MAIMONIDES Staff members and their families got to enjoy hot dogs

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Barbecue Fun
Summer 2009 • For the staff of Maimonides Geriatric Centre
Staff members and their families got
to enjoy hot dogs, hamburgers,
popcorn and other goodies at the
annual Centre-Wide BBQ on July 8th.
A good time was had by all!
A McGill University affiliated Centre
Un Centre affilié à l’Université McGill
Retirement & Long-Service
Award Ceremony
any Maimonides staff members have reached milestones in their careers at the Centre. These are
people whose energy and passion for geriatric care has not gone unnoticed. Our Retirement and
Long-Service award ceremony took place on June 10th, 2009 in the synagogue.
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Congratulations to our fellow employees for their years of service to Maimonides.
Retirement
RETIREMENT
Sylvester Latouche, Elisa Manuel, Yolanda Padua,
Maimonides Executive Director Barbra Gold, Estelita
Galang, Martina Berish, Christiane Belair.
30+ YEARS
Alice Schwarcz, Sonia Beltran,
Maimonides Executive Director Barbra Gold,
Brenda Moldowan, Roger Villareal.
30+ Years
18 Years
18 YEARS
Back row (left to right): Michael Lewis, Nicole Allain,
Espedito Alvaro, Maimonides Executive Director
Barbra Gold, Shirley Jacob, Maurice Lee.
Front row (left to right): Greta Watt, Cordelia Jordan,
Jennifer Andrews, Mellie Smith.
Page 2 • Maimonides Geriatric Centre • News & Views • Summer 2009
Retirement & Long-Service
Award Ceremony
25 Years
25 YEARS
Back row (left to right): Ioannis Angelopoulos, François Lavergne, Pamela Wilson, Duane Perrin, Richard Smith, Diane
Neveu, Daniel Duc, Maimonides Executive Director Barbra Gold, Sylvester Latouche, Leon Mayers, Melanie Schwartz,
Chris Glykis, Efrem Orsmon Moses.
Front row (left to right): Lilian Gonzales, Lynette Reid, Marjorie Bandele, Teresita Tupaz, Estelita Galang, Elisa Manuel,
Martina Berish.
10 Years
10 YEARS
Back row (left to right):
Michael Connelly, Lucie
Tremblay, Elena Fornade-Mane,
Renaud Cesar, Maimonides
Executive Director Barbra Gold,
Paul Wallace, Rodolfo Garcia,
Renel Noel, Rabbi Michael
Wolff, Kwazi Claude Songui.
Front row (left to right):
Pauline Virgo Young, Marjorie
Phillips, Gabriella-Eugenia
Damaroiu, Lynn Waxman,
Norman Clark.
Maimonides Geriatric Centre • News & Views • Summer 2009 • Page 3
PLANETREE MONTH A HUGE SUCCESS!
bout 700 staff, residents, families, companions and
students attended activities organized during
‘Planetree Month’. Activities included skills-sharing
sessions such as Israeli Folk-dancing, Salsa, Everything you
wanted to know about CARRA, knitting and beading. There
were also guest speakers discussing topics as diverse as
Doing the Impossible, Laughersize and Effective Workplace
Communication. All disciplines had a day set aside to honour them with a lunch and interactive comedy
troupe “Without Annette Improv.” Evening and
Night Staff also participated in an activity with
Montreal Playback Theatre and received some
tasty goodies.
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Page 4 • Maimonides Geriatric Centre • News & Views • Summer 2009
A huge thank you to the Planetree Month
taskforce committee for organizing an outstanding Planetree month: Lisa Blobstein,
Lucy Bridgeman, Ida Caputo, Lucie
Charland,
Christiane
Duchene,
Sondra Goldman, Cheryl Lawlor,
Olympia Moran, Tony Pacheco,
Frances Pellatt and Jocelyne Samson.
Support
Staff
RNs
RNAs
MDC
PABs
Maimonides Geriatric Centre • News & Views • Summer 2009 • Page 5
Bursary
Reception
Planetree Month
May 2009
On May 28, as part of Planetree
Month, the Maimonides Geriatric
Centre Foundation presented
$25,000 in bursaries to
Maimonides staff in all disciplines
who are furthering their education
or upgrading their skills.
