Thank You Letter from Interim CEO

December 23, 2014

As the old year ends and the new one begins, I would like to thank our communities for their generosity of spirit and financial support to many of our charitable organizations and those in need.

Throughout the area I have seen groups of employees, clubs, auxiliaries, and departments putting their energy together to collect food, gifts, clothing or money so that those less fortunate could have a meaningful Christmas.

On Sunday Dec. 21 I attended Centralia Faith Tabernacle on behalf of South Huron Hospital Foundation.  A full Cast and Creative team of congregation members staged their Annual Christmas play in support of South Huron Hospital Association.  Although those in attendance were there to hear “Everyone’s Christmas Story”, they dug into their pockets in support of South Huron Hospital Association.  At the  end of the evening I was presented with a cheque for over $1,700 ~ and people were still giving as they were leaving for the evening. 

Since the Cardiac Stress testing system at SHHA is coming to end of life, this donation will go a long way towards the $35,000 needed to replace it.

Thanks to Centralia Faith Tabernacle and to all who have made special gifts to South Huron Hospital Association through our Foundation.  Thanks to all of you who have given to those in need this holiday season and throughout the year!

Sincerely,

Heather Klopp

Interim CEO

South Huron Hospital Association.

The Lung Association Reminds your to Cover your Coughs!

Cover your coughs

Cough and sneeze into a tissue or your sleeve

Sneezing and coughing can spread colds, flu, and many other viruses. These viruses live in the saliva and mucus in your nose and throat.
When you sneeze and cough, you spray little droplets of saliva and mucus into the air. Other people can breathe in the droplets and get sick. Or the droplets can land on tables, keyboards, books, and other things. When someone touches these things, then touches their face or eyes, they can catch the virus and get sick.

• Cough and sneeze into tissues, throw the tissues away, and wash your hands.
• If you don't have a tissue, turn away from people and cough into your shoulder or your sleeve.
• Do not cover your coughs and sneezes with your hands.
• Don't touch your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.

Get your flu and pneumonia shots

Shots (vaccinations) give you the best protection against many diseases, including flu and pneumonia. The Lung Association recommends that:

• Most people over 6 months old should get the flu shot every year.
• Most people with COPD and asthma should also get a pneumonia shot.

Ministry of Health and Long-term Care Seeking Input from Public

The Expert Group wants to hear from individuals, families and caregivers who use the programs and services in question as well as those who provide these services.

What is the most important thing that the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care could do to improve home and community care for you?

The survey may be accessed in English here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2CT9DM6 and in French here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QMWBRY5.

The survey will be active from today until December 17, 2014

We are seeking input from all members of the community, including clients, care providers and administrators. The survey will be anonymous but may be used to inform future South West LHIN initiatives. We ask that you share this survey with your organization and members of the community.

If you would like to know more about the Home and Community Care Expert Group, please click here.

November is Diabetes Month

November is Diabetes Month.... be sure to read the following article on Type 2 Diabetes in Youth

