When patients are in hospital, it’s important to mitigate their risk of exposure to a hospital acquired infection during their stay. Eileen McIntyre, an infection prevention and control professional in Cape Breton, understands the immense work this takes.
Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) welcomes members of the public to attend its board of directors meeting Wednesday, May 22 in Liverpool. The meeting starts at 8:25 a.m. in the Brooklyn and Medway Rooms at the Best Western Plus Liverpool Hotel and Conference Centre on Queens Place Drive. As promised at NSHA’s annual general meeting last summer, the board of directors will hold regular meetings at least six times each fiscal year, with four of those to include public sessions, as part of NSHA’s commitment to accountability and transparency.
At the QEII on an average day there are: 950 inpatients, 4,000 clinic visits, 270 cancer treatments, 130 surgeries, 200 ER visits. That’s over one million visits every year.
For registered nurse Nancy Fitzgerald and her fellow health protection team members, working in Public Health is about much more than giving patients their shots. “It’s so much more than just a needle,” the Elmsdale resident said. “It’s helping empower (patients) to do something that’s hard for them; to learn some coping strategies if they have any anxiety or needle phobias.” Whether it’s helping people get over their fear of needles or educating them about the importance of immunization, Fitzgerald loves “working with a variety of people” on the Public Health front lines.
Power outages are part of life in Canada. We know what they are like and, most times, we're prepared with extra candles and flashlights. But what happens when the power is completely out at a hospital? What impact does that have on patients, families, staff, physicians or anyone else in the hospital at the time?
Susan Kilbride Roper is a mental health advocate who started volunteering the day after she was diagnosed with Type 1 bipolar disorder. On the day of that diagnosis, she asked herself, “what do I do now?" Her psychiatrist advised her to learn more about her mental illness and join a peer support group. It wasn’t long after that she started leading the group.
Dr. Deborah Parker, by way of Alberta, came to Halifax for a medical residency in psychiatry and stayed because she loves the east coast way of life, but also because she got the opportunity she always wanted – ‘running’ a program to help mental health clients use exercise as medicine.
