(Left to right) TWH Security Charge Guard Brine Hamilton, TPS Police Chief Mark Saunders, Sarah Miller, Kathy Bates, and Constable Kevin Ward at the March 7 Investiture Ceremony that also recognized Sarah’s efforts for the TWH ED clothing drive. (Photo: Kathy Bates)
Partners in Care – Community group partners with TWH ED to clothe discharged patients
In early March, the 22 Division Toronto Police Service Rover Crew were recognized for establishing an ongoing clothing drive to collect clothes for patients to wear when they are discharged from the Toronto Western Hospital's Emergency Department (TWH ED).
The TWH ED cares for a large and diverse patient population, which includes many homeless individuals and people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Many of these patients are admitted without the right clothes for the weather, or are wearing clothes that are soiled, worn out or parasite infested. Although staff often donate clothes to the department, reserves of good quality items often run low.
Sarah Miller, Co-Chair of the 22 Division Toronto Police Service Rover Crew and Police Foundations student at Humber College, heard about the struggle to meet this need through her father, Gord Miller, who works in TWH Security.
"I just thought this was so sad and wondered if there was something someone could do," Sarah says. "And then I thought 'I'm a someone' and maybe there's an opportunity to help make a difference.
"I didn't have a lot of time and I didn't have any money, but as a Co-Chair of the 22 Division Toronto Police Service Rover Crew, I did have access to a lot of people," she recalls.
Sarah and her group of 120 volunteers were connected with Kathy Bates, Nurse Manager, TWH ED, in October 2015 and went about setting up a system for TWH to receive regular clothing donations. The volunteer group, under the supervision of several officers and other police personnel from the Toronto Police Service, acquired clothes through outreach efforts in the community, Humber College, and among friends and family.
Since October, Sarah's team has brought a car load full of clothes per month to TWH. Hospital volunteers then sort through the donations and put them in a designated area where staff can access the items when needed.
"Kathy was essential in the success of this program," says Sarah. "It's one thing for us to get the clothes but there needs to be a way to intake them once we bring the donations to the hospital, and she made that happen."
Kathy presented the team with a certificate of recognition at the recent investiture ceremony held at the Toronto Police College on March 7. The partnership will be kept up with the program being passed on to future members of the 22 Division Toronto Police Service Rover Crew to maintain.
Health Information Professionals Week
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre employees Diana Palkowski-Sit, (L) a Chart Completion Analyst, and Pamela Jenkins, a Clerical Coordinator, at the hospital’s Health Information Management (HIM) booth on Monday as part of the week dedicated to this group of healthcare professionals. (Photo: UHN)
UHN is celebrating Health Information Professionals Week (March 14-18th, 2016). It's an opportunity to showcase the thousands of Health Information Management (HIM) professionals who perform their duties masterfully throughout the year.
Health Information Management (HIM) encompasses a wide scope of practice through various roles drawing from the core skill sets learned in an accredited HIM program.
All HIM opportunities have as their core, managing health information regardless of format (paper, electronic, mixed media), creator (physician, nurse, physiotherapist etc.), or purpose (for care, for research, for funding, etc.).
This year's theme is HIM by the Book. HIM is all about maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of personal health information within four key domains of practice: Data Quality, Privacy, eHIM, and Health Information Management standards.
For more information, click
here.
Do you have more questions about the HIM field? Health Record processes? Release of information? Come join us!
Drop by and meet some representatives from UHN Health Records at our Health Information Management booths:
Monday, March 14, Princess Margaret, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Tuesday, March 15, Toronto General Hospital, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Wednesday, March 16, Princess Margaret, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Thursday, March 17, Toronto Rehab, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Friday, March 18, Toronto Rehab, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Making exercise easy
Wellness is introducing a new membership to give staff more access to UHN Wellness spaces. Now you can practice your upward facing dog yoga pose at any time. (Photo: UHN Wellness)
UHN Wellness' is introducing its New VIP Membership that takes effect April 1, 2016. Each of the three offered membership levels allows access to all of UHN Wellness' spaces, all the time.
"My Time" $2/pay
- 24/7 access to TGH Gerrard workout space,
- 24/7 access to Oasis Wellness Centre Lounge (TGH)
- 24/7 bookable access to Oasis Studio Space for personal training
- 24/7 access to UHN Wellness Studio + Meditation Lounge (TWH)
"Flex It" $7/pay
- Unlimited access to all calendar Group Exercise Classes
- All the benefits of "My Time" membership
"Pump It" $9/pay
- Access to UHN Employee Fitness Centre at Med-West (Dundas/Bathurst)
- Alternative space to workout when Fitness Centre is closed from 9pm-7am at UHN Wellness Studio at TWH or TGH Gerrard space
- All the benefits of "Flex It" and "My Time"
For more information, or to register, please contact UHN Wellness at
wellness@uhn.ca
