Ready. Set. Go!

The report card is in and it is a failing grade - our children received an ‘F’ in physical activity on the 2011 Active Health Kids Canada Report. I know, it’s only physical activity and there are so many more important things, right? WRONG!

Canada’s Guide to Physical Activity in Children recommends that children get 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise every day. That means, for one-hour a day, our children’s play is active enough that they sweat a little and breathe harder; unfortunately, only about 7% of our children are doing this.Around half of our children are not getting enough physical activity to support ideal growth and development and 25% of our children are obese – and this number is increasing!

Physical activity helps our children build strong bones and muscles, keeps their heart and lungs healthy, teaches them how to be social, improves their self-esteem and school performance. A healthy and active lifestyle is important to our children’s health and wellbeing, their quality of life and can help prevent diseases like cancer, Type II diabetes and heart disease in adulthood. How do our children learn to live an active and healthy lifestyle? From you!
Teaching your children to be physically active can an enjoyable family experience and does not have to cost money. Try:

• Walking the dog together


• Organizing a neighborhood game of road hockey, hide and seek or basketball


• Walk your kids to daycare, school or their friends house


• Go on a nature hike together


• Wash the car together


• Run through the sprinkler


• Shovel snow together, rake the leaves

Your actions speak louder than words so don’t forget to be a role model for your children and adopt an active lifestyle for yourself. For further information or suggestions for healthy living, go to www.participaction.com. Ready.Set.Go!

The Intensive Care Unit acts on your Feedback!

Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) receives public feedback from the National Research Corporation (NRC Picker). NRC Picker sends out surveys randomly to patients of CKHA. The NRC Picker report identified that the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) scored low in “patients knew enough about their care”.

Many disciplines in the hospital take part in the care of an ICU patient, and now, in keeping with the Patient and Family Centered Care Philosophy, the Medical Quality Care Team and the ICU Unit Based Council decided to look at Interdisciplinary Rounding at the bedside. A new way to “round” on a patient was developed, now starting at 9:00 a.m., the nurse practitioner, pharmacist, dietician, respiratory therapist and the nurse caring for the patient all see each patient together. The group goes room to room, discusses the patient’s care and at the same time involves the patient and family. It is a wonderful time for patients and families to have their questions answered.

Also new to rounding are Navigator Boards. These are boards at each bedside, which allow the patient and/or family to write their goals for the day, and they incorporate them into the rounds. Each patient and family also receives a pamphlet which explains what round is and when it occurs.

The Manager rounds once per week with the team and hears many comments from both patients and families on both the rounding and the boards. This Interdisciplinary Rounding has become an important part of the circle of care at CKHA.

Congratulations to the ICU/PCU and the interprofessional team for making a difference!

In the photo, L-R, Kelly Christoff RN, Paul Johnson RN, and Jennifer Pasma, Nurse Practitioner are shown during Interdisciplinary Rounding.

Remembering the “Why” – Escorting Patients, Families and Visitors

Have you ever been lost? Have you ever needed directions and then once you got them, you still could not find your way? I sure have, and I know what that feels like for me. It would be fantastic if our patients, families and visitors never got lost, but the reality is, finding your way in a hospital can be difficult.

Visitors to a hospital are often anxious. Most people come to Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA)because they are ill, have a family member who is ill, or require health care services. If possible, we want to create a culture that helps alleviate some of their anxiety.

That is why we want our staff to escort patients, families, and visitors. We feel that through simple gestures, by helping people find their way for example, we can help to decrease their anxiety and improve their overall hospital experience.

This summer, to reinforce this idea, CKHA is focusing on the Service Excellence Standard – Escorting patients, families and visitors. If patients, families, and visitors appear lost or are looking for directions, we encourage everyone who works at CKHA to offer assistance. We want all of our staff to ask if they can help and then, offer to escort them to their destination. If patients, families or visitors do not know the way, we encourage you to find someone who does.

That is why escorting patients, families and visitors is supported and encouraged to be an “always behaviour”. After all, it is only by committing to our everyday or “always behaviours” that we can make a difference for all of the patients, families and visitors of CKHA.

Chatham-Kent Health Alliance Launches a New Vision Statement

June 23, Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) announced a new vision statement:

An Exceptional Community Hospital
Setting Standards – Exceeding Expectations

Some of you might wonder how CKHA came up with that and what it means.

Creating a new Vision Statement involves a lot of people, thought and discussion. It was a collaborative process, over 150 groups were interviewed and engaged; over 300 voices were heard. It involved internal engagement, community input and discussion. What we learned was the Vision Statement should be something that was clear and demonstrates to our community, our patients and our staff how we envision CKHA’s future.

This Vision Statement was a key outcome of the Alliance’s Strategic Planning process. The 2011-2013 Strategic Plan and Vision Statement was approved by the Tri-Board and sets a course for the future. There is great emphasis on patient and family-centred care and we want to emphasize safe and quality care.

So what does it mean? It means CKHA aims to provide exceptional care, to attract and retain exceptional talent, to develop exceptional ideas and to be a hospital with ongoing exceptional performance. In the months and years ahead, staff, physicians and volunteers will be working towards the newly adopted strategic goals and directions to exemplify the new Vision.

It means CKHA wants to be an exceptional community hospital, and I for one am excited to see how CKHA embraces this new Vision Statement.

To learn more about CKHA’s Strategic Plan and Vision Statement, please follow the following link: http://www.ckha.on.ca/strategicplan/.

Celebrating What’s Right

Recently I had the pleasure of celebrating a second annual report produced by the Patient and Family Centred Care Steering Committee.

Patient and family advisor volunteers, along with Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) staff, presented to members of the Leadership Council their accomplishments for the past year. With a focus on always improving the patient experience, this report demonstrates the commitment and passion the patients, families and staff have by always putting patients first. Improved communication at the bedside using navigator boards and patient and nursing rounds, are but a few of the accomplishments achieved by the Patient and Family Centred Care Steering Committee this past year.

The creation of a patient and family values document will keep us focused on what matters most to our patients and to their families. It is only through partnerships with patients and families that we learn what is most important to them and how to work together to make changes that support a quality, safe environment for everyone.

Patients and families are engaged as patient and family advisor volunteers working in partnership with CKHA staff to advance patient and family centred care at CKHA. My heartfelt thanks to all of you! I look forward to next years’ accomplishments.

Colin Patey, President and Chief Executive Officer, addresses a group of patient and family advisors at the Patient & Family Centred Care Advisor Appreciation Celebration held on June 20, 2011.