A message from Maureen – Bayshore’s leadership during COVID-19
As always, we put safety first. Building on our existing infection prevention and control practices (IPAC), we implemented a personal protective equipment (PPE) safety mentorship program when the pandemic began. This is a key reason why our staff have felt safe on the job, and why our COVID-19 infection rate has been extremely low.
The pandemic has taken a physical and emotional toll on everyone, especially front-line health workers. As part of our clinical engagement strategy, we launched Stick It to COVID-19, a campaign to engage our health-care providers and other team members in a dialogue about their pandemic experience and their safety and well-being. The campaign included “Let’s Talk, Bayshore,” a series of panel sessions open to all staff. Held virtually between January and March, the first six sessions were detailed discussions about COVID-19 vaccines. The seventh focused on mental health and well-being. Almost 1,500 employees attended these sessions.
We also advocated for vaccine clinics for our front-line health workers. Along with other home care service providers, we urged the Ontario Ministry of Health to provide vaccine clinics for home care workers. In May, we ran two sites over 20 clinic days and 1,670 vaccinations were given.
I participated in a number of virtual COVID-related panel discussions last year, including a Children’s Healthcare Canada panel about the needs of our children and families during the pandemic; a talk about learnings from the home sector at the BC Care Providers Association conference (September); and a discussion of COVID-19’s impact on wound care patients at the Wounds Canada conference (October). In May 2021, I joined a panel discussion about ethical issues facing the health-care sector in the wake of COVID-19, at a virtual event hosted by the Canadian Centre for Ethics & Corporate Policy and the Ted Rogers Leadership Centre at Ryerson University.
We’re also implementing a Patient and Family Engagement Strategy and Patient Engagement Framework, built on respect, information sharing, participation and collaboration. A key part of this initiative is a new Patient Family Advisory Council (PFAC), involving past patients and family members, who will provide advice to help us enhance the patient care experience and achieve exceptional care together. We’re very excited about this initiative, and recruitment for council members is underway.
Finally, with the vaccine roll-out well underway across Canada, brighter days are ahead. I wish you and your family the best of health.
Maureen Charlebois
Chief Nursing and Clinical Officer
Bayshore HealthCare