Ambassadors for Anti-Stigma and Discrimination toward Our Mental Health and Addiction Clients

November 2011 was Addictions Awareness and Recovery Awareness Month. Although this event was not proclaimed internationally nor at the municipal level, it was observed by Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) and its team of professionals who provide counseling and support to individuals affected with mental health and addiction issues. Asking for help is the first major step in their recovery. Through their efforts and with the support from staff at the Mental Health & Addictions Program (MHAP) and their partners Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Westover, Canadian Mental Health Association and Assertive Community Treatment, recovery is possible.

Individuals with an addiction or mental health concern, or both, can and do make positive changes in their lives and many go on to lead rewarding and successful lives despite the barriers they encounter. Stigma and discrimination are barriers that we as a society, healthcare professionals included, impose. It discourages these individuals from accessing treatment or support. When a person adopts what society believes about them it creates self shame and leads to low self esteem, isolation and hopelessness.

Listening to their patient stories is cause to celebrate. To combat shame and discrimination and create awareness about these barriers, MHAP staff visited several departments at CKHA over the past few months educating others about treatment and recovery to improve sensitivity towards these issues. This quality improvement initiative was endorsed by MHAP’S Quality Council in response to feedback from patients and families who received treatment at CKHA. Listening to their stories created motivation to make improvements at CKHA so we truly are “An Exceptional Community Hospital - Setting Standards Exceeding Expectations.”

One does not need to be a professionally trained therapist to make a difference in the lives of these individuals. A warm, caring and non-judgmental attitude can improve self-esteem and instill hope that change is possible. We all have the same window of opportunity to break down the barriers of stigma and discrimination by respecting these individuals for who they are, and not attaching labels. Through awareness and collaboration, we all can be ambassadors to reduce the barriers of stigma and discrimination.

Members of the Stigma Promotion, L-R. Shannon Stephenson, Janice Miller, Jill Ladd, Bruce McCubbin & Heather Badder

Chatham-Kent Health Alliance and Patient and Family Centred Care

Chatham-Kent Health Alliance’s (CKHA) philosophy to promote patient and family centred care is demonstrated through its commitment to engage and support the learning of its employees and volunteers. In November 2011, Kathy-Lynn Stennett, Professional Practice Nurse for Emergency and Mental Health and Addiction Programs, and Maureen Coleman, Patient and Family Advisor, were selected to attend an extensive training seminar focusing on Hospitals and Communities Moving Forward with Patient and Family Centred Care. This week’s blog, co-authored by them, summarizes their learning experience.

The purpose of the seminar was to provide comprehensive and practical sessions for administrative leaders, patient advisors, and, medical and support staff to become effective change agents in the healthcare organizations they represent. With more than 400 people in attendance, from 115 organizations across the United States and Canada, presenters explained how involving patients and families in healthcare has evolved. It has extended beyond the bricks and mortar of hospitals into research and evaluation initiatives, partnerships with community stakeholders, peer support programs, and even coordinated primary care in home settings.. According to Bev Johnson, President/CEO of the Institute for Patient and Family Centred Care, the opportunities to advance and practice patient and family centred care are unlimited. Adopting this philosophy of care is a powerful transformational business tool that positively impacts an organization`s finance, quality, safety, satisfaction and market share when it is implemented carefully and thoughtfully throughout the healthcare setting.

Highlights of the seminar were the patient and family stories shared by panel members and a tour of the American Family Children’s Hospital. The patient and family stories were poignant, painful and told with great honesty and passion. These panel members shared their stories and explained how their experiences have been the catalysts for change to improve patient and family experiences. The tour provided participants with a renewed appreciation and awareness for planning and design of care environments. It also highlighted the importance of engaging and empowering patients and their families aspartners in their care.

The training seminar was of great benefit because of the knowledge, content and practical application shared among participants. Patient and family centred care is about “doing with” patients and their families, not “doing for” or “doing to”. The commitment and enthusiasm shared by all presenters and participants toward this culture change was priceless. We learned to be effective healthcare providers, we must embrace this concept of care to improve quality, safety, efficiency, and patient outcomes. Enhancing patient and family experiences benefits everyone!

National Non-Smoking Week January 15-21, 2012.

The beginning of a New Year motivates individuals to make resolutions. Typically resolutions are made that will positively influence one’s health and well being. Often, one of these is to quit smoking and for those who do succeed, it will have a positive impact on their health status.

