hospital « Simply Put – by Dr. Hartley Stern, CEO

Posts Tagged ‘hospital’

Accreditation wrap up

Thursday, November 29th, 2012

With this morning’s conference, we have wrapped up Accreditation review week at the JGH. Hundreds of staff members met with the surveyors over the last four days. This morning, the surveyors summarized their visit in an overwhelmingly positive conference in the Block Amphitheatre. Some of the findings highlighted by the surveyors included the unwavering pride JGH employees have for their institution; how the safety and security of our patients are of the utmost concern on every unit and department hospital wide; and how we’ve managed to excel and pioneer in specialized services while maintaining the quality of our first line medical care – a very difficult feat.

Also pointed out was our dedication to operating based on best practices hospital-wide; the preservation of our values as an institution despite being faced with a difficult economic climate; and our efforts to improve transparency as made evident by our public Quality Indicators web page.

Though it comes as no surprise to us, the surveyors were also impressed by the roles our volunteers play by being implicated in, and in charge of, so many important initiatives throughout the JGH.

Lastly, special congratulations are in order for the Emergency Department and Blood Bank and Transfusion Services, which both met and surpassed every single criterion in their respective evaluations. Our ED plays a crucial role in serving the needs of Quebecers; as such this evaluation result is something we should all be proud of. Moreover, Blood Bank and Transfusion Services, which operates under Laboratories, provides crucial and invaluable services to the whole hospital.

This morning’s conference was the culmination of years of hard work by all of you and a few in particular. Thank you to the 21 Accreditation teams and to Chantal Bellerose who worked tirelessly to coordinate and oversee the entire undertaking.

We have an extraordinary team at the JGH and this week’s success is due to our collective efforts centred on improving outcomes and experiences for our patients and their families. We truly are Quebec’s hospital.

Thank you and congratulations to everyone!

Hartley Stern, M.D.

High volume of patients

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012

During the past several days, you may have read or heard news reports about efforts by the JGH to reduce its volume of patients. We are taking this step to maintain the high quality and continuity of care that we offer our patients, since we now see too many patients for the funding that we receive. Our actions are aligned with plans by the Ministry of Health and Social Services to balance patient volumes in Montreal hospitals on and off the island.

The urgent need to reduce volumes is not unique to the JGH; hospitals across Montreal are under the same pressure. This can be achieved, in part, by filling the available capacity that exists in some of the other hospitals. For this reason, the government is allocating funding to the Charles LeMoyne Hospital and the Cité-de-la-Santé Hospital in Laval, among others, to strengthen and broaden the quality and range of their services for patients who live in their area.

The JGH has also begun to encourage patients to seek medical care closer to home if services of similar quality are offered at a nearby hospital. In this way, sick patients would avoid not only a lengthy trip to and from the JGH, but the longer waiting lists at our hospital.

Of course, it is not our intention to force anyone to go elsewhere. Patients who choose to receive their treatment and care at the JGH have the right to do so.

Hartley Stern, M.D.
Executive Director

Links to articles:

Jewish General tries stanch patient flow

Montreal hospitals feel squeeze just Jewish General

On the mend

Tuesday, June 5th, 2012

As I write these words, exactly seven days (almost to the minute) have passed since I was in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at JGH to have a life-saving stent put into my one damaged coronary artery. This was accomplished with extraordinary expertise and compassion by an incredible team of cardiologists, technicians and nurses, led by Dr. Dominique Joyal.

Today I feel so much better that I am cautious about the denial that can creep into one’s thoughts—that, in fact, I never really had a heart attack. However, with the support of my loyal team of cardiologists, nurses and home security guard (my wife,“Dr./RN” Dorothy Stern), I will be disabused of that notion quite quickly.

As many of you know, I am quite competitive and was on an early morning cycle, finishing with a climb to the top of the mountain, when I began to feel a little unwell. When I got home, I lay down for a few minutes’ rest and then had the worst pain imaginable in my chest. It was out of a textbook—clearly the pain of a myocardial infarction, a heart attack.

I was very fortunate that Dorothy was home. Although an architect by training, she reacted with the poise of a Valérie Pelletier, in complete control of a chaotic situation, by calling 911 and Dr. Marc Afilalo in sequence. I should add that at that point, I was reminding Dorothy about the location of our wills and that I loved her. It was only her calmness that allowed me to believe that perhaps I would survive.

