The North Wellington Health Care (NWHC) board of directors met on Feb. 14 to discuss capital and quality improvement planning.
The board approved the third-year Quality Improvement Plan for the hospital which includes a number of new indicators.
“NWHC’s Quality Improvement Plan is one tool that we are using to help us document and review our current performance in a variety of areas,” Jerome Quenneville, NWHC president and CEO, said in a press release.
David Craig, NWHC board chair, added, “The Quality Improvement Plan provides excellent evidence of the ongoing improvements in quality in our local health care delivery. There is a portion of senior staff member’s compensation linked to continuing to perform well on these quality measures.”
The new plan becomes effective on April 1, and will be posted on the NWHC hospital website www.nwhealthcare.ca. The previous two plans are currently posted on the website with the results.
A new senior-friendly strategy was also endorsed by the hospital board. The strategy includes a new Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) targeted at seniors staying in the hospital. Seniors are provided added supports to help avoid the on-set of delirium and promote healthier habits of mobility as well as social support
Quenneville explains, “With a growing number of seniors in our community the hospital continues to work to better meet the needs on more than a medical perspective.”
The capital equipment budget for the coming year was also approved by the board, which included a long list of items contingent on support from community donations through the Louise Marshall Hospital and Palmerston and District Hospital Foundations.
The hospital also receives some targeted dollars for building and limited equipment dollars that are “far from the total need,” states the NWHC board in a Feb. 22 press release.
“NWHC hospitals will benefit from nearly $1.5 million in new equipment if all items set out as priority for the coming year are funded.”
The NWHC hospital board was pleased to learn the Minto Rural Health Centre received support from the Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integrated Network (WWLHIN) board of directors on Jan. 31.
The Minto Rural Health Centre is a proposed 11,000 square foot building to be located at the Palmerston and District Hospital site. WWLHIN approval is required as the hospital property is affected and some hospital resources will be used in financing the proposed development. Further design and planning will be done in the next few months, as well as work with the capital branch of the Ministry of Health to ensure this project continues to move forward.
Work is progressing with the next phase of the capital planning at both NWHC hospitals for medical education space and the Louise Marshall Hospital emergency room and ambulatory care project.
North Wellington Health Care is also redesigning and updating its website. Officials sat the new website is expected to be easier to navigate.
