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Hospitals in Weyburn, Estevan to get helipads

The Sun Country Health Region are planning community meeting dates with the STARS air ambulance service, as the new service for Saskatchewan gears up for the start of its program.
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The Sun Country Health Region are planning community meeting dates with the STARS air ambulance service, as the new service for Saskatchewan gears up for the start of its program.

"The STARS is still targeted for beginning in the southern parts of Saskatchewan for April of 2012," said Marga Cugnet, interim CEO of the Sun Country Health Region. "STARS will be working with the region to offer some information sessions across the region."
The STARS crew and helicopters offer mobile intensive care for patients who are critically ill or injured and whose outcomes depend on rapid, specialized care and transport.

The information sessions will be offered in Weyburn, Estevan, Arcola, Kipling, Bengough and Oxbow. "We have invited some leaders from the local communities, it will include their local fire departments, emergency medical services (EMS), and some of the emergency room staff," explained Cugnet.

STARS will present a brief overview of their program, and how it will be rolled out, and how to work together with the other partners. "Ground ambulance is still important in how we care for our patients, and we will continue to work through dispatch, through 911, and so there is many policies and protocols that have be adopted. Then we have to educate our staff and our communities about those policies," added Cugnet.

There are plans for helipads for the STARS air ambulance service at the Weyburn General Hospital and St. Joseph in Estevan. "We are just completing the assessments, and working with the Ministry of Health in regard to how those will be constructed," said Cugnet.

The region is working with nine new physicians slated to practice in the City of Estevan, one physician for Oxbow, two for Arcola, and one for Weyburn. The region also offered a contract to another psychiatrist, which would bring the complement back up to three, if accepted.
Dr. Alain Lenferna, vice president of medical association, told the board that most of these physicians will need to complete the requirements of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan and fulfill the requirements of the federal immigration department before they will arrive in the region to practice. If all of these obligations can be processed on time, some of them might be in the region by April, he added.

Sun Country hired five registered nurses, one licensed practical nurse, one physical therapist, one social worker and one medical lab technician between Oct 12 to Nov. 15. During that same time period, one registered nurse, two licensed practical nurses, and two management personnel resigned.

There were 39 bursaries awarded by Sun Country to post secondary students in health care fields between April and mid-November. Recipients include students in registered nursing, 39; physical therapy, two; medical laboratory technology, one; and two medical students.

Medical students receive bursaries of $25,000 per year for four years to complete medical school. All of the bursaries are granted in exchange for work periods in Sun Country. Don Ehman, vice president of human resources, said more bursaries are expected before the end of the fiscal year in April. During the 2010-11 year, 54 bursaries in all were granted.
Sun Country Health Region is meeting the Ministry of Health goals with regard to patients receiving a surgical date within 12 months of diagnosis.

The region has exceeded the goal set by the Ministry of Health to reduce the number of sick hours paid during the first and second quarters of this fiscal year, by 8.8 per cent. The goal was to reduce the hours by 6.2 per cent. Sun Country also exceeded the Ministry goal of reducing overtime hours during the same quarters. The region has reduced overtime hours by 11.4 per cent. The Ministry goal was a reduction of 7.8 per cent.

The region's attempt to reduce the number of lost days due to injury has not met the Ministry's target. The Ministry target was a 14.8 per cent reduction while the region's actual reduction was 6.6 per cent during the first two quarters of 2011-12. This was in spite of a more aggressive approach to get injured workers back to work sooner. Ehman said that injuries from previous years continue to have a significant impact on the lost time claims statistics.

Sun Country has joined a new national program to increase compliance in the housekeeping departments with strict cleaning guidelines to help reduce hospital infections. One of the goals is to change the culture so staff, patients and their families, all feel free to ask health care workers if they have washed their hands since attending to the last patient. Regular audits will be conducted in all facilities to measure compliance with the standards.

In line with the region's mandate to improve the health of the population through prevention, all sites but two have received new training in how to reduce the number of long term care residents who experience a fall. Falls can drastically reduce the quality of life of senior citizens and can be deadly.

A program to address suspected increased substance abuse issues within the oil and mining sectors in Sun Country Health Region will begin next month to help these industries provide a safer work environment. The Mental Health and Addictions Department will hire a temporary staff member to work with the industry to identify substance abuse issues in the workplaces.
The next meeting of the Regional Health Authority will be held Jan. 25, 2012.