9th Annual Parade of Chefs Raises over $30,000!

The Foundation of Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) provided a fun filled night of food and drink at the Annual Parade of Chefs event.

Club Lentinaswas beautifully decorated, the food was excellently plated and prepared and the host, Chef Lynn Crawford from the Food Network’s Restaurant Makeover and Pitchin’ In, was a treat to listen to.The event was catered by some of Chatham’s premier chefs and they did not disappoint. The evening consisted of seven courses of absolutely magnificent food which was accompanied by great local wines.The wine was served by some of CKHA’s finest physicians, and staff members.

The proceeds from the evening will be put towards replacing the cardiac monitoring system in the Intensive Care Unit.This new state of the art monitoring system will allow Chatham-Kent Health Alliance to continue to offer quality, safe patient care.Through the efforts of The Chatham-Kent community, the foundation, CKHA employees, and events like the Parade of Chefs, we will be able to stay on the cutting edge of technology and ensure that our patients receive the best possible care right here in our community.

A big thank you goes out to everyone involved in the event, and we all look forward to the Parade of Chefs next year for more fantastic food from our very talented local chefs.

To view the pictures posted on the Foundation of Chatham-Kent website, follow the link below:

http://www.foundationckha.com/Site_Published/foundation/newsdetails.aspx?QueryId=47&left.queryid.id=6092&newsdetails.QueryId.Id=6733

Nursing Leadership Network Conference

Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA)had a significant presence at the Nursing Leadership Network Conference (NLN) this year.

The two-day conference is a celebration of leadership in nursing and acknowledges those in the field who have accomplished great advancements in the profession. There were over 120 submissions to the NLN for poster presentations and just over 30 were accepted. CKHA had three posters accepted; (Leadership Academy, Patient Rounding and Normo-thermia). The acceptance of three posters submitted by CKHA is confirmation that we are, and continue to be, one of the front-runners in leadership. The conference highlights the extraordinary work accomplished in the field of nursing and the strides that each organization is taking to improve safe, quality and compassionate care to their patients. The staff, physicians and patients can be proud of the level of commitment that CKHA has as an organization to ensure we stay on the leading edge of Leadership within the health care field.

Nursing Informatics

Nursing has shifted to a world of electronic documentation to help with continuity of care and proper storage of important patient information. Nurses document a large portion of the care they administer electronically. Writing everything down on a piece of paper and placing it somewhere on the patient chart has given way to standardized electronic documentation. All information entered into the electronic record is stored so that physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and patients can view the information to make sure all aspects of care are consistent and fluent.

Patients and families may see their nurse or other healthcare workers in their room or at the nurses’ station on the computer. This is how hospital staff ensure all information regarding their patients’ care is being documented and stored for future use. The ability for the nurses to chart electronically allows for quicker access to information by physicians so they can review lab work or x-ray reports electronically and be able to make decisions on care. The world of nursing is evolving and with that so must nursing practices.

Electronic documentation is just one such change that allows for greater flexibility, continuity, timeliness, and accuracy of care for all patients at Chatham-Kent Health Alliance.

“How are we doing?”

Have you ever wondered why we ask this question?
Hearing from you, the patients and families we serve, can help us to ensure that we achieve the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance mission “Together…advancing compassionate quality care”. We are “Caring People, Caring for People”. Hearing from you helps us get better at providing the highest quality health care we can.
We always look for ways to improve the patient experience – hearing from you helps us do that.

Do you know the ways you can tell us about your hospital experience?
We invite your feedback in many ways. They include:

1. Patient Satisfaction Survey: Each year on our behalf, a contracted survey company called NRC Pickersends out over 6,700 random surveys to patients of CKHA. You may get this survey in the mail following your hospital visit. Completing this anonymous survey helps us understand how well we are doing to meet your needs. The results show us our areas of strength, areas for improvement and how we compare to other community hospitals. We encourage you to complete this survey if you receive one. Hearing from you in this way is very important to us. Your feedback helps us to make necessary changes to improve your patient experience and satisfaction with your care.
2. The CKHA website, www.ckha.on.ca asks, “How are we doing?” This section can be filled out on line to submit anonymous feedback, or include contact information if you request a follow-up response
3. Drop boxes: In high traffic locations throughout our hospitals, you will see drop boxes posted on the wall. There, cards are available called “How are we doing?” These cards, which can be filled out and dropped into the box, are collected regularly.
4. Every employee, manager, or executive is expected to receive your feedback as a “gift”. Please feel free to share your compliments, questions and suggestions at any time during or after your stay with us.
5. Other:In addition to the above, we always welcome your comments in person, by phone, or by mail. We may hold community forums, we invite patients and families to volunteer as patient and family advisors, and we listen to the patients’ story – all ways to help us get better.

What we do with the responses we get?
We value your comments, compliments, and concerns and make changes to improve the patient experience based on your feedback. Ever wonder what changes we have made? Here are a few - new furniture in the ED waiting room, patient navigator boards, patient choice visiting policy, including patients and families in rounds in ICU if they choose, medicine rounds every 2 hours, and communication cards for inpatient units.

How you can help
We want to know about your hospital experience. Did we meet or exceed your expectations? Would you recommend us to your family and friends? Hearing from you can help us achieve the high, quality patient and family centred care you need and expect. Help us to improve by providing feedback. Let us know “how we are doing” so we can provide the best care possible.