Horizon Star - March 2021

Horizon Star - March 2021

Meet the Disability Management team Supporting employees with injury or illness Page 7

Special bond Sisters, sisters-in-law and sisters in transplant Page 9

Pandemic history through poetry How the past shapes the present Page 13

Issue No. 25, Vol. 6 March 2021

A publication for the staff of Horizon Health Network

On the map: How a group of internationally- educated nurses made their way to Horizon — and what they learned along the way Page 19

Friendship, Care and Dedication: Five nurses share experiences of working together for over 30 years Page 6 Stitched with love:Wife of Palliative Care patient quilts for future patients and families Page 10

Contents

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Special bond: Sisters, sisters-in-law and sisters in transplant

The Moncton Hospital staff give back to the vulnerable Join Horizon’s SANE team to help care for domestic abuse victims

A shot of hope at Horizon’s health care worker COVID-19 vaccination clinics

Friendship, Care and Dedication: Five nurses share experiences of working together for over 30 years

Meet Horizon’s Disability Management team and learn how they support employees with injury or illness

Research findings from Horizon’s Saint John Therapeutics project published in national journal

Stitched with love: Wife of palliative care patient quillts for future patients

Horizon, NBMS partner on physician wellness project at the DECRH Annual Sussex Health Centre PJ Drive a success

SOCIAL SHOUT- OUT Social Shout-Out 15

On the map: How a group of internationally-educated nurses made their way to Horizon — and what they learned along the way 19

Welcome to the Horizon Storefront! 20

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How the past shapes the present: A look at New Brunswick’s pandemic history through poetry

#ResearchAtHorizon: Collaboration wins top NBHRF honours

Helpful practices to promote self-compassion

Resilience among health care workers during COVID-19

New career, new work-life balance in New Brunswick

On our cover: From left: Colleagues Christina (Tina) Christopher, Janabelle (Jana) Pama, June Panadero and Kriselle (Ellie) Laude pictured at Horizon’s Saint John Regional Hospital in March.

In Every Issue Message from CEO Editor’s Note Colleagues’ Corner Look Who’s Shining

This magazine is published by Horizon Health Network’s Communications Department, and is distributed free of charge to Horizon staff, physicians and volunteers. A French version can be found online at fr.horizonnb.ca. Editor: GinaBeth Roberts Design and layout: Hudson Creative Agency Printed by: Advocate Printing Please send comments and/or story ideas to [email protected] .

A welcome note from the editor

Dear Staff, Physicians and Volunteers, It’s hard to believe it’s been over a year since COVID-19 became part of our daily lives — personally and professionally. It was on March 11, 2020 that the World Health Organization declared a COVID-19 pandemic, and it was on that same day Dr. Jennifer Russell, our Chief Medical Officer of Health, announced our first presumptive (and later, confirmed) case. From there, much of the world went into quarantine — while you all stepped up to the unknown challenges in front of you in an ever-changing health care world.

A shot of hope

Welcome to the 25th edition of the Horizon Star! The 25th — or silver — birthday or anniversary of anything is quite a milestone, and I cannot thank you all enough for the support and encouragement I’ve received in creating 25 issues of this publication over the past five years. A huge thank you to everyone who has contributed to its success – everyone who has submitted, written, edited, translated, designed and read stories, and especially those who’ve agreed to be photographed. Together, we’ve created 453 pages of stories (double that, when you consider the French version), and without all of you, the Horizon Star would simply not exist. It is truly a Horizon-wide publication. With competing COVID-19 priorities across the organization over the last year, it wasn’t easy getting here: we’ve adjusted publishing dates, scaled back on pages, and removed some of the more interactive features. But, it was definitely worth it! Both analytics and anecdotal feedback tell me more of you are reading more of the Star than ever before, so I am so happy we can continue to share your stories with your colleagues across the organization, no matter the format. As we continue to respond to COVID-19 throughout 2021, we’ll keep adjusting as necessary. I hope you’ll continue to reach me at HorizonStar@ HorizonNB.ca with new ideas. Happy reading,

at Horizon’s health care worker COVID-19 vaccination clinics The Government of New Brunswick (GNB) announced in December its New Brunswick Immunization Plan for COVID-19.

