Highlights of the January 23rd, 2008 Board of Trustees Public Meeting

Moncton, January 28, 2008 – The Board of Trustees of the Beauséjour Regional Health Authority held its public meeting at the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont Regional Hospital, in Moncton, on January 23rd. Here are the highlights of this meeting:

Health Care Reform
On January 22nd, members of the Board of Trustees and Management of the Beauséjour Regional Health Authority met with the Minister of Health, Michael Murphy, to express their concerns and expectations for the new Health Plan. The Minister was reassuring on many issues, as he declared that the services for Francophones will not be diluted. He also reiterated his commitment to respect the Montfort Judgment and the Official Languages Act. The final outcome will hopefully be to obtain better care for patients. The new Health Plan, as such, is promising.

Certain members of the public expressed concerns that the Francophone mandate of the Authority will be jeopardized in the new Health Plan; however, members of the Board of Trustees and Acting President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Louis-Marie Simard, reiterated the Authority’s firm and clear position for its fundamental rights.

Master Plan
A meeting with the Department of Health to discuss the Authority’s’ Master Plan has been scheduled. The Authority wishes to benefit from the Departments’ expertise, to assure the projects’ progress, and to guarantee effective communications. This plan represents the space management orientation of the Beauséjour Regional Health Authority for the next 15 years.

Renovation projects to accommodate the teaching program will begin in 2008, as expected.

Patients Safety
Patients’ Safety Coordinator, Linda Savoie, explained the Authority’s strategies to improve patients’ safety. The Baker-Norton Study published in 2004 revealed that 7.5% of Canada’s hospitalized patients have experienced an undesirable incident. The following year, the Safer Healthcare Now! Campaign was launched. Since 2006, the Beauséjour Regional Health Authority has concentrated its efforts on medication reconciliation and ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention initiatives. In 2007, surgical site infection initiatives were the main focus of the Authority. This year, the authority will be emphasizing the following strategies:

• Prevention of Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection
• Improved Care for Acute Myocardial Infarction
• Rapid Response Teams

Recruitment
Lise Guérrette-Daigle, Vice-President of Nursing and Clinical Programs, announced that 13 new nurses have been hired by the Beauséjour Authority in January; however, four nurses have accepted positions with Air Ambulance. The bilingual and specialized in intensive care staff of the Authority is in high demand to fill these positions.

Last December, the Health Minister granted the Authority a sexual health nurse practitioner position. This service is currently offered as an extension of the Sexual Health Centre, in Moncton. The nurse practitioner collaborates with the Public Health nurse at the Louis-J.-Robichaud High School in Shediac, offering clinical services, counselling and education on contraception, sexually transmitted diseases and healthy relationships.

The nurse practitioner also performs laboratory and screening testing. This type of service is the first of its kind in New-Brunswick. Steps have been undertaken to offer this same service to the Clément-Cormier High School, in Bouctouche and to L’Odyssée High School, in Moncton. If required, this service can be extended to other communities served by the Authority.

Dr. Odette Albert, Vice-President of the Medical Services, announced that two new family doctors will soon be arriving in the Richibucto area while one new doctor will join the team in the Shediac area.

Two new specialists have been welcomed by the Authority: Dr. Monia Hamouda Ghedira, geriatrist and Dr. Gabriel Girouard, microbiologist. This March, Dr. Josée Bernatchez, pediatrician, will join its team. Finally, in the summer of 2008, the surgical team will greet three new specialists: Dr. Martin Bédard, an orthopedist specializing in articulation surgery of the hip and knee, Dr. Tina Comeau, general surgeon and Dr. Guy Breault, urologist.

Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation
The Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation will visit the Authority from May 4th to 9th. The visits’ groundwork has mobilized the workforce, but there is still work to do. This time, the Council will emphasize patients’ safety and accountability of the Board of Trustees to insure patients receive the best and safest care, at the right time.

Teaching and Research
Although there has always been teaching and research programs at the Beauséjour Regional Health Authority, the establishment of the new medical training generates expectations and obligations. The Health Authority is enthusiastic to become an authentic academic health sciences centre and is proud to embark in a new era with postsecondary institutions alike those of the Université de Moncton and the Université de Sherbrooke.

Bed Management
Thanks to the efforts of doctors and staff to efficiently manage crisis and beds, there have been less surgery cancellations in the last two months, compared to the same period last winter. There are currently 69 patients at the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont Regional Hospital who are awaiting a place in a nursing home and 15 patients out of the 20 beds at the Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital.

Phenylketonuria (PKU) Clinic
The Beauséjour Regional Health Authority is now in charge of food services for patients who suffer from phenylketonuria (PKU). This service was previously managed by the Department of Health in Fredericton. PKU is a rare, genetic illness, transmitted by both parents to a child. The treatment consists of a low protein diet administered earlier on to avoid serious neurological problems. The PKU Clinic is a provincial program that is comprised of multidisciplinary teams who offer continuous follow-ups to patients, from a family, social and medical perspective.

Oncology
The Beauséjour Authority is discussing with the New-Brunswick Cancer Network (NBCN) to insure that the capacity of the Dr. Léon-Richard Oncology Centre is adjusted to keep up with the demand in services. The Authority’s request consists of adding a new bunker equipped with a linear accelerator and staff recruitment to maintain waiting list at a reasonable level, as it is currently the case.

Miramichi Dialysis Satellite Unit
The expansion of the Miramichi Dialysis Satellite Unit is progressing as planned.

Computerization of patient records
The computerization of patients’ records has started in the Medicine Unit at the Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital. This is part of an ongoing computerization process at the Beauséjour Regional Health Authority. At the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont Regional Hospital, 64% of large units and 29% of specialized units have already been completed.

Public Hearings on Wellness
The Beauséjour Regional Health Authority participated in the recent public hearing on wellness, which was organized by the Wellness, Culture and Sport Department. The Authority took the opportunity to emphasize patient needs, the importance of community accessibility to health care, as well as the necessity to invest and better coordinate all efforts. National Non-Smoking Week From January 20th to 26th, The Beauséjour Regional Health Authority celebrated National Non-Smoking Week and Smoke-Free Wednesday. The Authority has produced a brochure promoting its cessation program, which is already successful.