When Urgences santé arrived, everyone was extremely professional and my mood improved. From that point on, through a veil of pain and fear—and despite a few (now humorous) moments when the ambulance’s engine would not start—I saw and felt a finely tuned machine swinging into action. I cannot emphasize enough how reassuring were the faces and words of Dr. Marc Afilalo, Johanne Boileau, Dr. David Langleben, Dr. Joe Portnoy, Valérie Pelletier and a host of others who I hope will forgive me for not remembering their names.

In the Cath Lab some 31 minutes later, there was again an incredible machine of efficiency. In addition to Dr. Joyal the magician, I remember two nurses’ faces, constantly whispering that I would be okay, while administering much-appreciated morphine. Finally, they said it was over, the stent was in—and suddenly, the pain was gone. I don’t remember their names, but I will always remember their faces and their voices…thank you.

In the Coronary Care Unit and subsequently on 2Northeast, I again received exceptional care. I was struck by the chemistry among the professionals. The nurses, M.D.s, EKG and Echo technicians, pharmacists, dietitians—all really respected one another and truly felt they were part of something special, a real team.

Many of the younger nurses, in particular, were not aware that I work at the JGH. So I knew that even though I initially may have had a little extra attention, truly every patient gets treated with great respect. One night, a 102-year-old gentlemen in the next bed was confused and frightened and, at times, even abusive to the nurses. Not once did I hear anything other than compassion and respect from the staff.

I also quizzed every nurse and technician (particularly those who did not know who I was) as to whether they liked their job, what they liked about it, whether they knew Joanne Coté, and what they thought of her. Each and every one responded that they loved their jobs, respected Joanne enormously, and could think of no other place they would rather work.

My closing comments relate first to the many well-wishers who have been so kind and supportive. I will, in time, try to thank each of you individually. Secondly, I must offer a few words to the cardiologists led by Dr. David Langleben, a true Chef d’orchestre, whose personal attention and leadership are exceptional. I have expressed my gratitude to Dr. Joyal; for his incredible skill and focus, merci. Finally, I must thank Dr. Caroline Michel who supervised my in-patient stay. I have been fortunate in my career to have met many fine physicians, but none who exemplify the combined intellect, empathy and communication skills better than Dr. Michel.

I will be back soon, having learned a great deal more about JGH—not in a way I would care to repeat, but with a renewed conviction that I am, indeed, a very fortunate man to have the best job anywhere. I give you my promise that I will not waste the opportunity.

Hartley Stern, M.D.
Executive Director

Award-winning publications

Tuesday, May 15th, 2012

Kudos to the Department of Public Affairs and Communications and its Director, Glenn J. Nashen, two of whose publications have won major awards from the Health Care Public Relations Association of Canada. JGH News, the quarterly magazine edited by Henry Mietkiewicz, took second prize in the External Publications category of the Hygeia Awards. Pulse, the JGH staff magazine co-edited by Megan Martin, Laure-Elise Singer and Mr. Mietkiewicz, received second prize in the Internal Newsletters category. In fact, this was the third prize in a row for Pulse, which had first-place wins in 2011 and 2010. Altogether, Public Affairs has received 14 awards over the past 10 years from healthcare-related organizations in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada. This is yet another example of how the JGH continually strives for and achieves excellence not just in health care, but in a great many fields.

East meets West

Thursday, May 10th, 2012

Congratulations to everyone at the Peter Brojde Lung Cancer Centre on moving into their new facilities on the 10th floor of Cummings Pavilion E. For the past two years, the Brojde Centre has distinguished itself by giving patients the option of integrating Eastern treatments—e.g., acupuncture, Chinese herbs and Qigong—along with their conventional Western treatments. At the same time, the Brojde Centre is conducting rigourous research to determine the effectiveness of the Eastern treatments. The ultimate objective is to provide patients with potentially valuable opportunities to improve their healing and recovery. On behalf of everyone at the JGH, I would like to express my gratitude to the Brojde family for their support in making this much-needed facility a reality.

