Message from the CEO GDH July 2016

Message from the CEO GDH

July 2016

Year End Summary (April 1, 2015-March 31, 2016)

 

Geraldton District Hospital (GDH) is a fully accredited health care organization committed to providing high quality services to residents of Greenstone (Geraldton, Longlac, Nakina, Beardmore, Caramat) and surrounding First Nations communities.  We aim to improve the health of individuals and our community as a whole and we strive for individual and community success. We are committed to providing excellent programs and services and for constant improvement and innovation to improve ourselves and our services.

GDH is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for patients and staff. Through continuous quality improvement efforts, we aim to constantly elevate the level of care provided. Over the course of the last fiscal year (2015-2016), the hospital has seen significant improvement across the spectrum of care. The following highlights some of the improvements made over the last fiscal year that were accomplished through the efforts of  hard working staff and physicians who prioritized the safety and care of patients. Here are some breakdowns (2015/2016 FY):

 

• By ensuring that hand hygiene compliance was consistently followed and that      rooms were cleaned in the appropriate fashion, the hospital reported 0 incidents of hospital-acquired VRE (Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus), MRSA      (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus      aureus), or CDI (Clostridium      difficile Infection). This is truly remarkable.

 

• From a patient safety standpoint, significant improvement was made in regards to falls after implementing new improvement initiatives. The rates of incidents, as well as the number of incidents, have decreased considerably compared to the previous fiscal year.

 

 

• Providing patients and residents with the      care they need in a safe environment is a priority for all staff of the      hospital. Therefore, to ensure patients are satisfied with the care that      they have received, the hospital tracks patient satisfaction through      comment cards. It was another great year in regards to patient satisfaction, with an average score of 95%, which shows that the      hospital’s values are being prioritized throughout the patient’s care.

 

 

• GDH is a satellite site for the Chemotherapy Program, which is      part of the Thunder Bay Cancer Centre and Cancer Care Ontario. We are only      one of a few that provide specialized chemotherapy drugs/infusions to our      community so patients do not have to travel to Thunder Bay to receive      these vital treatments. With 5 specialized chemo nurses, who undergo      specialized training and yearly accreditation, we reached the highest patient numbers to date, who received      their outpatient based chemo treatments in our specialized chemotherapy      room.

 

As well, I wanted to share some hospital statistics - Our emergency department had 8,695 patient visits, the Nakina Clinic 2,083 visits.  Hospital admissions numbered 384 and our total air transfers were 237. In Diagnostic Imaging, we had over 5,000 tests (x-rays and ultrasounds).

It is clear our hospital is a very busy healthcare facility and this speaks to the commitment of our staff, physicians and volunteers, of their unwavering dedication to all patients who turn to GDH for their healthcare needs.

Greenstone has excellence in care and with new and innovative programs starting this new fiscal year, we should all be proud of the accomplishments to date. 

 

Lucy Bonanno, CEO

 

Below are 2 photos of some staff that are always happy to serve:

 

Support Services Staff

Emergency Department Staff