Greater Edmonton Health Advisory Council Thursday, Nov 25, 2014 Planning Portion 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Public Portion 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. Room 2F.110 A/B Kaye Edmonton Clinic, 11400 University Ave Edmonton, AB MINUTES Council Members: Ms. Brenda Chomey (Chair), Ms. Winnie Bogosoff, Ms. Crystal Krueger, Mr. Barry Phillips, Ms. Sheila Raffray, Mr. J. L. Tymko, Ms. Edith Baranieki, Mr. Alexander Kuznetsov, Ms. Teresa O Riordan, Ms. Cora Dootjes Alberta Health Services: Public: Regrets: Ms. Deb Gordon, Dr. David Mador, Ms. Cathy Osborn, Dr. Stewart Hamilton, Dr, Dylan Taylor, Dr, James Silvius, Ms. Carleen Brenneis, Ms. Naomi Shopland Ms. Sandra Woitas (Vice Chair) Ms. Sarah Hassen Parker, Ms. Brenda St. Germain, Ms. Donna Fausak Agenda Item Discussion Action Welcome and Introductions Ms. Brenda Chomey, chair, welcomed Advisory Council members to the meeting and thanked everybody for convening early. The order of business will start with Council committee work, followed by AHS Edmonton Zone senior leaders and public participation at 6:30 p.m. 1. Approval of Agenda Moved by Ms. Chomey, seconded by Ms. Teresa O Riordan, that the agenda of Thursday, November 25, 2014 be approved. MOTION CARRIED. 2. Approval of Minutes Moved by Mr. Tymko, seconded by Ms. Bogosoff, that the minutes of Thursday, May 15, 2014 and Thursday, September 25, 2014 be approved with the correction of the spelling of Ms. Bararniecki s last name. MOTION CARRIED.
3. Business Arising 3.1. Scheduling of Future Council Meetings Historically, the Greater Council meets every third Thursday of every second month except for a two month break in the summertime. Ms. Chomey moved that this schedule be maintained for 2015/2016. Ms. Bergosoff seconded the motion. MOTION CARRIED. 3.2. Recommendations and Directions for Committees, Terms of Reference 3.2.1. Program Action Planning 2014/15 Council Priorities The 2015/2016 work plan must be completed and approved before April 01, 2015, which is the beginning of the fiscal year. The 2014/2015 work plan will be distributed to council members to prepare them for the creation of the 2015/2016 work plan, as well as ensure that the Council is meeting the agreed-upon targets. Ms. Shopland to distribute 2014/2015 work plan to Council members. Community Affairs Engagement Opportunities, Farmer s Markets, Other Community Events There was discussion regarding the various engagement opportunities in the area. Ms. Chomey has requested that Council members brainstorm possible opportunities and events that the Council could attend, in order to increase awareness and gain community feedback. Communications Draft Communications/Awarene ss Campaign for Health Advisory Councils Social Media Opportunities Ms. Raffrey has agreed to take the lead on this committee. She suggested that there be a greater connection between the Council and the Edmonton Zone Communications team in order to increase awareness of the Council. Ms. Shopland informed the Council that Ms. Kerri Robins, a Senior Communications Advisor with Foundation Relations has begun writing and publishing stories about the HACs in the AHS Zone News publication. It was decided that there should be a story written about the Homeless Connect which could be published in Zone News. Ms. Shopland to contact Ms. Robins about writing an article about Homeless Connect. 2 P a g e
4. New Business 4.1. Edmonton Zone Updates Dr. David Mador, Vice President and Medical Director, Northern Alberta Deb Gordon, Vice President and Chief Health Operations Officer, Northern Alberta Dr. Mador reported that the flu vaccine campaign is in full swing and the current number of vaccinations is 926,527. There were 1.2 million people vaccinated during the last flu season. This year, it is projected that 2 million people in the Edmonton Zone will be vaccinated by the end of the season. This figure includes those receiving their vaccination from their pharmacist. Dr. Mador also described a tool on the Alberta Health Services website that allows someone to enter the name of a community and it will list the locations that provide the flu vaccine. Dr. Mador also gave an update on Alberta Health Services disaster preparedness, specifically the concern of Ebola. The threat of Ebola reaching Alberta is quite low, but AHS has taken measure to ensure that they are prepared. The University of Alberta Hospital is fully equipped and staffed to treat patients with Ebola. There are also specially equipped ambulances that will be able to transport Ebola patients