- Vancouver Island Health Authority

Remember Mrs. Pudding? Well, she’s back!
M
rs. Pudding first burst onto the VIHA scene – and diabetes education folklore – in
2006 as the feisty, zany and grandmotherly Mrs. Pudding who struggles to first
accept, and then manage, her diabetes. Some 2000 copies of the DVD have been sold and
distributed across Canada, and in response to huge demand, VIHA is pleased to introduce
the DVD sequel ―Mrs. Pudding Presents The Sweetheart Disease.‖
―While diabetes is certainly no laughing matter, humour is a wonderful tool to reach out
and connect with audiences seeking to learn more about diabetes and diabetes
management,‖ explains Mrs. Pudding – AKA, Sue Schaefer, Diabetes Nurse Educator, CDE
with VIHA‘s Aboriginal Health Department. ―Mrs. Pudding is particularly popular among
First Nations where high diabetes rates are a significant health concern and where Mrs.
Pudding‘s storytelling is a respected teaching method.‖
VIHA Diabetes Nurse Educator Sue Schaefer
dressed as her alter ego, “Mrs. Pudding”
The Sweetheart Disease, which addresses the not-often discussed complication of diabetes — erectile dysfunction — will be
launched in November during Diabetes Awareness Month. For more information, call: 250-370-8914.
VIHA Wins Top Award for Energy Savings
T
VIHA’s Energy Team
his summer, VIHA beat out more than
1,000 commercial and provincial
organizations to win BC Hydro‘s prestigious
―Big Gig‖ award. The award recognizes the
most electricity saved per fiscal year within
the commercial sector in BC. In 2010, we
saved a whopping 4.1 GWh of electricity.
That‘s about as much electricity as 410
Vancouver Island homes will use in one year
(Source: BC Hydro). Any monetary savings
will help to cover expanding health care
electricity demands due to changing services
and new facilities.
This amazing accomplishment was led by VIHA‘s two BC Hydro-sponsored Energy Managers
and was supported by VIHA senior management, Green Teams, Facilities Maintenance and
Operations, Purchasing and IMIT. Savings came from initiatives such as lighting retrofits,
―turn-it-off‖ campaigns and other energy conservation measures. These initiatives not only
save energy and utility costs, but also lessen our impact on the climate – an accomplishment
we can all feel good about.
Nancy Myers—BC Hydro‘s longest sponsored Energy Manager—accepted the award during
the annual Energy Manager‘s Forum held September 16 th in Surrey. Joe Murphy, VIHA Vice
President, Operations & Support Services, was also acknowledged as ―Energy Champion‖
and leader. 
November 2010 - Page 1 - www.viha.ca/news
GREEN
TIP:
Did you know the average
office worker uses 7,500
sheets of paper a year?
That equals a whole tree!
Print duplex or, better yet,
save files electronically and
help save a tree!
VIHA Staff Help Out at Men’s Health Day
I
n September, VIHA staff were on hand to draw blood from men during the
8th annual Men’s Health Day at Mayfair Mall in Victoria.
Over 500 south island men received FREE blood tests from VIHA staff to help
detect treatable diseases such as prostate cancer, diabetes and high
cholesterol. Other neighbouring booths at the event offered information about
the importance of blood pressure monitoring, fitness, nutrition, healthy posture
and stress management.
―This event has direct, positive health impacts for men,‖ explains Susan Barron,
VIHA Lab Services Community Outreach Supervisor. ―Last year, 31 men were
alerted to high prostate-specific antigen levels as a result of their Men‘s Health
Day tests and received follow-up care from their family doctors.‖
Thank you to Susan Barron and Technical Assistant Kathy Mayoh for organizing
VIHA‘s participation in this important event and kudos to all the physicians and
staff who took time on a sunny Saturday to look after the men in our
community.
Remember, it‘s Movember — the month of the ‗stache — when men stop
shaving for a good cause. Learn more at ca.movember.com. 