Hospital, Saint John Regional Hospital and The Moncton Hospital. As of March 23, 2021, over 8,000 Horizon staff and physicians have received their first dose of a COVID vaccine. Thank you to all Horizon teams who are working together to make all of our vaccination clinics a major success, as well as our partners at Vitalité Health Network, New Brunswick Public Health and many more!

And since then, we’ve all had a role to play in getting where we are today: vaccinating New Brunswickers, ourselves included. Our vaccination rollout has really ramped up over the past few weeks and we’ll see this continue in the months to come, as set out in the Government of New Brunswick’s updated vaccine rollout plan. As of mid-March, we’ve sent 14,000 prioritized

Since then, Horizon has been busy establishing COVID-19 vaccination clinics and vaccinating employees and physicians (health care workers), when eligible, who are actively working in our facilities. Clinics for health care workers have been set-up at Horizon’s Miramichi Regional Hospital, Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional

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Karen McGrath President and CEO vaccination appointment invitations to Horizon employees and physicians (health care workers) who are actively working in our facilities. Thousands have already received one or two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and this number will continue to increase as many more clinics are planned. This is no small feat. We’ve also helped with clinics for staff and residents of long-term care and First Nations, first responders, allied health professionals and adults with complex medical conditions. While being vaccinated doesn’t change our Public Health and Infection Prevention and Control directives, I do hope it provides you a much-needed shot of hope. Despite this positive news, it’s normal to feel many different emotions – good and bad. In a video, the North American Center for Threat Assessment and Trauma Response explains how “trauma is stored in the body and that the body remembers anniversaries even if the conscious mind does not” and provides brain-based strategies for supporting your mental health and those around you. An interesting perspective, for sure. At next month’s Board meeting (April 15), Horizon will release its new strategic plan with three strategic priorities, each with several objectives. We will share more information with staff and physicians ahead of the Board meeting, as we recognize how important it is for staff and physicians at all levels of the organization to see where they fit within the plan. As such, you will hear much more about our strategic plan, priorities and objectives in the coming weeks and months. As you may have heard, I recently announced my plans to retire, which will be effective as of January 16, 2022. I announced my retirement intentions at this time to provide the necessary notice to government, so the recruitment process can begin. The goal is to have a new leader hired to provide a seamless transition for all of you and our patients and clients. I remain dedicated to you and Horizon and I still have many goals to achieve in the coming months before this transition occurs. Sincerely,

GETTING VACCINATED AT…

GinaBeth Roberts Editor, Horizon Star

Horizon’s Saint John Regional Hospital

Horizon’s Miramichi Regional Hospital

Karen McGrath President and CEO Horizon Health Network

Horizon’s Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital

Horizon’s The Moncton Hospital

Colleagues Corner

Friendship, Care and Dedication: Five nurses share experiences of working together for over 30 years In the field of nursing it’s common for

Meet Horizon’s Disability Management team and learn how they support employees with injury or illness

patient and their family.” Rita said she chose to be a nurse because three of her friends were going into nursing. “It turned out to be the best decision of my life,” she said. “I love my job as a nurse and teacher and I love taking care of people. Kindness, caring, empathy and compassion are part of who we are.” They share their wisdom and depend on each other’s knowledge every day and through it all continue to put their patients’ health and

well-being first and strive to make them feel comfortable, regardless of the injury or illness. Carol Mason noted that there are two things she loves most about her job: “The people I work with (and the way we work together and support each other) and knowing that I made a difference for someone when I go home at the end of my shift.” “We are very fortunate to have worked together for so long,” said Michele, “and we are proud to be St. Joseph’s Hospital Urgent Care nurses!”