safely while containing the virus. AHS has also implemented an Ebola hotline so that people can call if they have symptoms, or questions regarding the virus. AHS has recently closed their search for a new laboratory services provider and have made the decision to go with the Australian company Sonic HealthCare. Sonic is an international company with labs in Europe and the US. The current AHS lab services provider, DynaLife DX is appealing the decision. Most changes won t happen for approximately two years. A new Electronic Medical Records system is being rolled out throughout the province. Ambulatory buildings will be included in the first stage of the rollout. The vision is to have everyone on the same system to ensure continuity and that patients may be able to access their record from home, in the future. 3 P a g e
Presentation Kaye Edmonton Clinic Cathy Osborn, Senior Operating Officer, University of Alberta Hospital/Mazankowski Heart Institute/Kaye Edmonton Clinic Dr. Stewart Hamilton, Associate Zone Medical Director & co- Facility Medical Director for UAH/MAH/ KEC Dr. Dylan Taylor, Associate Zone Medical Director & co- Facility Medical Director for Ms. Osborn gave a comprehensive overview of the Kaye Edmonton Clinic (KEC) and the Walter Mackenzie Centre (WMC). The WMC is a tertiary care centre that has 7,500 employees, 1,200 physicians, and over 1,000 volunteers. There is a very successful transplant program which does 299 solid organ transplants in a year. The emergency department sees 115,000 patients annually. The facility is equipped with hybrid operating rooms where a room is capable of becoming an operating room. It also has a gamma knife and intersurgical MRI. The KEC provides ambulatory care, diagnostics, and is also a teaching facility. It opened in July 2012 and has received many design awards. Patient Advisors were consulted during the planning of the facility in order to create a space that kept patient centred care at the forefront. There are quite a large number of students that come through the facility and telehealth and videoconferencing capabilities has been implemented to aide in research and learning. To prevent line-ups and long waits, pre-registration is done over the phone prior to patients coming in for any appointments. 4.2. Continuing Care Waitlist Access to a Designated Living Option Dr. James Silvius and Carleen Brenneis Dr. Silvius and Ms. Brenneis asked the Council to provide feedback on the following question: If someone requiring a living option is waiting in acute care, but their preferred options are not available and going home is not an option, what should AHS do when they decline to be transferred to an alternate, appropriate living option to wait for choice? The Council provided feedback such as: Patients often cannot get their first choice Families sometimes do not get copies of recommendation reports Patients are placed in facilities that are quite a distance away from family and other support Patients are not told where they on waiting lists for particular facilities 4 P a g e
Questions that were raised included: How are decisions on level of required care reached? How are beds distributed? Dr. Silvius explained that ideally there will be a stronger focus on restorative and re-ablement care which will allow patients to one day return to their homes. 4.3. Homeless Connect Ms. Raffrey gave an account of the experience that her, Ms. Fausak, Ms. Dootjes, Ms. Woitas, and Ms. Bogosoff had at the Home Connect event in Edmonton at the Shaw Conference Centre on September 18. This event happens twice a year in Edmonton and is aimed specifically toward low-income and homeless people in the area and has professionals on site to provide dental and health care, as well as haircuts and advice. The event saw more than 1800 participants throughout the day. The Council set up a booth to obtain community feedback, as well as increase awareness of the role of Health Advisory Councils and AHS services, in general. The Council members in attendance were able to engage with over 242 participants and were able to garner feedback on their health needs and concerns. It was noted that out of the 242 people the Council members spoke with, only 103 indicated that they have a family physician. Some challenges that were voiced were: Difficult to get into see doctor, appointments are days/weeks out. Accessing ER for non-emergency care No family physician available, on wait list Doctor moved away, without a transition plan for patients AISH rejecting their application Confusion about Indian Status and impact on accessing/billing 5 P a g e
