Kim Carter (c), Coordinator of Infection Prevention and Control, North Bay General Hospital receives a certificate for the work she and her department did during the E. coli outbreak.
Kim Carter (c), Coordinator of Infection Prevention and Control, North Bay General Hospital receives a certificate for the work she and her department did during the E. coli outbreak.
Helping return a kidnapped baby to her parents, bringing a young man electrocuted with vital signs absent back to life, or reacting quickly to the e. coli outbreak are just a few of the herculean tasks that frontline emergency workers and hospital staff faced this past year and truthfully they face each and every day.
This week the Hospital held a special ceremony to honour several staff members who didn’t blink in the face of crisis and carried out their duties which had results that were truly positive.
In a news release NBGH President and CEO Mark Hurst said every day he is proud of the staff at the hospital and their many wonderful accomplishments.
"Staff at the hospital are the unsung heroes. The community doesn't always hear about the wonderful things that happen each and every day, or only hear a part of the story. We wanted to draw some attention to some of the amazing stories we've had this year," Hurst says.
Board Chair Alain Perron agrees telling BayToday that although many might say the staff was doing what they are supposed to do -- their jobs, Perron says it is their professionalism and dedication that turned potential tragic circumstances into positive outcomes.
“To put two and two together ... that call to the police was instrumental in getting that baby back to her parents,” he says of Birthing Unit RN's Donna Kelly, Leslie Lacelle & Anne Gervais- whose help during an Amber Alert helped return a kidnapped baby from Sudbury Regional Hospital to her parents.
“It is not only a role (of staff) it is team work ... and we have the right systems in place ... they were tested and we know they work. Like the E. coli outbreak there were systems in place tracked this it was caught and dealt with, yes it was a bad outbreak, but like Dr. Chirico says it could have be a lot worse.”
“We haven’t recognized them in a number of years,” He continued.
“We need to recognise our staff and this is the start of many other things we have staff appreciation luncheons and everything but these are specific events where people need it to be said thank you. We don’t often do that, we hear about it at the board table but now it is time for the public to know the great accomplishments that these people do.”
Also honoured for their efforts in the health of the community were:
* Paramedics Denis Vezina, Richard LeBeau, Stephanie Carrier, Franco Tignanelli, Jim Mason- attended a scene where a 25 year old was electrocuted while at work. He was absent of vital signs when paramedics arrived. The Paramedics brought him back to life and the young man is now back to work.
* North Bay Central Ambulance Communications Centre (CACC) staff members Nancy Smith, Sandy South, Christine Corbeil, Jennifer Durham-Recipients of the Provincial CACC Outstanding Achievement Award for 2007/2008
* Rapid Assessment of Critical Events (RACE team)- All the RNs in CCU (28 RNs) All the Respiratory Therapists (11 RTs)- this pilot project with the Ministry of Health is keeping patients out of the Critical Care Unit
* Dr. Joseph Madden, Paediatrician and NBGH Chief of Staff-Recipient of Rotary's Paul Harris Fellowship Award.
* NBGH Staff involved in the e. coli outbreak: North Bay General Hospital Staff/Managers/Admin-on-Call; Laboratory Staff; Emergency Department Staff & Physicians; Environmental Services Staff; Infection Prevention and Control Staff; Patient Registration/Bed Allocation; Nursing Units: 3East Scollard Medicine; 3W Scollard Medicine; 4W Scollard Medicine; 5W Scollard Surgery; 6W Scollard Surgery; 4E McLaren Peds/Gyne-This dedicated group of staff played very important roles in identifying, responding, treating and caring for patients during the on-going e. coli outbreak.
