Latest news with #BruyèreHealth
Ottawa Citizen
05-05-2025
- Health
- Ottawa Citizen
Chartrand: Volunteering in health care can and should change for the better
Article content Volunteers are the heart of the health-care system: from traditional roles that support activities, welcome patients and help navigate the health system labyrinth, to the emotional support offered through direct engagement with those in our care. They also play strategic, guiding roles on boards and as patient advisers shaping how care is delivered. People give their time and talents in many ways, and we witness — and are strengthened by — that generosity every day at Bruyère Health, Eastern Ontario's leading health-care organization specializing in aging, rehabilitation and care for people with complex medical conditions. Article content Article content Article content When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, this heart virtually stopped beating. Our volunteer community dropped from more than 600 to just a handful. As we slowly and carefully re-opened our doors, it was clear: we couldn't simply return to the way things were. We had to reimagine what volunteering looks like — and what it could become. Article content The right person in the right role Article content People volunteer for many reasons, including: having a deep desire to give back; to strengthen and build social connections; to practice language skills; or to gain meaningful experience. But the common thread is to make an impact. Volunteers want to know their time and talents matter. And in a system as complex as health care, it's up to us to create pathways where purpose meets opportunity. Matching the right person to the right role isn't just good practice, it's essential for retention. It takes a thoughtful blend of strategy and creativity to get it right. Article content We need to make volunteering easier. In health care, necessary safety and security practices can make starting a volunteer role a complex proposition. But by embracing digital tools, streamlining our onboarding, and listening to volunteer feedback, we're removing friction from the process. We will move people more quickly out of paperwork and into roles where they can make a difference. Article content Article content Health care is collaborative work and where synergies exist among organizations, these should be used to create more meaningful opportunities for volunteers and enhance the patient experience. Article content A concrete example is the partnership of Bruyère Health's stroke rehabilitation unit with March of Dimes Canada. With this partnership, recent stroke survivors are provided training to help them use their own experience to provide hope, encouragement and support to families that are beginning the recovery process in a volunteer capacity. Article content And there are ample opportunities to innovate and collaborate. Could you imagine a volunteer passport in the Ottawa area that would see a streamlined training and onboarding program so that volunteers could have one access point to support all health-care entities in the region? We also see opportunities for volunteers to play a greater role in helping patients transition from hospital to home, offering companionship and support during what is often a vulnerable time.
CBC
24-04-2025
- Health
- CBC
Robotic patient transfer device launches at Ottawa hospital
A robotic platform designed to transfer patients in and out of hospital beds with the press of a button launched last week at five Canadian hospitals, including Bruyère Health Saint-Vincent Hospital in Ottawa. The ALTA Platform is the creation of Toronto-based Jayiesh Singh, CEO and co-founder of Able Innovations. Singh told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning he wants to free up healthcare professionals to "provide compassionate care" and "protect themselves from career-ending injuries." Transferring a patient is labour-intensive and can happen hundreds of times a week, according to Paula Doering, Bruyère Health's senior vice-president of clinical programs. Bruyère Health was the first organization to start using the ALTA Platform. Doering said she quickly saw its value for the health and time of health-care workers, as well as for patients. "Our staff see this as a tremendous time-saver, because it doesn't take three or four people to transfer a patient," Doering said. "It's one individual with the push of a button." The Ontario Nurses' Association said it could not find a representative to comment by deadline, and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union did not respond to a request for comment. Singh's mother worked in long-term care facilities. He volunteered with her as a teen and remembered watching her injure herself — on one occasion dislocating her shoulder — and develop chronic backaches due to her work. Later in life, as an engineer, he expected to see other people applying robotics to the problem. He found no one, but healthcare workers kept telling him how much they needed a solution. "That gave me the conviction to go on my own," Singh said. 'Compassionate care' Shortly after starting with Bruyère Health, Doering said she visited Carleton University, where Singh and his team were working on the prototype. Staff, patients, and patient families were invited to provided feedback on the device. Doering remembered one particularly tall man named Greg who asked for padding at the head and foot of the bed. "And [Singh's] team was there to do that," she said. "His team have really been there listening to our patients, our families and our staff and developed a terrific platform." Singh said the device isn't intended as a way to replace healthcare workers, and Doering said it "absolutely will not" replace staff at Bruyère Health. "There is such a spiralling dynamic of short staffing, leading to additional burden, and that's leading to people leaving, and the reality is we need to invest in technologies that de-burden our frontline staff and allow them to do what they really want to do," Singh said. "Healthcare workers get into the profession to provide compassionate care." The ALTA Platform also launched at St. Joseph's Health Care London, Nova Scotia Health, Vancouver Coastal Health and the University Health Network in Toronto. Singh said he'll spend the next two years building relationships and proving that the device is a significant improvement for patients and healthcare workers.