Smoking tobacco is the most preventable cause of lung cancer and is the primary cause of early and avoidable death and disease. Effects of quitting are almost immediate as your body starts to clear the toxins from cigarette smoke. One year after quitting, the risk of having a heart attack is reduced by 50 per cent relative to those who continue to smoke. In addition, it also reduces the risk of lung and other forms of cancer, stroke, and chronic lung disease.

National Non-Smoking week has been observed for more than 30 years; the goal is to educate the public about the dangers of smoking, preventing those who do not smoke from starting, assisting those who may want to quit, promote the rights of individuals to breathe clean air, and striving to achieve a smoke-free society. Over the past decade, tobacco-control strategies have been implemented at the federal, provincial and municipal levels. These strategies have helped to reduce the smoking rate in Canada by more than 30%. Many free programs and quit-smoking clinics are available across the province, and numerous campaigns have been launched in schools and communities with the specific goal of reducing tobacco use in youth. A variety of resources are available to help those who want to quit smoking and can be accessed through your primary healthcare provider, pharmacist, the Public Health Unit, Canadian Cancer Society, The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Health Canada, or via the internet. The Canadian Cancer Society offers a Smokers' Helpline 1-877-513-5333 which provides support, advice and information to people across Ontario. Smokers' Helpline Quit Specialists are available to answer questions about quitting, discuss the options available for quitting and provide support and a listening ear to people trying to quit. Service is provided free-of-charge from anywhere in Ontario.

If your New Year’s resolution was to quit smoking, congratulations! You have made a wise decision. With the right combination of planning, determination and support you will be able to stop smoking for good! Quitting smoking is the best thing you can do to improve your health.

What makes a nurse?

Nursing is a profession, but what makes it unique? How are nurses different from other health professionals? The definition of a nurse according to dictionary.com is “a person formally educated and trained in the care of the sick or infirm”. But what components make up a nurse and how do they make a difference?

Nurses require formal nursing education to help give them the knowledge, skill and judgment to critically think and make confident decisions. They learn how to assess patients from head to toe to identify the uniqueness of each person. They also receive education on anatomy, physiology, and theory. Being a regulated health professional means the College of Nurses requires continual education to ensure nurses are competent and able.

Nurses also coordinate services. They are the only health professional that is present and assigned to a patient at all times during the hospital stay. By being present, they learn to identify changes in the patient as it happens, contacting others and coordinating services.

However, having these characteristics alone still does not identify what makes nursing unique. The key component to nursing that I think draws people to the profession is the emotional connection to patients and their families. Nurses are at the bedside when patients and families are at their most vulnerable moments. Nurses have to tell families the truth about their loved ones’ condition and tend to their needs after. Nurses learn to be conscious of people’s emotions and nurture people in need. Nurses love to be nurses because it gives them the ability to challenge their knowledge, care for people and make a difference.

Kim Gibson, a full-time Registered Practical Nurse on the Complex Continuing Care and Family Medicine Units at Sydenham Campus is shown doing electronic charting.

Breakfast with Santa

The holidays are a special time for many, but who can forget those childhood years where all seems possible and the magic of Christmas is real.

It was through those eyes that I observed Christmas on Saturday December 17, at Chatham-Kent Health Alliance’s Breakfast with Santa. At 9:00 the children and their families started arriving. From the boxed breakfasts, to the writing of letters to Santa, all the volunteers made sure everyone was welcomed, had something to eat and an activity to keep them busy until the “Big Moment”.

At 9:30, Becky Preston, the Supervisor of Nutrition Services, announced “I just got a call on my special cell phone; I think Santa and Mrs. Claus are almost here – let’s sing a song to welcome them”. That led to the room singing “Santa Claus is coming to Town”. You could hear the bells start jingling; Santa and Mrs. Claus had arrived.

It was a very heart warming and special morning for me, and I would like to personally thank the Employee Council, Shane Helgerman and his group of volunteers for putting this event together and keeping everything running smoothly. They certainly made the “nice” list this year!

Back Row, L-R: Joan Whitson, Crystal Houze, Colleen Hall, Catherine Preston, Andrea Houze, Shane Helgerman, Nathan Couvillon, Janet Cobb and Becky Preston

Middle Row, L-R: Beth Hall, Lydia Hall and Regan Pardo

Front Row, L-R: Vanessa McFadden, Jean Landry, Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and Delynn Miller