Monday 5 December 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 05/12/16


1. A warm welcome is extended to Hazel Reyes, who began working in the role as clinical dietitian in the Lipid Clinic at SBH on November 29th. Glad to have you with us, Hazel!

2. A new attending physician has been seen in the Intensive Care Cardiac Surgery (ICCS) at SBH. Dr. Scott Brudney relocated from North Carolina and joined us last week. Please help us welcome Dr. Brudney to the team there, as well as to Friendly Manitoba!

3. A group of Cardiology Technologists from both SBH and HSC went to the Clinical Learning and Simulation Facility at the U of M Bannatyne campus to teach the skills of performing EKGs to the Med 1 students. It was a rewarding afternoon teaching our skills to the next generation of physicians.

4. Congratulations to Dustin Kimber, a student in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management who successfully defended his Master’s Thesis titled: Does the Pre-Operative Frailty Predict Cardiac Rehabilitation Completion in Cardiac Surgery Patients” last Friday. His work was guided by Drs. T. Duhamel, E. Ready, J. Sawatzky, and R. Arora.

5. A couple of lovely farewell gatherings were held this week for program members who are retiring. Nancy Doern-White was honoured on November 29 and Lillian Koley on December 2. We wish them both all the best of luck in their retirements.

And here’s a chuckle to start the week:

A man went to Emergency after experiencing symptoms of a heart attack. “I had taken our cat to the vet,” he told the nurse, “and while I was there, my chest got tight, and I had trouble breathing. Later, my left arm began aching.”
The nurse was clearly concerned. “So,” she asked, “how was the cat?”
Monday 21 November 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 21/11/16


1. Nancy Doern White, clinical dietitian in the Lipid Clinic at SBH, is retiring as of Dec 29th. A retirement tea in her honour will be held on Tuesday November 29th in CR3017 at 2 pm. Please join us in wishing her all the best in the future!

2. Lillian Hall, Manager of Quality and Patient Safety with the WRHA Cardiac Sciences Program, is also retiring! Her last day will be December 2, 2016. Lillian has been with the CSP since 2005 and has led staff and physicians program-wide in a variety of quality improvement projects and has guided the program’s initiatives to improve patient safety. Her knowledge, experience and dedication will be truly missed. Please join us as we wish her well in her well-deserved retirement!

3. Congratulations to Dr. Shelley Zieroth and Nurse Practioner Estrellita Estrella-Holder on their recent appointments to the Board of Directors of the Canadian Heart Failure Society. Dr. Zieroth (2nd from left, bottom row) will take on the role of Vice President and Estrellita (2nd from right, bottom row) is a Board Member.



4. We’d like to announce that Laura Ross will take over the position of Clinical Resource Nurse in the Intensive Care Cardiac Surgery (ICCS) unit at SBH next month. Congratulations and welcome, Laura!

5. Dr. Morley Cohen’s Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research award has been placed in its permanent home in the lobby of the Asper Building! Donated by the Cohen family, the Lasker award was granted to Dr. Cohen and his colleagues in 1955 “For advances in cardiac surgery, making possible more direct and safer approaches to the heart.” We’re proud to display this lasting reminder of the efforts in the past that laid the foundation for the work we currently do and the advances we continue to seek.


Tuesday 8 November 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 07/11/16


1. One of the presentations at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress meeting last week received widespread media attention! The project, titled: It’s Shockingly Cold: Defibrillator Shocks and Extreme Cold Weather, concluded that the risk of ICD shocks is higher with extreme and moderately cold weather, compared with warmer weather, and provides health care providers and patients with an awareness of the relationship between colder temperatures and ventricular arrhythmias. The authors of the study were Dr. Justin Cloutier, Dr. Shuangbo Liu, Dr. James Tam and Dr. Colette Seifer. Dr. Cloutier was interviewed about this by CJOB, CBC’s Ismaila Alfa on Up to Speed, and CTV. Click to read CBC’s online story about this or to see the CTV television coverage. Congratulations to Drs. Cloutier, Liu, Tam & Seifer!

2. In 2015-16, over 1000 cardiac patients took advantage of the cardiac rehabilitation program offered within the WRHA. By and large, participants in the program benefited in numerous ways, including improvement in psychological symptoms, a reduction in total blood cholesterol, a decrease in waist girth, an increase in functional capacity & cardiovascular conditioning, and improvements in quality of life. Read more about this excellent program in the Cardiac Rehabilitation 2015-16 Annual Report.