Type 2 Diabetes in Youth Not Surprising, but Not Acceptable

New data suggests a stark rise in the prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes in children. The study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), found a 35 percent increase in Type 2 Diabetes between 2001 and 2009 amongst youth ages 10-19*. The authors go on to project that without significant changes in the factors that underlie the development of the disease, the number of adolescents with Type 2 Diabetes is likely to increase fourfold by 2050. While this report is disconcerting, sadly it is not surprising.
Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition that impacts how the body metabolizes sugar. Individuals with the disease either resist the effect of insulin (a hormone that controls the amount of sugar in cells) or do not produce enough insulin to sustain a normal blood sugar. While there may be a genetic component involved, lifestyle risk factors -- mainly diet, physical activity, and subsequent body mass index (BMI) -- are significant determinants to the onset of Type 2 diabetes. Historically, the disease only manifested after years of compounding poor health behaviors, hence its former name "Adult Onset Diabetes." Unfortunately, the JAMA study confirms that today's youth are also susceptible.
How could it be that a disease once requiring a lifetime of questionable health behaviors is now presenting in children who are just 10 years old? The answer becomes clear upon evaluating trends in the critical risk factors amongst youth.
Caloric intake has increased by approximately 240 calories per day over the last 40 years. Unfortunately, this rise is not attributed to high-quality foods (i.e., fruits, vegetables, whole grains), but rather, to the consumption of refined grains, added sugars, and added fats and oils. While this data is at the population level, it is unlikely that a sample examining just children would be any different. At the same time, physical activity rates amongst youth have decreased, with only 30 percent of adolescents currently meeting CDC guidelines for physical activity. Many reasons underlie declining physical activity in youth, ranging from issues with neighborhood safety (i.e., crime and vehicular traffic), to urban density (and subsequent reductions in green space), to the substitution of what was once active time with screen-based entertainment.
As a result of this dangerous combination (i.e., more calories and less physical activity), childhood obesity rates have risen from 5 percent to 17 percent since 1970. Against this backdrop, the incidence of Type 2 diabetes in youth is hardly surprising, but that does not mean it should be accepted.
Treating this problem successfully requires going far beyond the bricks and mortar of the clinic. Public health advocates must push policy makers to craft legislation that targets the primary causes behind the growth of Type 2 diabetes in youth. Examples include:

• Restrictions on junk food marketing to youth
• More stringent requirements for comprehensive physical activity programs in the K-12 education system
• Revisiting K-12 health curriculum and considering a more extensive focus on nutrition
• Raising the minimum nutrition standards for school lunches

In addition, health care systems should partner with community organizations to create other (non-legislative) solutions that address the risk factors for Type 2 diabetes in youth. Moreover, successful pre-diabetes prevention programs should be customized for and implemented in at-risk youth where early intervention can halt the development of the disease.
The increase of Type 2 diabetes in youth should be received as nothing less than a public health crisis. Thankfully, there are numerous levers that can be pulled to reverse this trend. It would be a costly failure of public health and public policy if the diagnosis and treatment of Type 2 diabetes were to become standard practice in pediatrics.


Source: Huffington Post

Ebola Preparedness

EBOLA PREPAREDNESS

 South Huron Hospital Association has not had, nor does it currently have, any suspected Ebola patients in the hospital and the risk remains very low.

 As a precaution, SHHA has infection control systems and procedures in place designed to limit the spread of infection, protect health care workers and provide the best care possible for the patient.

 If you think you may have Ebola due to your travel history:

• If you have returned from Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, or Senegal in the past 21 days
• Or if you have been in contact with someone who has been

·         AND you have symptoms of fever, headache, muscle pain, sore throat, stomach pain, unexplained bleeding or bruising

Please call the Huron Health Unit at 1 877 837 6143 or

                         

Do not go to the Hospital Emergency Dept unless instructed to do so by the Public Health Unit.  If instructed to go to the Emergency Dept, call ahead.  519 235 2700

Depression Program Being Offered

Hope Beyond Depression

Social Workers from Bluewater Area Family Health team and South Huron Hospital Association  are offering a 6 week program for individuals experiencing depression.

Learn How To: Identify types of depression & its causes; Improve emotional well-being; Enhance energy levels & mood; Overcome depression through lifestyle choices; Eat for optimal brain function to alleviate depression; Defeat depression through realistic thinking.

 

Where:           St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 22 Goshen Street S, Zurich, Ont.

When:            Weekly Sessions Start October 21, 2014 from

                         6-8 pm

·       Sessions End December 2, 2014

 

Contact:          Rossana 519-236-4314 ext. 5

                    or Jessie 519-235-2700 ext 5143

What Determines your Health?

What determines health?

The majority of Canada believes that good health is determined by a quality health care system, genetics, and lifestyle choices such as good nutrition and exercise.
Despite having universal access to health care, Canadians experience different levels of health.

 

Why?

When you think about it, we only access health care when we are already sick. Our health is determined 25% by health care and 15% by genetics. The remaining 60% is determined by factors outside of the health care system, such as:

-our neighbourhood
-our schools
-our job
-our physical environments

These factors are called the determinants of health - they shape our ability to make the healthy choice, the easy choice.