Congratulations
to all
bursary
recipients
Geneviève Angers
Paul Brisson
Ida Caputo
Michael Connelly
Sherry-Ann George
Nadine Gore
Heidi Lainez
Vicky Lyroudias
Edom Berhane Negussie
Tram Hai Yen Nguyen
Janel Nicholas
Angela Palmer
Samimi Rad Saba
Arlyne Marie Silverio
Joy Theodore
Daniel Yeboah
Page 6 • Maimonides Geriatric Centre • News & Views • Summer 2009
Planetree surveyors Kathleen K. Alff and Denise Scott met with
the Maimonides community in the middle of June to assess the
progress we made in implementing the Planetree philosophy. The
surveyors met with focus groups made up of family members, residents, staff, the board of directors, volunteers and others. A report
will be prepared and presented to Maimonides in the near future.
FYI: 363 Maimonides staff have already attended the Planetree
retreats which will resume in the fall.
The first-ever
Maimonides
Spirit
of
Planetree Awards were handed out. They
were created by the Planetree Organization, to
promote client-centered care by publicly
recognizing individuals who have demonstrated
extraordinary achievement in client-centered
care. Congratulations to physician champion
Dr. Jack Gaiptman and the caregiver
champion Lolita John.
The Maimonides Faculty of Trainers was also
acknowledged for sharing their skills with other staff. The
Faculty of Trainers is made up of 27 of our very own
staff, who teach their fellow co-workers programs such as
PDSB, Relation Centered Care, Hearing Aids Program,
Fall Prevention Program and Planetree, to name a few.
Staff get gifts for a job well-done
aimonides managers recently received a special goodie basket
called a “Tool Box” which contains gifts to give out to their staff
when they go above and beyond the call of duty. Items include
everything from chocolate and candy to picture frames and notepads. The
goal of this Planetree initiative is to acknowledge the staff for a job well-done
and to recognize their accomplishments. A special thank you to Henry
Grover for decorating the boxes and to Miriam Friedman and Rhonda
Sheiner for assembling the boxes.
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Maimonides Geriatric Centre • News & Views • Summer 2009 • Page 7
Thank you to our staff volunteers
taff who volunteered at different Maimonides events
including the Battle of the Bands and the Volunteer
Appreciation Party were recognized with a party of
their own for committing their
time to Maimonides outside of
working
hours.
Volunteer
Department
staff
Rena
Halickman, Patti Derstenfeld and
Roz Friend even sang a little tune
to express their appreciation!!!
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An exciting new opportunity for staff volunteers is
now available. Come spend a meal or two with
the residents and participate in the highly-successful eating assistance program. Training is provided. For more information, contact Patti
Derstenfeld at local 2213.
Maimonides is using
Wash your needles that are safer
hands!
Infection Control
ast year, nine staff members had
needle-stick injuries which comes with
the fear of infection and harm. Safety
needles have been designated to eliminate or
minimize needle injury to nursing staff and
others. No more needle injuries- that is the
main goal of using safer needles that are
retractable or where the needle is hidden in
the device once used. Lyne Dery, Nurse
Specialist, has provided training to Maimonides staff on all shifts
about the proper way to use these new needles which also have
disposable covers which lowers the risk of cross-contamination.
Lyne stresses, however, that the new needles still need to be
disposed of properly in the sharp container. She urges staff to use
the new safer needles even if they may be more comfortable with
the other models. For those of you who haven’t had the session,
you can refer to the poster explaining the procedure located in the
dressing cart room. In November, during Health and Safety week,
Lyne will be going on the floors to sensitize staff about the efficient
use of the new needles and to educate the entire Maimonides
community about them. It is ultimately for everyone’s safety.
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Please be vigilant in order to
protect the health of
Maimonides residents
as well as your own health.
Frequent hand washing is the
most important way to prevent
the spread of infection.
There are hand sanitizers
by every elevator.
PLEASE USE THEM.
Page 8 • Maimonides Geriatric Centre • News & Views • Summer 2009
Update from the
Multidisciplinary
Council
Greetings to all MDC council members! Our next General
Assembly- Café Rencontre Style is scheduled for
Wednesday, September 9th. We encourage you to attend!
Did you know? There are currently 59 MDC members!
MDC membership = all persons holding a college or university diploma who perform
functions for MGC. These
functions are specific to the
field of activity in which their
diploma was granted and
directly related to health or
social services, research or
teaching. Although Nursing,
Medicine and Pharmacy are
not members of our council,
we promote ongoing collaboration and links with these
professionals.