3. On a lighter note:
Do you remember the famous Olympic skier Picabo Street (pronounced Peek-a-Boo)? Well, Picabo is not just an athlete. She is now a nurse currently working at an Intensive Care Unit of a large metropolitan hospital. She is not permitted to answer the hospital telephones any longer. It caused too much confusion when she would answer the phone and say, “Picabo, I.C.U.” LOL
Monday 24 October 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 24/10/16

1. The Nurse-Practitioner Managed Post-Hospital Discharge Transition Clinic for patients with congestive heart failure was one of three runners-up in the WRHA Patient Safety Week – Share your Success Contest. There were 29 applicants; three winners and three runners-up were selected. The stories of all six successful initiatives will be shared on October 28th at the John Buhler Research Centre, Room 500 (1100-1200). The event is called Success Stories Presentations: Improving Access and Transitions of Care session. Estrellita Estrella-Holder, NP and Dr. Shelley Zieroth will be sharing the story. Congratulations to you both, and congratulations to the team who will enjoy the prize of a pizza lunch!

2. The Lasker awards are among the most respected prizes in Medicine and are commonly known as the “American Nobels.” On October 7, the unveiling of Dr. Morley Cohen’s Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award was held. This award was conferred upon Dr. Morley Cohen and his colleagues at the University of Minnesota in 1955 for their pioneering work that allowed surgery within the open heart.


L-R: Dr. Bruce Roe, Lori Lamont, Trish Cohen (Dr. Morley Cohen’s daughter), Dr. Alan Menkis

That same year, Dr. Cohen returned to Winnipeg, joining the Department of Surgery at St. Boniface Hospital and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Manitoba. He was instrumental in establishing an open heart research unit here and in 1959, he performed the first open heart surgery in Manitoba. Eleven more open heart surgeries were conducted that year, laying the foundation for St. Boniface Hospital to become the center of excellence for cardiac care that it is today.

The Cardiac Sciences Program is proud to display this award in the lobby of the IH Asper Institute.
3. The SBH Echo department is pleased to announce that Laura Ans is the successful applicant for the Full time term Cardiac Sonographer position. Laura is a recent grad from the Red River College Cardiac Sonographer program. She will start in her new position on October 31st. Please help us welcome her to this position.

4. Effective October 14, the bed base on 5A Cardiology at SBH was increased permanently to 32 beds from 30 beds. A big thank you goes out to the staff and attending physicians on 5A for their support in making this happen!

5. The Cardiac Sciences Program Nursing Leadership Council (CSP NLC) at SBH is comprised of Program Team Managers, Clinical Education Instructors, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Resource Nurses and Clinical Practice Nurses from each area/unit in SBH Cardiac Sciences.
Our goal is to identify issues and challenges related to the delivery of nursing care. We provide a forum for dialogue, discussion and decision making on matters related to nursing practice. Our members assist in the development, application and evaluation of new nursing knowledge. We liaise with nursing colleagues within the facility, other facilities, CRNM and regional authorizes on issues related to patient care and professional development.

The CSP NLC reps take relevant information, concerns and feedback to and from the SBH Nursing Practice Council. The chair this year is Barb Knight, CRN Cardiac Clinics and co-chair is Emily Phillips, CEI, 5A Cardiology. Nurses are encouraged to bring up practice issues with their PTM, CRN, CEI or CNS to be brought forth to the Council. Concerns can also be confidentially emailed to CSPNursingLeadership@sbgh.mb.ca

6. Congratulations to Steve Klassen (second from left) on his completion of the joint WRHA/RRC Health Services Leadership and Management Certificate Program. Well done on completion of your 3 year journey!





7. Thanks and appreciation go out to the SBH staff on ICCS for their support over the past three months in caring for ACCU patients who were located on ICCS. Your commitment to providing high quality care made ACCU’s transition to its base of 6 beds a success. We continue to be grateful for your willingness to pick up available shifts in ACCU. Thank you for your professionalism and continued support!


Wednesday 12 October 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 10/10/16

1. There are a number of new nurses joining the team on the cardiology inpatient unit (5A) at SBH. Help us welcome Ashley Kulczycki, Nicole Bordush, Danielle Saltel, Ayse Kalkan, Jamileh Daneshnia and Erin Conway to the Cardiac Sciences team!

2. Arrhythmia Day was a great success. Close to 200 health care professionals attended the inaugural Arrhythmia Day. The Speakers and Topics were well received. Thank-you to everyone who contributed to the event!



3. Inspiration corner:

"Any fool can criticize, complain, and condemn and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving." Dale Carnegie

"You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do." Henry Ford

"The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the greatest intention." Kahlil Gibran
Tuesday 27 September 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 26/09/16

1. The CSP Website Advisory Committee has been working on refreshing the website (www.cardiacsciences.mb.ca). Any suggestions for content changes or additions are welcome! Email the chair of the group, Kelly Lukaszewski, at klukaszewski@sbgh.mb.ca with your thoughts.

