this case.
Acute care facilities with this potential holding area should also have key staff trained in procedures and
protocols for appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) use.
It is important to remember that a person who has no symptoms is not infectious. One only becomes infectious
after developing symptoms. At the moment, the screening and monitoring systems are working well, and to date
over 270 individuals have been required to self-monitor. No case returning from Ebola affected areas to Canada
has to date developed Ebola. Members of the public planning to travel to Ebola affected areas should be advised
to consult their local Public Health Office for the most up to date advisories and precautions that need to be taken.
In the meantime, the region continues to train key staff in acute facilities on appropriate PPE should any of our
facilities need to act as a holding area, and should staff need to wear the designated PPE.
Internationally
A lot of work is still going on in the three affected countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, but the situation
is still not under control. However, WHO announced Jan 29th that the number of new confirmed Ebola cases
totaled 99 in the week to Jan. 25, the lowest tally since June 2014, signaling the tide might have turned against
the epidemic. Hopefully, there will be a slowing down of activity by the disease. To date almost 23,000 cases
have been reported with almost 9,000 deaths. Roughly half of the cases are from Sierra Leone followed by Liberia. Many cases and deaths have not been reported. With the toll of Ebola, and with limited available resources in
these countries, there is now also a surge in other illnesses and deaths particularly from malaria, vaccine
preventable diseases, as well as perinatal and nutrition related diseases. Significant multinational efforts continue
in the region.
For more information on Ebola check out this link. http://www.health.gov.sk.ca/ebola
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Kaizen Basics education sessions
were recently held in Rosetown on
January 29th. A session was held
in the morning and one in the
afternoon.
The objective of
Kaizen Basics is to expose
participants to the benefits of
using Lean tools in day to day
tasks. A few key concepts covered
during the training include:
rationale for using Lean, Kaizen
waste, flow, mistake proofing,
visual management, standard
work and 5S. If you are interested
in attending a future Kaizen Basics
event check out the dates on the
poster on the previous page to
find a location close to you.
Some comments from the Rosetown participants….
 I liked the group discussions and hearing how others deal with their similar issues and the problems they have….
 Open discussion and day to day examples of improvements that can be made in our practice…
 The educator did a good job describing the Toyota Production System and was able to give examples of how to apply this
to the work place…
 I really liked the sticky note exercise with signatures - it worked well to show the time saved….
 Great group discussions. The facilitators did a good job of bringing the group and their own personal experiences and
examples forward and making sure we all understood the concepts that were being discussed….
 Various examples of waste were interesting…
 The session explained Lean a little more in depth so now there is a better understanding on how client care can be
improved. Makes more sense now why we are learning about it….
 Staff here from many different departments and facilities—was good to be able to have discussions about how we can
simplify some processes and make things better for patients and staff….
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To the new hires in
Heartland Health
Region
Welcome to the new hires in Heartland Health Region who took Regional Orientation
in both the Rosetown and Kindersley Hospital boardrooms in January. Please
welcome your new colleagues to the region and your facilities.
Outlook Primary Health Services Area
Facility
Soumya Manuel - CCA
Outlook Health Centre
Mary Pura Edayathu - CCA
Outlook Health Centre
Kaylee Silverthorn - CCA
Outlook Health Centre
Ranjith Madathil - CCA
Outlook Health Centre
Rosetown Primary Health Services Area
Facility
Lesley James - PCP
Kyle Health Centre
Jovy Llagas - CCA
Rosetown Health Centre
Shanna Montgrand-Bell - FSW
Rosetown Health Centre
Vijay Pillai - CCA
Rosetown Health Centre
Norma Kilcher - Mgr of Labor Relations
Rosetown Corporate Office
Heather Hawkins - LPN
Biggar/Rosetown Health Centre
Kindersley Primary Health Services Area
Facility
Donna Lawrence - CCA
Kindersley Health Centre
Erin Hoffman - Finance & Purchasing Asst.
Kindersley Corp Office
Mercedes Harrabek - CCA
Kindersley Health Centre
Sherri Folbar - CCA
Kindersley Health Centre
Andrea Kovlaske - FSW
Kindersley Health Centre
Lijoy Kuniyanthodath - ESW
Kindersley Health Centre
Kristin Somerville - Mgr of Accounting
Kindersley Corp Office
Zhen Liu - FSW
Eston Health Centre
Unity Primary Health Services Area
Facility
Amanda Barker - MSW
Kerrobert Integrated Health Centre
Anthony Dawe - PCP
Kerrobert Integrated Health Centre
Dorothy Brown - FSW
Unity Health Centre
Don Sieben - MSW
St. Joseph’s Health Facility
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Are you an Organ Donor?
Organ and tissue donation awareness
Heart transplant recipient Cheryl Olson calls her donor her heart hero. "She saved my life, so she's my hero," Cheryl says of the young woman who made possible her heart transplant in 2008. "Without organ dona on ‐ without someone having said yes ‐ I wouldn't be here today. My family would not be complete. My donor not only saved my life, she saved my family." When we support organ and ssue dona on, we are given an opportunity to save or improve other people's lives. Some mes this opportunity presents itself while we are s ll living, through the dona on of a non‐vital organ (e.g., kidney). Other mes we are given an opportunity to offer hope even a er our own life has ended. Learn more about organ and ssue dona on, hear from donors and recipients, and talk to your family about your decision to donate. Talk to your family
It's important for you and your family to know each other's dona on decision. Families who talk about their decision to donate are more likely to honor the wishes of their loved ones should organ and ssue dona on be possible a er death. It's a discussion that could save lives. About the campaign
Cheryl is one of six people affected by organ and ssue dona on who is taking part in a provincial campaign to raise awareness about the impact organ and ssue dona on can have. During the campaign, six inspiring stories of donors and recipients will be told through videos and posters. The first story, released December 2014, featured Acacia, a young woman whose dona on of six organs a er her death saved five lives. Cheryl's story is the second to be released. A new story will be told each month un l May 2015. In addi on to the videos and posters, an Offer Hope Toolkit is available to help families and communi es to start talking about organ and ssue dona on. Read the campaign news release. Watch the campaign video. Check out this link for more informa on. h ps://www.saskatoonhealthregion.ca/loca ons_services/
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Heartland Health Region Telehealth
Did you know that in the first 3 quarters of 2014/15:

131 patients saved 50,745 kilometers in travel and the
cost of being away from home by consulting with
their specialists in their home communities via Telehealth. Last year in the same
period, 95 patients saved 35,767 kilometers.

The 3 top specialist consultation types were Group Patient Clinical education
(19%), Oncology (18%), and Neurology (16%).

There has been a steady increase in Telehealth clinical activity across our Health
Region as compared to same period last year.
2014 /15 – 131

2013/14 – 98
Our Heartland Health Region clinical providers saved 37 hours and 54 minutes in
travel time using Telehealth.

929 professionals accessed education in our Telehealth sites. 57% of the
education was developed and provided from here in Heartland.
Policy Changes
Please be advised that there has been revisions/additions to the Care Services and
Administration Policy and Procedure Manuals. These policies and procedures
are now available on the Med Policy site, at the link below.
https://policies.sharepoint.hrha.hin.sk.ca (CTRL + click to follow link)
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Safety Talk
f-Assessment - Physical Fitness
The Transferring Lifting Repositioning (TLR®) program© includes three areas of assessment:
1. self
2. environment
3. client/object
Assessing yourself is completed for three main purposes. It enables you to:
1. evaluate whether you can safely perform the moving task
2. identify and eliminate or manage any personal risks
3. ensure that the moving technique is appropriate for you
Moving a client or object demands a certain level of physical ability and strength. The moving task
should be planned and performed in a way that requires the least amount of physical effort from
you.
If you do not have the level of physical fitness required to perform the moving task, you are more
prone to injury, or to injure a co-worker and/or client in the process.
Focus on your readiness to perform the moving task by stretching and warming up. In TLR, this is
assessing your physical status.
Do you need to improve your physical fitness?
Start the day with a stretching and warm-up activity, and repeat the activities throughout the day.
Stretching to increase your flexibility is an important part of preparing for the moving task.
The TLR program has a video and poster set available that can help you increase your flexibility as
well as your strength. The video and posters are available on SASWH’s website at www.saswh.ca.
The following few stretching activities from the TLR video Stretching and Strengthening for All
Seasons* can to help increase your flexibility and these can be performed quite easily at any time
- whether you are at work or at home:

Reach to the stars…gently stretching up…slowly move your wrists forward and back
 Slowly and gently move your head side to side; then slowly and
gently forward by tucking your chin down toward your chest
 Gently roll your shoulders in a circular motion - front to back; then
back to front
 Clasp your hands behind your back then gently and slowly raise them
upward while keeping your body aligned (ears over shoulders;
shoulders over hips)
 Gently stretch your leg muscles. Place one foot forward and gently
stretch out the muscles in the back leg…slowly.
*TLR video available at www.saswh.ca TLR program area
Safety Talk Discussion: Be Accountable: Choose safety - work safe - and go home injury free!
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Attention Occupational Health
and Safety Committee Members
Are you an active member of the
Occupational Health Committee within your
facility? Heartland Health Region is looking for worker representation to send to the SASWH
Conference and Annual General Meeting noted above. Please fill out the application form
below, submit to your Care Team Manager, and a member will be chosen to attend the Conference. Get your applications in, you won’t want to miss this opportunity to network with
colleagues and hear from the keynote speaker Mr. Jan Wachter on “Harnessing Worker and
Employer Engagement in Workplace Safety”. The chosen representative will also get to
hear from the closing speaker, Michael Kerr, who is an award winning international speaker
and is known as one of North America’s leading authorities on how to create healthier and
more inspiring work environments by helping audiences tap into their HUMOUR resources.
Apply today!
1) Tell us what interests you about this conference and why you would like to attend.
2) How do you plan on sharing your learnings with fellow OHC members and co-workers?
3) How long have you been involved with the OHC in your workplace?
*Please note that this will be 8 hours paid education time, with use of a CVA for traveling
purposes. However, Hotel accommodations will not be approved.
**Also note that chosen representative will be interviewed for The Link following the
conference, so be aware that your name/picture will be used internally to share what you have
learned. Thank you for your interest in Occupational Health and Safety in your workplace!
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