The Times Advocate, 2007-08-01, Page 11Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Exeter Times -Advocate
11
STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART - In the photo are Bob Gehan, Campaign Manager, Barry Miller, Campaign Team, Kim Perrier, Branch Manager, Jim DeBlock, Board
Director and Jim Lynn, Executive Vice President. (photo/submitted)
Heartland Credit Union on board for a healthy community
A donation of $35,000 was presented to the South Huron Hospital
Association on July 27, 2007.
The donation from Heartland Credit Union brings the fundraising total to
$912,000, just over 70% of their overall goal.
South Huron Hospital serves approximately 19,000 people from the com-
munities of South Huron, Bluewater, North Lambton and North Middlesex.
The $35,000 donation will be used to sponsor one of the "clinic rooms" locat-
ed in the hospital. This room will house visiting specialists in order to treat
patients closer to home. Over 4,000 patients will utilize the room each year.
"Being part of a project that enhances health care in our local area and
makes much needed services more accessible is something we take great
pride in. Health and wellness is one of our key areas of focus for corporate
giving and this project is a perfect match" states Jim DeBlock, Board
Director.
About Heartland Credit Union — Heartland Credit Union is a community-
based and community -oriented full service financial institution. With a
merger on January 1, 2006 with Woodslee Credit we now serve 33,000 mem-
bers with 175 employees, over $500 million in assets under administration,
and 10 branches throughout Southwestern Ontario. More information is
available at www.heartlandcommunitycu.on.ca or www.woodslee.com.
One patient - one chart, records now stored electronically
We have embarked on a journey here
at South Huron Hospital Association
(SHHA) that like most journeys has a
defined end point — One Patient — One
Chart. Unlike most other journeys I have
embarked on, the trip is just as exciting
as the destination.
As an Emergency Department nurse, I
was asked to lead this project. Little did I
know how much I didn't know and just
how much I was about to learn. The
people I have met along this first leg of
the journey are truly amazing. We are
all committed to improving patient care
beyond what most of us can even cur-
rently imagine.
The vision of the future of our health
care is exciting. SHHA is focused on
bringing state of the art health care to
our community. We are striving to pro-
vide the residents of this small rural com-
munity with the same level of health care
as our fellow Ontarians in larger urban
centers; with the convenience of remain-
ing in your own familiar back yard.
Before SHHA implemented an electron-
ic patient record, your medical informa-
tion was recorded on paper and stored in
a health records file. The information
stored there was available to health care
providers within the facility at anytime.
As of January 2007, at which time
SHHA formed a partnership with other
local hospital within the region and
implemented the Electronic Patient
Record, your medical information contin-
ues to be stored as a "medical chart" but
is in a computer instead of on paper.
The benefit of this change is that your
medical information is available to health
care practitioners from all disciplines i.e.
Doctors, Nurse Practitioners,
Pharmacists etc. outside of the organiza-
tion which will better enable them to
treat you. For example, you have an
appointment with a specialist at a hospi-
tal in London and you are required to
have blood tests and an x-ray completed
before your appointment date. Having
information stored in an electronic
patient record allows for the doctors in
London to view any x-rays or tests you
had at SHHA and make plans for your
care before you ever arrive to your
appointment. This will only serve to
improve your health care and that is our
focus.
SHHA is currently linked with London
and area hospitals. Eventually all
Ontario hospitals will be linked, so your
patient information will be more readily
available. Although your health record is
more accessible, it continues to be very
well protected as there are strict regula-
tions protecting your privacy.
Please come join us on this truly amaz-
ing journey, you will be astonished by
what we can accomplish together for
each other. Your support has been
inspiring, your continued patience with
our growing pains appreciated.
We are looking forward to the destina-
tion, I hope you are too.
SHEONA BAKER,
Emergency Department RN
At left: Sheona Baker, Clinical IT
Application Specialist and Mary
McCrae, Registration.
(photo/submitted)
Why do I have to register every time I come to the hospital
Each visit you make to SHHA is unique and must be recorded in our
computer system. When you visit the hospital for an appointment we
ask that you stop by our registration department so we can update our
database. To reduce delays it is also important to ensure your health
card is up-to-date. Our database, which contains over 1.5
billion patients, is linked and shared with other hospitals
in the region so the need for correct information is very -
important.
If you visit the hospital often, you may wonder why you must provide
your information with every visit. Even though there is a small amount
of time between each visit, and your information has not changed, we
are still required to record your visit in the computer. Funding for
health care organizations is based on the amount of patients seen and
services provided. If patients do not register the information is not
included with our required statistics. As you see this would be impor-
tant in ensuring that our programs continue to be funded.
If you have an appointment it is important you register so that the sys-
tem, as well as the department you are scheduled to visit is aware that
you have arrived for your appointment. Sometimes you may be
required to provide some of your personal information again. This is
necessary to ensure the department is attaching your medical informa-
tion to the correct visit date and time. All of these steps
ensure the most accurate medical record is being
maintained for you.
— SHHA is very excited about the implementation of
the Electronic Patient Record and would like to thank
you for your cooperation. We are continually looking for ways to
improve the process to make your hospital visit as smooth as possible.
The Little Hospital That
Contact the South Huron Hospital Association
South Huron Hospital Foundation
24 Huron St. W. • Exeter, Ont., NOM 1 S2 • 235-2700, ext 5133
shha.foundation@shha.on.ca