This diagram shows the different factors that influence health. Remember, at SHHA, we recognize that Health is about the Big Picture, not just the treatment of illness.
To learn more, visit http://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/ 

Free Chronic Disease exercise program in Exeter

Free Exercise Program - Exeter

Chronic disease management Program facilitated by a health care professional 

Do you have, or are you at risk of a chronic Illness?  Some Examples include: Diabetes, Parkinson’s, Fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, cancer, COPD, etc. 

 

If you are interested in participating, and would like to be referred by a health care professional, please contact Shelley Wood at 519-296-0117, ext 281

Check this out: Mental Health Community Support Services available at GBACHC

Mental Health Community Support Services

Available at Grand Bend Area Community Health Centre

in partnership with

Canadian Mental Health Association Lambton Kent

 

Intake and Referral

• Initial assessment of needs
• Transition to case management and/or referrals to community resources

Clinical Case Management

• Bio-psychosocial rehabilitation
• Treatment planning, goal setting and evaluation
• Education regarding mental health and medication
• Symptom assessment and management
• Life skills development
• Crisis prevention planning
• Crisis intervention
• Linkage and referral to community resources
• Education for family members and close friends
• Planning for discharge from case management

Access to Services

• Self-referral or referral by family
• Primary healthcare professionals, hospital or community agencies, etc.

For further information or to initiate a referral for mental health services please contact:

 Shirley Fowler                                                                      Lise Callahan

Clinical Case Manager                                                       Social Worker

CMHA Lambton Kent                                                          GBACHC

(519) 786 – 6588                                                                  (519) 238 – 1556 ext 230

 

In the event of a mental health crisis please contact the Lambton Mental Health Crisis Line, available 24 hours/day, and 7 days/week at 519-336-3445.

World Breastfeeding Week: August 1-7th

Celebrating World Breastfeeding Week 2014: Scoring the winning goal for life!

 

Source: World Health Organization

World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August in more than 170 countries to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is pleased to join partners in celebrating World Breastfeeding Week. This year's theme helps us to remember the importance of breastfeeding for a child's healthy growth and development. Breastfeeding is the first, and single most important, public health intervention for all newborns, infants and young children with a lifelong impact on health and survival. The theme also reminds us that to enable a mother to breastfeed, she needs to be supported by a team that involves family, community, health care professionals with specific skills in breastfeeding support, policy makers and champions.

Quality care of mother and newborn, especially around the time of childbirth and in the first week of life, has a major impact: it will save maternal and newborn lives and prevent stillbirths. Currently, 44% of all under-five mortality occurs in the first month of life. Small babies are at greatest risk of dying and 80% of newborn deaths occur among premature or small for gestational age babies born in southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Breast milk is the best food for these babies.

In order for mothers and families to practice optimal breastfeeding practices, teamwork is required. Health care professionals, especially midwives, will help determine the success, or failure, of breastfeeding and the subsequent health of the newborn throughout the life course. Immediate skin-to-skin contact and early initiation of breastfeeding within the hour after childbirth is essential. Postnatal care must also be provided, ensuring support for exclusive and continued breastfeeding. Home-based support by community health workers, specifically training in breastfeeding support, during pregnancy, in the first weeks after childbirth and beyond is also effective.

Social and cultural beliefs that consider breastfeeding the norm and the adoption and enforcement of conducive policies are all necessary. In this respect, the implementation of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative and Maternity Protection Legislation conforming to International Labour Convention 183 are clear examples of policies for which more progress must be made.

Breast Feeding Clinic in Exeter! Held every Friday morning from 9 am -Noon.  Free to all new moms and their babies to talk with a Registered Nurse about any Breastfeeding or Baby care concerns.

No appointment necessary.  Held at the South Huron Medical Centre across from South Huron Hospital Association in Exeter ~ provided by Huron County Health Unit. 