Disability management is an intentional and coordinated effort to mitigate the direct and indirect impacts of disability on employees, their families and their employers. Horizon’s Disability Management (DM) team provides support and resources for staff who are ill or injured at work or outside of work, and who require accommodation support. “When injury or illness occurs, our team provides absence and disability management programming to assist with the overall health of employees,” said Michèle Rankin, Horizon’s Regional Disability Manager. “We are here to educate, empower and support all employees to successfully navigate their journey from illness or injury, to wellness.” Occupational and non-occupational injury / illness Occupational injury / illness is a physical or psychological illness or injury that arises over the course of employment. A non-occupational injury / illness is a physical or psychological illness, injury or personal medical condition unrelated to work. Disability Management focuses on absences from work as a result of both occupational and non-occupational illness or injury, and on the prevention of risks that cause these absences through accommodation, prevention, and support for recovery. Research shows early intervention helps prevent long-term disability. That is why Horizon is committed to assisting its ill and injured employees to recover by providing options to support on-the-job rehabilitation and provide safe, gradual return-to-work programs, like the Direct Referrals to Physiotherapy Program available through a partnership between Horizon, WorkSafeNB and local physiotherapy clinics. When an occupational injury or illness occurs, Horizon’s Disability Management staff manage all reported work-related incidents. Information is reviewed, and documentation is submitted to WorkSafeNB for injury or illness claims in accordance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and WorkSafeNB policies. Short term absences due to non-occupational injury or illness are most often managed at the departmental level. When these absences grow in duration or complexity, DM is often contacted to provide support for both the employee and manager with absence management options, recover-at-work programs, and safe gradual return-to-work programs and accommodations. Duty to Accommodate Employers have a duty to accommodate. They are required by law to make every reasonable effort to accommodate an injured or ill employee. However, they are not required

Registered Nurses (RNs) to work in several different settings throughout their careers — there are often changes in positions, department and facilities. So, it is very special and rare to have five RNs that have been nursing together at one Horizon facility, in one department, for over 30 years! Carol Mason, Jackie Belyea, Carole Calnan, Rita Brown, and Michele Perkins-Stephen have been RNs at Horizon’s St. Joseph’s Hospital (St. Joe’s) Urgent Care Centre (formerly an Emergency Department) since the 1980s. This team of frontline heroes has worked together through many changes over the past three decades – most notably, the transition of their facility from a 24-hour fully-active Emergency Department (ED) to an Urgent Care Centre in the early 2000s. When they first began nursing at St. Joe’s, medical emergencies would arrive by ambulance to their ED. “Patients would come 24 hours a day to get the emergency care they needed and could be admitted to other units within the hospital,” said Michele. “That changed when the Emergency Department became the Urgent Care Centre (to avoid duplication of services with the newly built Saint John Regional Hospital).” It was a big adjustment for the team, Michele said, “but we adapted! Although our role changed, our commitment to our patients over the past 30+ years, and our desire to make a difference, has remained the same.” Gabrielle Smith, Nurse Manager, explained that like an ED, there are no “typical days” at the Urgent Care Centre — every day is unpredictable. Upon arrival, patients are assessed by an RN and given a triage number. Diagnostic procedures and medical treatments vary depending on the patient. Every patient’s needs are unique, and so are these five nurses. What makes them unique is not just their ability to adapt to this ever-changing environment, but their teamwork and friendship. “We have shared good times and bad, busy days and quiet days,” said Jackie. “My co- workers always have my back and coming to work is like coming to my second home. St. Joe’s is the best!” When asked what her favourite thing about working at St. Joe’s Urgent Care Centre is, Carole Calnan said: “the collaboration of care as a team, focusing on the well-being of the

From left: Robin Savoie, Disability Clerk; Michèle Rankin, Regional Disability Manager; and Brigitte Carter, Senior Disability Coordinator, Saint John Area, at Horizon’s Saint John Regional Hospital.