Our 3 year mandate will be
coming to an end this spring
2010. We encourage you to
get involved. You can make
a difference! Through outreach to members, the sharing of ideas, collaboration
with other councils, etc… you
could carry the flame and
continue building a caring
community. It truly is a great
opportunity! Submit your
candidature early spring
2010.
The executive council is
comprised of 5 elected
members, our executive
director and a management
representative. Your executive at present is:
• Georgia Graphos
Clinical Nutrition,
President
• Silvana Mauro
Occupational Therapy,
Vice President
• Sondra Goldman
Art Therapy,
Information Officer
• Lucy Bridgeman
Therapeutic Recreation,
Secretary
• Susan Cliff
Social Service,
Committee Coordinator
• Linda August
Assistant to the Director
of Nursing and Clinical
Services
• Barbra Gold
Executive Director
Accreditation
is months
away!
or the past year Maimonides
Geriatric Centre has been gearing
up for Accreditation… Now this
quality assurance process is just months
away!!!
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Ms. Gayle Campbell from Ontario
and Mr. Steven Campbell from New
Brunswick will visit Maimonides to evaluate the programs and services that we
provide. They will assess our compliance
to national standards and recommend
improvements as necessary.
A General Staff Information Meeting will
take place prior to the Accreditation
Canada
visit
on
Wednesday,
September 30, 2009 in the synagogue. Time TBC.
The Survey Visit will take place
October 25 through October 29,
2009.
Following the Visit, a debriefing session
will take place on Thursday, October
29, 2009 from 11:00 am -12:00 pm in
the synagogue where the surveyors will
present a preliminary report. Everyone is
invited to attend.
For more information, check the
Information Board near the main elevators or contact Rena Halickman, Quality
improvement coordinator at local 2223
or Stefania Iapaolo, Risk Manager at
local 2253.
Maimonides Geriatric Centre • News & Views • Summer 2009 • Page 9
Congratulations to
Maimonides
Nurses!!!
Tribute to
Jerilyn Aqui
Second floor Head Nurse Fruan
Tabamo was a finalist of the 3M
Nurse Appreciation Award which
recognizes exceptional nurses who go
above and beyond the call of duty.
Fourth floor Head Nurse Dindo
Miras was recognized with the Prix
Relève from the OIIQ. The award
recognizes the exceptional contribution of a young nurse with less than
ten years of experience, who has demonstrated a positive
influence and incredible leadership in his studies, his work
and his community involvement.
The importance of
Skin and Wound
Care
une was skin and wound care month at Maimonides.
Members of the Skin and Wound Care committee
gave staff from all shifts training about the 4 educational modules of wound care. The Modules were divided
by week:
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Week
Week
Week
Week
1
2
3
4
Braden Scale /Prevention
Skin Tears/Trauma
Preventative Strategies
Communication
Members of the Skin and Wound Care committee are hard
at work preparing an outline for the Skin and Wound Care
Program at Maimonides. This incorporates current practices that are not yet standardized, but will be integrated
into the Program. The goal is to create a program that
focuses on prevention of pressure ulcers that is sustainable
throughout the year, as well as best practice treatment outcomes.
Page 10 • Maimonides Geriatric Centre • News & Views • Summer 2009
aimonides nurse Jerilyn Aqui,
who recently passed away after
a battle with cancer, was honoured posthumously with the Mireille
Ducros award. There was not a dry eye
in the house as Head Nurse Dindo Miras
sang Hindi Kita Malilimutan which
means “We will never forget you”
accompanied by Edith Fedalizo on the
piano. Below is an excerpt from the
speech given by Nurse Angela Palmer in
recognition of Jerilyn.
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In reflecting upon Jeri’s influence and
impact on her peers, we all stand in
admiration of her many achievements.
Jeri stood out amongst the crowd
because of her gentle, warm caring
approach. Jeri, though soft spoken,
always wore a smile and possessed an
uncanny knack for making others feel
comfortable in her presence. Her
quiet, calm approach belied her tenacious spirit. Jerilyn was a dedicated,
knowledgeable nurse who worked her
way up through the ranks, having,
started as a PAB, here at Maimonides
in 1986. She moved up to RNA in
1997, and graduated as an RN in
2004. She furthered her education at
the University of Ottawa in pursuit of a
Bachelor of Nursing Science degree.
Jerilyn was also a recipient of three
bursaries. Her commitment, dedication to increasing her knowledge in the
field of nursing made her a role model
for all.
