Anne McGuire is President and CEO of the IWK Health Centre.
As the New Year is upon us, I would like to reflect on this past year and highlight some of the accomplishments, challenges and fun we have had.
Anne McGuire, President & CEO, IWK Health Centre, Robert Richardson, Board Chair, IWK Board of Directors and Kevin McNamara, Deputy Minister of Health and Wellness.
To begin, this past year saw many accomplishments for the IWK Health Centre. As an organization, the IWK relies heavily on our donors and to that point, we received a generous donation both from the Sidney Crosby Foundation (through the IWK Foundation) and the IWK Auxiliary which funded the renovation and expansion of the IWK Teen Lounge. The renovated lounge has an additional 250 square feet, which allows more patients and visitors. Additionally, it is more accessible for patients in wheelchairs and hospital beds. Updating the teen lounge has been a dream for patients, families and staff at the IWK for several years – so the renovation this spring was much anticipated.
In May 2011, the IWK received a visit from an Accreditation Canada Survey team and the Health Centre received a 97 per cent compliance rate. While this is something we are extremely proud of, the IWK continually works to improve our services and ensure the safety of all our patients. Thanks to a committed team, we received 315 new Smart Pumps in ambulatory care and inpatient areas throughout the Health Centre in June. These new Smart Pumps complement the 142 Smart Pumps previously purchased through the support of the IWK Foundation.
I must mention that this past year has been a challenging one for staff, budgets, and our organization as a whole. In efforts to seek new cost saving measures for the Health Centre, an initiative known as Program Budgeting Marginal Analysis (PBMA) was launched. This project supports a framework that will help the IWK make complex resource allocation decisions that maximize the value of each dollar spent in the delivery of patient care.
In addition to our business initiatives, we have also had some fun this year. It was certainly the year of the floats! As an organization, we created two parade floats; PrideHealth, a partnership between IWK Primary Health and Capital Health Primary Health, created a float in the spring for the Pride Parade, and a float was created for the 16th Annual Chronicle Herald Holiday Parade of Lights by IWK Public Relations Department in partnership with the IWK Foundation. I rode along with IWK employees, friends and families on both floats. It was great for the community to see us out there, and I had a wonderful time.
Also, as part of our Diversity & Inclusion Strategy here at the IWK, we are working to include artwork throughout the Health Centre that better reflects the diverse populations we serve. In order to do this, a call to the community was put out, and I am happy to report that we received an overwhelming response and now, there are photos featuring diverse families from our community throughout the Health Centre as well.
I would like to wish you all the best this year. The IWK is known as a centre for excellence throughout the Maritimes, and across Canada. As we move into 2012, we know that we will have new accomplishments to celebrate, new challenges to experience and some more fun to be had!
Happy Holidays & Happy New Year.