With smiling faces like these, it’s not hard to see why 500
men were willing to have their blood drawn by VIHA’s Lab
Services team (L-R): Suzi Tarnowski, Elisha Kaufmann,
Catherine Hayden, Rosanne Babuik, Diane Louie, Amy
Crha.
Construction Underway at NRGH’s New Emergency Department
N
ot even a rainy day could dampen the spirits of those joining
Premier Gordon Campbell on October 26, 2010 for the official
construction kick off for Nanaimo Regional General Hospital‘s new
Emergency Department (ED).
The new $36.9 million ED will provide many benefits to the thousands of
patients who use the facility, not only for its spacious design, but also
because the state-of-the-art building will have so much natural light. Staff
and physicians of the island‘s busiest emergency department will have a
working environment that will enhance the important work that they do
each and every day.
The building‘s design will achieve LEED Gold certification as part of the
Province‘s commitment to a greener and more sustainable future. 
Pictured left to right at the NRGH ED construction kick-off: MLA Ron Cantelon; RHDN Chair Joe Stanhope; Premier Gordon Campbell; Nanaimo & District
Hospital Foundation Chair Leslie Sundby; NRGH Emergency Chief Dr. Drew Digney; VIHA Board Chair Jac Kreut.
Accreditation Days are
on the Horizon
Let’s hear it for…
Dorothy Wells
V
Leah Assu has some kind words to share
about her colleague in Campbell River:
IHA‘s Accreditation Survey begins in April
2011. Accreditation is important because it
supports staff, physicians and volunteers to
provide the best possible care for patients and
clients.
To help prepare for the survey VIHA is offering
education and information sessions for staff. Visit
https://intranet.viha.ca/departments/quality/
accreditation/ or contact Evelyn Thompson-Smith
at 250.370.8502 for more details. 
“Thank you, Dorothy, for always
going above and beyond every
day! You are a valuable coworker and
an asset to our office. You make our
office a better place and it would never
be the same without you!” 
November 2010 - Page 2 - www.viha.ca/news
Dorothy
Wells atop
Polar Peak
in Fernie, BC
Home & Community Care Staff
Sing to Support the
Campbell River Hospice Society
S
Did you get your flu shot?
These VIHA staffers did and you should too!
Visit www.viha.ca/flu/ for flu clinic dates
near you.
even members of VIHA‘s
Home and Community Care
team in Campbell River are
hopeful their rendition of Bill
Withers‘ hit song Lean on Me
will harmonize into a donation
for the Campbell River Hospice
Society.
After hearing about Global TV‘s
singing competition, Canada
Sings, colleagues Christol James,
Gerrie Miller, Janine Lovely,
Carrie Johnston, Barb Boniface,
Janet Woznow and Leah Assu,
formed the group HCC
Sunflowers and got to work
The HCC Sunflowers
creating a DVD of the group
Back row(l-r): Carrie Johnston, Leah performing the song A Capella.
Above: Miranda Cnossen, VGH LPN getting her flu shot
from Employee Health Nurse, Pat Ashton at VGH.
Assu, Janet Woznow, Barbara Boniface
―We chose Lean On Me because
Front row (l-r): Janine Lovely, Christol
of the nature of our jobs: our
James, Gerrie Miller
clients lean on us for their care
and we (staff members) lean on each other for support,‖ said Leah.
The HCC Sunflowers (they chose this name because the sunflower is
the logo of the Campbell River Hospice Society) will learn by early
November if they are finalists in the competition. If successful they
will travel to Toronto for a week of training with artistic directors,
vocal coaches, stylists and choreographers in preparation for a
performance before a live studio audience in Toronto. The final two
groups will square off with the winner receiving a donation for the
charity of their choice.
Canada Sings will air on Global TV in early 2011. 
Above: Nurse Kelsey MacKellar RN, receiving her flu shot
from Occupational Health Nurse Sylvie Dolbec at Tofino
General Hospital.