Preventing Falls,
Preventing Injury
pril
was
Fall
Prevention Month. A
number of activities
took place including a jellybean count of how many
falls occurred at Maimonides this year, the
Room of Horrors to see how many hazards
people could find that affect resident safety, a
safety alarm walkabout to collect feedback
from staff regarding the effectiveness of safety alarm devices, and a
week dedicated to the challenges of osteoporosis. The month was
capped off with the “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” game-showfall prevention-style, as well as the Fall Prevention Oscars.
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The winners for Fall Prevention
Month announced during the
Fall Prevention Oscars
News from the Pharmacy Department
Medication Safety
Have you ever thought of what happens to a resident’s medication once he arrives at Maimonides?
Well, we are taking charge of it in order to ensure the
best medical care and the safest one.
Jelly Bean Count: Day (tie)
Rena Halickman and Nicole Johnson
Jelly Bean Count, Evening & Night:
Christina Kennedy
Room of Horrors: Ahn Nguyen
Who wants to be a millionaire AM
Madeleine Senosier
Who wants to be a millionaire PM
Sabrina Udden
Floor with the greatest reduction of falls this
year: 5th floor
Floor with the greatest reduction in the severity
of falls this year: 3rd floor
Floor with the highest percentage of analysis
forms completed this year: 6th floor
How do we do it?
During counseling sessions with either the resident,
either his/her family we gather all needed information
regarding the names of currently taken drugs, the way
are taken, how often they are taken. Even the over-thecounters, vitamins and herbal products are important
since they can influence the medical treatment.
Why do we do it?
Because at Maimonides our chief concern is to constantly improve our residents’ quality of life. So, by
means of Medication reconciliation we are making sure
the resident is receiving the recommended drug at good
dose at adequate time. For instance, one resident may
have at home two blood pressure pills, one prescribed
by his family doctor, another prescribed by the specialist, in which situation adverse effects can appear.
Therefore, while gathering the information we can
detect these kinds of medication duplications and individualize the respective treatment.
Maimonides Geriatric Centre • News & Views • Summer 2009 • Page 11
The Council of Nurses
alutations to all Maimonides nurses. During our mandate, we
the council have accomplished many of our goals. Of special
interest, is the development of a preceptorship/mentorship program. Through this effort, we hope to attract and retain nurses.
Likewise, we reviewed and approved collective orders. The first of
these involved the restructuring of the narcotic sheets. Second, we
reviewed narcotic administration by RNAs. Additionally, we examined
the six rights pertaining to administration of medications, Port-A-Cath
protocol and modified the Mirelle Ducros award nomination form. In
an effort to improve our working environment, we collaborated with
the multidisciplinary council on a variety of projects. As you can see,
the nursing council at Maimonides is both an active and productive
body, which welcomes participation from all its members. Those of
you wishing to make a difference are encouraged to attend our fall
assembly. Your input would be much appreciated.
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Your executive council members:
President CII:
Vice President CII:
Secretary CII:
Communication/ Liaison CII:
President CIIA:
Active Members:
Christiane Duchene
Angela Palmer
Cheryl Lawlor
Lyne Dery
Marjorie Phillips
Henry Salvara
Helene Watson
Letter of
thanks
donation was recently
made to the Maimonides
Foundation by a family
member
in
honour
of
Therapeutic Recreation staff
Allison Friedman, Ariane
Telefoglou
and
Lucy
Bridgeman. The card reads
“In appreciation and admiration of the beautiful, poignant
and uplifting Adult Ed grad and
Prom- A true tribute to the
human spirit.”
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If you or your staff have
received a nice letter that you
would like to share in News and
Views with the Maimonides
community, please send a copy
to
Lisa
Blobstein,
Communications Officer, at
[email protected].
Congratulations
to the following
lucky prize winners!!!
1 DAY OFF (ENTRAIDE)
Cheryl Lawlor, Nursing
1 DAY OFF (FLU VACCINE)
Vivienne Zhao, Rehab
Leon Mayers, Nursing
François Lavergne, Maintenance
Marc Réjouis, Nursing
A booklet on safety will be published in the next month or so. It will
give you an overview of some situations you may encounter and
what the proper procedure is to ensure a safe environment for
everyone. Look for the new booklet at reception and other areas of
distribution.
Page 12 • Maimonides Geriatric Centre • News & Views • Summer 2009
CD- EDWIN ORION CLASSICS
Christina Kennedy, Nursing
Joe Bailey, Nursing
Jacqueline Brown, Nursing
Jeanette Tordjman, Nursing
CALENDAR
Maria Villapez, Nursing