National Drowning Prevention Week July 19-27, 2014

LIFESAVING SOCIETY WARNS THAT THE NEXT 4 WEEKS IS WHEN THE GREATEST NUMBER OF DROWNINGS OCCUR

National Drowning Prevention Week, July 19-27, 2014

Toronto, ON – July 15, 2014:

 

It is the middle of summer, and while the Lifesaving Society is pleased to report that drownings are a bit lower this year than last, it’s no time to let down your guard about water safety. In fact the next 30 days is the worst time of year for drownings.

This is peak drowning season. Of the drownings reported in 2013, 16 people drowned between July 15 and August 15 and 25 drowned during the same period in 2012.

According to the Lifesaving Society’s 2014 Ontario Drowning Report which includes statistics from 2002 to 2011, 35% of all drownings occur in July and August.

 

 At the mid-summer mark, the Lifesaving Society reports that 47 people have drowned in Ontario this year and cautions everyone to focus on water safety during this peak drowning season. To date, 2014 drownings include a staggering increase in boating fatalities (+90%) and a significant increase in those who fell into the water (+71%) – 19 people drowned while boating (versus 10 in 2013 to date) and 12 people who were near or on water and fell in (versus 7 in 2013).

This means 66% of people who have drowned this year did not even intend to be in the water.

The Society encourages people of all ages to be prepared for an unexpected entry into the water by wearing a lifejacket when boating and learning how to swim.
 
 
At the mid-summer mark, the Lifesaving Society reports that 47 people have drowned in Ontario this year and cautions everyone to focus on water safety during this peak drowning season. To date, 2014 drownings include a staggering increase in boating fatalities (+90%) and a significant increase in those who fell into the water (+71%) – 19 people drowned while boating (versus 10 in 2013 to date) and 12 people who were near or on water and fell in (versus 7 in 2013).

This means 66% of people who have drowned this year did not even intend to be in the water.

The Society encourages people of all ages to be prepared for an unexpected entry into the water by wearing a lifejacket when boating and learning how to swim.
 
"It was a slow start to summer this year with much colder water. Unexpectedly falling into the water is completely different than diving in or choosing to enter the water," says Barbara Byers, Public Education Director with the Lifesaving Society. "You need to be prepared. The shock of falling into water when the water is cold can cause a person to gasp and inhale water and unless they are a strong swimmer and able to survive that experience, drowning can occur very quickly."

The Society recommends that all passengers in a boat wear a lifejacket and that all Canadians be able to achieve at least the Swim to Survive standard to ensure they can survive an unexpected fall into deep water.



 

Does your Community Group or Organization Need a Guest Speaker?

South Huron Hospital Association/Grand Bend & Area CHC

 SPEAKER’S BUREAU

One-stop shop” for dynamic, expert healthcare speakers at no cost

SHHA/ GBACHC now has a group of expert staff available for guest speaking opportunities at your community organization, club or even business session

Speakers can speak on topics such as:

• social issues (parenting, anxiety, bullying)
• health promotion
• hospital services available
• infection prevention
• Current events/ health topics in the media
• Aging at Home (home safety, fall prevention etc)
• Quitting Smoking
• Diabetes/ Weight Management
• And many more!

 If you are interested in having a speaker come to your event/ meeting, please contact South Huron Hospital Association at 519-235-2700 x5169 or shha.administration@shha.on.ca

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to South Huron Hospital Association's Blog

At South Huron Hospital Association, we are passionate about what we do.

For us, providing high-quality health care is not just our job, it's our commitment to improving the health and wellness of our community. Our staff is dedicated to ensuring that you receive excellent service in a caring atmosphere that understands your needs. We want you to be a part of your patient experience and feel connected to our organization.

That's why we created this blog. We want you to see the human side of SHHA, and understand that the hospital is more than just four walls. It's a living, breathing organism with deep roots in the South Huron Community.

Our blog will keep you connected to the latest news and events at South Huron Hospital Association, and communicate information regarding healthcare topics. This blog will embrace social media and engage patients and community members to be a part of our commitment to the promotion of health and provision of high quality care.

Thanks for visiting, and be sure to subscribe so that you can follow us as we explore new topics on future blogs!