Comox Valley Nursing Centre Staff Enjoy the Thirty Mile Diet
S
taff at the Comox Valley Nursing Centre enjoyed a lunch hour tour of their
local cheese factory over the summer as part of their brown bag adventures
and commitment to the 100 mile diet.
As residents of Comox Valley, they have the good fortune to actually live the 30
mile diet on occasion, thanks to all the great farmers and many organic food
producers in their region.
The open house and tour, which included samples of delicious, award-winning
cheeses and locally produced pepper jellies, also highlighted the importance of
food safety practices and hygiene. 
Saying, “Cheese!” during their lunch hour adventures (l-r): Willa Cannon, Cindy Gavel and Patricia Foster
November 2010 - Page 3 - www.viha.ca/news
19th Lotto for Life Benefits
the NRGH ED Expansion
Telecom Tips for Business Trips
Outside of Canada
he Nanaimo & District Hospital Foundation is once again
offering Central & North Island VIHA staff first
opportunity to purchase Lotto for Life tickets through Payroll
Deduction. Tickets are $100 each, with a 1 in 5,000 chance to
win incredible
prizes like
vehicles, trips
and even the
Grand Prize of
$100,000!
R
T
Sign-up for Payroll Deduction from Nov. 1 — Dec. 1 and the
cost will be deducted from your paycheques in four $25
installments (Jan. 14th & 28th and Feb. 11th & 25th). Visit
www.nanaimohospitalfoundation.com to download forms or
pick them up in person at the Foundation office.
All Lotto for Life proceeds help fund the Emergency
Department Expansion at NRGH. Call 250-755-7690 for
details or email [email protected]. 
ecently, there have been
stories in the media
concerning ‗surprise‘ invoices
with hundreds of dollars in
international roaming fees
once the cellular user
returns home from a
business trip.
VIHA‘s Telecommunications
team can help you avoid
this. If you have an
upcoming business
trip outside of Canada,
“Wow! Look at the roaming
Telecom can activate various
charges on our cell phone bill!”
data and voice packages on
your VIHA cellular device for the duration of your trip. Please
contact us through the IMIT Service Desk and we will consult with
you regarding your destination and the options available. 
The Bears Are Back!
T
he Queen Alexandra Foundation for Children‘s 10th Annual Bear Wear
event runs from November 16 – December 19 at the Hotel Grand
Pacific in Victoria.
Check out this fun, free, family festival featuring over 50 dressed teddy
bears. Each bear comes with an exciting silent auction package – just perfect
for a holiday gift – and all funds raised will help the Queen Alexandra
Foundation for Children build Jeneece Place, a home away from home for
children and their families who have to travel to Victoria for medical
care. More information is available at: http://www.queenalexandra.org/
Events/ViewEvents.asp?id=122. 
World Breastfeeding Week 2010
V
IHA and Breastfeeding Matters South Vancouver Island welcomed Dr. Kathleen Kendall-Tackett to
Victoria to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week (October 1-7). Dr Kendall-Tackett spoke to
staff, students and other health professionals about postpartum depression and potential breastfeeding challenges for mothers who have experienced trauma or abuse.
During her well-received presentations, Dr. Kendall-Tackett was very instructive on how health
professionals can identify women who may be at risk for depression, better understand how postpartum mood can impact breastfeeding, and support these mothers to preserve the breastfeeding
relationship whenever possible.
Dr. Kendall-Tackett is a clinical associate professor of pediatrics in Texas as well as a health psychologist, lactation consultant, researcher and an author and editor of many books and articles on
trauma, maternal depression and breastfeeding. Proceeds from her conference appearance will be
used to purchase 30 books for health professionals, donated to the VIHA medical library and Island
Medical Program. For more information about breastfeeding and postpartum depression, visit her
website at: www.uppitysciencechick.com. 
November 2010 - Page 4 - www.viha.ca/news
ISSUE 1
November 2010
Safety First...