for care Insufficient pediatricians Doctor has no admitting privileges Doctor does not listen to needs Lost identification prevents ability to access health care Lack of trust within the system What the participants said was working well were: Regular access to doctor Family doctor is good, ER is not Excellent care at Boyle Macaulay Health Centre Nurse Practitioner is amazing Suggestions for Change were: Wait time at ER Need more psychiatrists Doctor s should spend more time with patients Doctor s need to listen to patients Wait time for family doctor Doctor s are too quick to prescribed addictive medications Transgender issues related to identification and using of legal name, instead of preferred name (i.e calling a woman who goes by Sue, John, which is the legal name) ER staff are prejudice More specialists needed Doctor s do not understand pain management Aspects of health care are not covered Ms. Raffray also stated that it would be beneficial for the Council members to have a list of contacts and answers to frequently asked questions on hand at engagement events. Ms. Shopland to circulate a list of commonly requested contact information, as well as answer to frequently ask questions. 6 P a g e
4.4. Advisory Council Province Wide Meeting Feedback and Debrief 4.5. Edmonton Zone Committee J. Lawrence Tymko The Council felt that the topics chosen by Council of Chairs seemed redundant. There was also some discussion regarding the addresses given by the Minister of Health, as well as the Official Administrator. It was expressed that there had been hope that these two individuals would have had a question and answer period after their addresses. Ms. Shopland read a brief description of the Edmonton Zone Working Group which supports implementation and optimization of the Advanced Care Planning and Goals of Care Designation (ACP/GCD) work. Mr. Tymko has reported that there is no update as the meetings keep getting cancelled or postponed. He is unable to continue sitting on the committee. Ms. Chomey requested that the Council members contact Ms. Shopland if they are interested in replacing Mr. Tymko as the GEHAC representative. 4.6. Council Member Round Table Updates and Voices of the Community (Citizen Presentations) 4.7. Report from the Chair Ms. Brenda Chomey Council of Chairs November 21, 2014, Calgary There were no members of the public present therefore, there were no Citizen Presentations. Ms. Chomey reported that the Official Administrator, Dr. Amrhein announced at the November 21 meeting of the Council of Chairs that his main responsibility is to a establish a new health board for AHS. He was unable to answer what reporting structure for the Advisory Councils would look like, yet. He also said that the Minister of Health encourages Advisory Councils to continue engaging with the public and to not only garner feedback, but spread good news stories. 4.8. Advisory Council Officer Report Ms. Shopland reported that the Health Minister Fred Horne passed legislation in the Alberta Legislature on May 6, 2014 to Give direction to the regional health authority to disestablish one or more community health councils. According to the legislation, the Minister shall establish one or more bodies to act in an advisory 7 P a g e
capacity to the Minister (Alberta Health). Ms. Shopland encourages Council members to speak to their Chair for more information. No new information has been received as of October 31, 2014. The Council of Chairs met on Friday, September 19, 2014 in Edmonton. Ms. Vickie Kaminski, President and CEO, Alberta Health Services joined the meeting and provided an update from AHS. Presentations were made about Let s Talk about Wellness. Dr. James Silvius and Ms. Signe Swanson provided a status update about the Continuing Care Waitlist. These presenters wish to meet with all Advisory Council members to further engage and obtain feedback. Engagement Opportunities continue to be sent out regularly. Council members are asked to provide feedback whenever they can. The 2014 Province-Wide meeting of the Advisory Councils was held in Edmonton on November 7-8 th, 2014. Council members are asked to provide feedback on the presentations and experience. The report also included recent activities of the Provincial Advisory Councils. 5. Date of Next Meeting Date: Thursday, January 15, 2014 Time: 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Location: Robbins Learning Centre, Edmonton AB 6. Meeting Evaluation and Adjournment Meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m. * 8 P a g e