Holiday greetings

Thursday, April 5th, 2012

There’s a feeling of excitement in the air—and not just because spring is making its long-awaited return after mild March weather. This sense of renewal and rejuvenation is connected to two of this season’s most significant holidays, which commemorate the granting of religious freedom and the promise of religious rebirth. I would like to extend my best wishes to everyone at the Jewish General Hospital for a happy Passover and a joyous Easter. May this springtime of hope empower us and our patients throughout the year.

New CEO at the Agence

Monday, March 26th, 2012

I am very happy to hear about the appointment of Danielle McCann as the new CEO of the Montreal Health and Social Services Agency (known as the Agence).

As you know, the Jewish General Hospital has been making major strides in improving safety, cleanliness and the quality of care. In doing so, our objective is not just to provide the best possible care to residents in our immediate area, but to collaborate with all levels of government and with institutions across the city in order to strengthen the public healthcare system.

For this reason, I look forward to continuing our close relations with the Agence and to working with Mme McCann to revitalize public health care for the benefit of patients throughout Montreal

Reporting medical errors

Friday, March 23rd, 2012

On March 21, the following statement was released jointly by me and Normand Rinfret, Interim Director General and CEO of the McGill University Health Centre:

The headline in the March 15 Gazette article, “MUHC and Jewish General Hospital errors killed at least 10 people in 2011,” is sensational and harmful to the value we strive for.

Our hospitals are at the forefront in the public reporting of incidents and accidents; to that end we have worked hard to instill an open culture of reporting any and all such events. To imply that our hospitals kill people tarnishes the reputations of thousands of healthcare workers who dedicate their careers to caring for our patients and their families with the highest degree of safety and as well as our objective to improve quality care.

Consistent and rigorous reporting is the cornerstone of quality improvement, patient safety and learning. It is a shared voluntary responsibility and we are actively engaged in encouraging our staff to report and to be involved in reviewing processes as well as proposing improvements to the quality of our patient care. This engagement goes beyond our people to our patients and their families and we encourage dialogue that allows us to be collectively involved in accountability, improvement, and quality assurance practices.

In order for us to continue to improve the quality of our patient care, we need our people to continue to report. We know it is not a reductive exercise in numbers – our organizations invest as much energy into learning from the “near-misses” as they do from the events that touch the patient, and we want to ensure that each establishment improves against its own best practice. The registry is not meant for comparison purposes; there are significant differences between hospitals in reporting cultures, complexity of care and volumes that make comparisons meaningless. Sensational headlines in this regard do not enhance our efforts to reinforce this culture of reporting in our institutions, which is vital to improving patient care.

Healthcare professionals work at our hospitals in order to provide the best care possible to our patients. We commend our employees for reporting incidents and accidents and for helping the JGH and the MUHC become safer hospitals for all.

Healthy Organization survey

Wednesday, February 8th, 2012

My excitement about our Healthy Organization program keeps growing. I’ve just completed my survey and I urge everyone on staff to do the same at jgh.ca/healthyorganization or jgh.ca/entrepriseensante. If you don’t have a computer, one will be provided; you can get the details in JGH Now [link to JGH Now].
After participating in the presentation at the CEO Forum on January 31, I’m more confident than ever that this program will help us work together to strengthen our culture of ongoing improvement. Anything that makes the JGH a more satisfying place to work can only mean better care for patients. This program will be of benefit for years to come, with long-term solutions to ease job-related stress and keep satisfaction levels rising throughout the hospital.
I’m very excited to see how far this initiative will take us, and to hear what you have on your minds. We’re on our way to becoming a Healthy-er Organization and making the JGH an even more fulfilling place to work.

Trip to Philadelphia

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

During the past few days, I’ve hit the road to represent the JGH in the U.S. to further the hospital’s mission of improving the quality and care of our patients. In Philadelphia, I met with American health insurance executives, who share common concerns with Canadian healthcare providers. We discussed strategies in caring for the rapidly growing number of aging people with multiple chronic diseases, as well as improving access to compassionate care for those nearing the end of life–all with a view to keeping costs in line. While I don’t favour a U.S.-style healthcare system, some American ideas can be useful when applied in Canada. Our discussions turned out to be very interesting and productive, and I’m bringing some possible solutions back to the JGH for further exploration with our managers and clinicians.