...Be Aware
Do Your
Share
Renewed Name
Renewed
Focus
Wellness and Safety is
changing its name back to
Occupational Health and
Safety. Our name reflects
the broadest definition of
health—encompassing
everything from Wellness
and Prevention to Injury and
Disability Management. It
brings us in line with other
organizations around the
world, and reinforces our
commitment to a safe work
environment for every VIHA
employee.
The OHS team has expertise
to help you identify safety
hazards in your area, learn
from incidents or near
misses, and create safe work
practices for you, your coworkers and your
patients.
We look forward to
working with you to make
VIHA the safest health
authority in BC.
~Lesley Moss,
Executive Director
Occupational Health and
Safety.
SETTING OUR SIGHTS ON SAFETY
The Staff Safety and Injury Prevention
System Wide Initiative has been talking to
staff and carefully evaluating safety
initiatives to see what has been working,
and how we can share that success across
VIHA. The result is a safety strategy
focusing on three areas: Prevention,
Leadership and Quality Work Environment.
MSIP Coaches are making a difference.
Injury rates on units with coaches have
improved by 36 per cent. Maintaining and
expanding the MSIP coaching program will
be a key cornerstone of our prevention
strategy.
Violence Prevention is another focus.
VIHA’s violence prevention curriculum has
been recognized as the best in BC. More
than 115 VIHA staff have become our
leaders in this area, undertaking specialized
training to help educate coworkers on how
to prevent violence in the workplace. But
we recognize that this important education
can be more effective if it is tailored to the
needs of staff in different environments,
The latest group of MSIP Coaches underwent
training in Duncan in October, and are now
working to make things safer on their units
who deal with unique and specific patient
populations.
Action is also needed to meet the needs of
the bariatric patient population. These
patients require specialized equipment to
safely manage their care. A Bariatric Care
Needs project will look at how to create a
system to purchase and share this
equipment and expertise in the most
efficient way, to ensure our patients who
need it can have access within 24 hours of
admission.
For more information on how you can stay safe on the
job, check out our website
ADULT
LEARNING
How training and
education will
ensure success
WELCOMING SPACE, WELCOMING ATTITIUDE
The SWI safety strategy
includes actions to help
ensure VIHA employees
have a quality work
environment. We believe
this is a combination of a
welcoming physical space,
and an emotionally safe
place. A place where you
feel like part of a team, and
have the tools to do your
job effectively. It is somewhere you are proud of,
where you feel you make a
valuable contribution, and
where you want to come to
work.
A new code of conduct to
reinforce expected
behaviour will support
VIHA’s Respectful
Workplace Policy, and support tools will help build
effective teams, and
respectful communication.
We are also researching
psychological safety
programs to help support a
respectful workplace, and
to serve as a foundation for
a staff Mental Health and
Addictions strategy.
The physical space we work
in also has an impact on our
health and safety, and we’ll
be working with Facilities,
Maintenance and Operations to improve the physical appearance and
functionality of workplaces
and care areas.
Jumping on the flu vaccine bandwagon
More than three-thousand VIHA staff have
taken advantage of flu clinics at their sites
to protect themselves from getting sick
this winter, and they’re urging you to do
the same.
Care Aide Paz Ribeiro said, “I get the
flu shot to protect my family and my
patients.”
“I think all health care workers
should be immunized,” said Dr. Ami
Brousseau. “As someone who works
in paediatrics, I think it is the easiest
way to protect our kids.”
Learning and support
tools to promote safety
are important for all
aspects of the safety
strategy. We’ve learned
that the classroom isn’t
always the best place to
teach. We’re more likely
to understand a new way
of doing things if we learn
it by doing it in our workplace. This hands-on
learning, at the time of
need, is what is going to
help us get the change in
thinking we need to become the safest in BC.
The new Learning Management System (LMS)
coming on stream across
VIHA gives us a great opportunity to provide
safety education at the
time of need, in a format
that is easy for staff to
follow and retain.