Graphic from: Government of Canada

to offer accommodations if it causes them “undue hardship,” taking into account factors such as financial costs, service disruption, health and safety concerns, and collective agreements. Although the employer has the primary responsibility to accommodate since the employer has control of the workplace, everyone has a role to play including the union and the employee: Employer: • Ensure employees are aware of their right to accommodation • Be informed on the employer’s legislated duty to accommodate and be able to review this with employees • Explore accommodation to the point of undue hardship and be willing to revisit and modify these as needs change • Demonstrate equal treatment of employees and respect employee confidentiality • Manage simple and straightforward accommodation requests independently • Consult with Human Resources or Disability Management on any questions that arise or to request assistance with more complex cases Employee: • Take preventative measures to ensure personal safety and wellness • Request accommodations when needed and suggest appropriate measures when possible • Provide medical documentation to support limitations and restrictions Union: • Provide employees with accommodation advice and guidance • Support accommodation measures regardless of the collective agreement, unless to do so would impose undue hardship The DM team offers guidance, tools and expertise to support employees and managers through successful recover-at-work, return-to- work and workplace accommodation plans by exploring a number of different options, such as modified duties, alternate work, and more. The DM team has resources available to provide assistance in each major facility across Horizon.

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From left: April Leet, Junior Disability Coordinator, Fredericton/URV &Moncton reas and Jaime Maynard, Senior Disability Coordinator, Moncton Area, at Horizon’s The Moncton Hospital.

Carol Mason, Jackie Belyea, Carole, Calnan, Rita Brown and Michele Perkins-Stephen have worked together as Registered Nurses and friends at St. Joseph’s Hospital Urgent Care Centre for over 30 years.

From left: Lacey Melanson, Disability Clerk and Kim Currie, Senior Disability Coordinator, Fredericton & URV Area, at Horizon’s Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital.

Lisa Connors, Junior Disability Coordinator, Miramichi & Saint John Areas at Horizon’s Miramichi Regional Hospital.

KimberlyWilliston, Senior Disability Coordinator, Miramichi Area at Horizon’s Miramichi Regional Hospital.

Front to back: Rita Brown, Michel Perkins-Stephen, Jackie Belyea, Carole Calnan and Carol Mason.

Want to tell your colleagues about the services you provide for patients and staff throughout Horizon? Email [email protected] .

Research findings from Horizon’s Saint John Therapeutics project published in national journal

Special bond: Sisters, sisters-in-law and sisters in transplant

Linda Duncan, a nursing unit clerk at Horizon’s Saint John Regional Hospital (SJRH), jumped on the opportunity to go from being a Horizon employee to a Horizon patient. In 2020, Linda’s sister Sandy became ill with a recurring Clostridium Difficile Colitis (C. Diff) infection. When asked, Linda, who has been part of the Horizon team for 32 years, did not hesitate to help her sister. “When Dr. Jacquelyn LeBlanc, an infectious disease specialist asked me (to do a fecal transplant), I replied with, “Do you mean a poop transplant?’” Linda laughed as she said how unique it sounds. Linda and Sandy have a special sisterhood. They are sisters by blood, but they are also sister-in-laws, having married the Duncan brothers 47 and 49 years ago. Throughout the years the Duncan family has experienced a lot, but in March of 2020, they embarked on one of their most challenging experiences. For many, March 2020 brings back thoughts of the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Brunswick, but for the Duncan sisters the month also marks Sandy’s breast cancer diagnosis. In April, Sandy underwent lumpectomy surgery. “Since it was day surgery, she didn’t need to stay in the hospital, which we were thankful for, due to COVID-19 restrictions,” said Linda. “But in the months following surgery, Sandy wasn’t feeling well, and she needed to be admitted to the hospital in July for C. Diff.” C. diff can cause symptoms ranging from diarrhea to life-threatening inflammation of the colon. The Duncan sisters anticipated a short

call themselves to book an appointment at a time convenient for them, with high priority patients receiving priority appointments,” said Becky. “The small change made a big impact in administrative efficiency.” A few months into the implementation of OAB, a University of New Brunswick professor and applied psychologist, Dr. David Speed, who was looking to conduct advanced studies in the area of OAB, began working with Becky and Shelly Fyffe, former Horizon Process Improvement Facilitator, to analyze the findings of the OAB project, beginning with OT >Page 1 Page 2-3 Page 4-5 Page 6-7 Page 8-9 Page 10-11 Page 12-13 Page 14-15 Page 16-17 Page 18-19 Page 20

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