Some VIHA patients are also urging
staff members to get immunized. “It
is hard enough being in the hospital
without having to worry about getting the flu,” says Susan Dingle, a
patient on R2 at Royal Jubilee. “I
hope everyone who looks after me
cares enough to get their flu shot.”
Find out more about the vaccine and
immunization clinics on the VIHA
intranet and at www.viha.ca\flu.
Medical Student Dr. Ami Brousseau gets
his flu shot to protect his patients in
Paediatrics—and thinks you should too!
RJH Patient Care Centre
UPDATE
November 2010
Staff Training & Education
The PCC & You
With move day to the PCC right around the corner, staff orientation is
in full swing.
Questions about:
November 15th to December 8th, clinical staff moving to the PCC will
have the opportunity to train on key pieces of new equipment.
Professional Practice’s Learning and Performance Support (L&PS)
team has been liaising with PCC Project Team to plan this exciting
opportunity. Depending on your role, you may be oriented to the
following:
Unit/room layout
The move day?
New equipment?
Unit layouts?
Tours?
Check out The PCC & You
intranet site for more info.
Written for staff and updated
regularly, The PCC & You answers
your questions and provides the
information you need to know.
Ceiling lifts and sling selection
Vital sign monitors
Bed pan cleaner
New positive patient ID equipment
see page 2...
https://intranet.viha.ca/
departments/pcc
Visions and Smart Beds
This fall, the Victoria Hospitals
Foundation’s direct mail campaign
and gala fundraiser, Visions, will
support Smart Beds for the new
Patient Care Centre. The goal is to
raise $715,000 to purchase 65 of the
$11,000 beds.
Visions will be held Saturday,
November 20th. Over the past 19
years, this annual gala has raised
more than $3 million for priority
medical equipment for the Royal
Jubilee and Victoria General Hospitals. This year marks
Visions’ 20th anniversary.
Construction workers, local dignitaries and VIHA staff
celebrate the laying of the PCC’s final 3 exterior bricks
For more information, Visions tickets and volunteer
opportunities, or to support the 2010 Fall Campaign,
please call the VHF office at 250-414-6688 or go to
www.victoriahf.ca/visions.
www.viha.ca/patient_care_centre & https://intranet.viha.ca/departments/pcc
Page 2
RJH Patient Care Centre
Staff Training & Education cont . . .
Vocera communication devices
Nurse call system
Negative pressure rooms
Handwashing/Personal Protective
Equipment station
Hill-Rom Beds
Security Systems
their orientation sessions. This equipment training
is just the beginning of a series of face-to-face
orientation opportunities for staff. Planning is
underway for a General Orientation in January as
well as Unit Specific Orientation in February.
Please see The PCC and You intranet website for
more information at:
https://intranet.viha.ca/departments/pcc
The L&PS team has been connecting with unit/
department managers to start scheduling staff into
Tour the PCC
Staff and physicians are invited to tour the nearly
completed PCC Mondays at 3 p.m. and Fridays at
1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Check out the:
Staff Resource Wing — staff gym, locker rooms,
lecture hall, Learning Centre, staff café and
physician’s lounge
Atrium — main entrance and link to the D&T
Universal Care Unit
Chief Project Officer Rudi van den Broek describes
features of the PCC to MLAs Murray Coell and Ida Chong
Contact Patti Cross at [email protected] and
[email protected] to secure a spot. Space is
limited so please book in advance; you will receive
an email to confirm availability.
Attendees need to be at the Wilson Block building
15 minutes prior to tour time for a safety
orientation. The project office supplies steel-toed
boots, hard hats and reflective vests — feel free to
bring your own socks!
The PCC is an active construction site so for safety
reasons, no bare legs, bare shoulders, shorts,
dresses or skirts.
Mayor Graham Hill, MLA Murray Coell, MLA Ida Chong and
VIHA Board Member Michael Costello tip their hats to the
PCC’s hard-working construction crews.
www.viha.ca/patient_care_centre & https://intranet.viha.ca/departments/pcc