2. Help us welcome aboard the following new team members:

  • Kathryn Hurtig is joining the Nuclear Stress Lab at HSC! She starts her position as a full-time Cardiology Technologist on October 3rd.
  • Marcie Loszchuk has joined the team on CR 1 at SBH as a Surgical Office Assistant with UMG. She will support patient management for the Cardiac Surgeons.
  • Marie Alvaro has joined the Cardiac Clinic Team. Marie is a Unit Assistant and will be working within the Y2 and CR1 clinics at SBH.
3. Good luck to the Cardiology Technologist students who will write their Canadian Society of Cardiology Technologists registration examination this week!

4. Even though there are changes in the SBH Cardiac Access Office, you’ll be seeing some familiar faces . Barb Shearer has resigned her permanent position as of this week, but will continue to work with us on a casual basis. And welcome back to Bev Humphries, who is also returning to the Access Office on a casual basis. The Access Office must have a strange magnetic pull—we’re glad you both will be there!

5. Farewell to Abe Laureano, CRN in ICCS, who has accepted a position in another SBH department. His last day will be September 29. We’d like to thank him for his work in ICCS and wish him well in his new position.

6. The Cardiac Sciences Program wishes a fond farewell to Gladys Cadieux, Project Manager, who is retiring as of October 14. Gladys has played a key role in ensuring the program’s needs were met in a number of construction projects at SBH (Bergen Centre, ICCS, CSIU, ACU) as well as the introduction of technological and information systems that support the care of cardiac patients. Her retirement party will be held on October 6 at the King’s Head Pub—contact Lenore (204-235-3324) or Terri (204-258-1203) for more information or tickets.
Wednesday 14 September 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 12/09/16




1.     Very warm welcomes are extended to Eileen Scharfenberg and Gishali Gamage, who are the two Clinical Resource Nurses on 5A Cardiology/Post-Procedure at SBH.  Each of them brings significant cardiac experience to this role.  
2.     Please also welcome Joanne Moiny, who started last month at SBH as a casual secretary in the program.  We know Joanne from an internship she completed with us in 2015, and are very pleased to have her join us in this capacity!
3.     A new educational event will take place at the end of this month:

Attendees will gain invaluable information about arrhythmias, devices (pacemakers & defibrillators) and patient management.  In addition to excellent local presenters, the day will feature Dr. Andrew Krahn, an internationally recognized expert in the management of cardiac arrhythmias. 
Visit the event site or view the brochure for more details and registration information. 
Please share this information with any colleagues who may be interested.  Those who are unable to attend in Winnipeg can attend via MBTelehealth by contacting their local telehealth representative to arrange connection. 
4.     The Echo Department at SBH is pleased to announce the hiring of 3 new casual Cardiac Sonographers to our staff. Elissa Omiecki, Jessica Wright and Laura Ans have all just recently graduated from the Red River College Cardiac Sonographer program and we are excited to have them join our department! Please help us welcome them to the Cardiac Sciences Program.
5.     For those who use the SBH EPR:  You will notice the following update/additions regarding Cardiac Diagnostic tests: Holter/Event Monitor order requisition has been updated; SAEKG and Tilt Table Test are both new orders in EPR. Please note that these 2 tests can only be ordered by an Arrhythmia physician or their trainee/delegate.
6.     Awards were granted to two BScMed students who completed their research projects in the Section of Cardiac Surgery.  Summer Dubreil won an award for Outstanding Clinical Research Project for her project titled “Long-term outcomes of survivors undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in Manitoba between 2007 and 2016.”  Kyla Barrie’s project, “TELESCOPE-CS: ThE Long tErm SuCcess Of Prolonged intEnsive care patients after Cardiac Surgery” earned her both the Dr. J.R.W. Nicholson prize for BScMed thesis with scientific merit and the A. Allyn Rossen Award for Best BScMed Research Thesis.  Congratulations to both of these women on their academic accomplishments!



Tuesday 16 August 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 15/08/16






1. Welcome to Dr. Michael Yamashita, a cardiac surgeon who will be starting with us today. Dr. Yamashita trained at McGill University and UBC and he has completed fellowships in Chicago and at the Cleveland Clinic. His training has focused on aortic surgery, valve repair/replacement and VAD/transplant. Dr. Yamashita’s office will be located at Y3519. Please help give him a warm welcome to Friendly Manitoba!

2. Please also welcome Dr. Mahwash Saeed who will be joining the Section of Cardiology as an associate member in August 2016. Dr. Saeed is a graduate of the University of Manitoba and has recently completed a fellowship in Cardiology here. Dr. Saeed’s office and outpatient clinic will be located at Victoria General Hospital where she will also join the cardiology consult service; at St. Boniface Hospital she will be attending on the cardiology ward and providing consult services.

3. Dr. Zlatko Pozeg and the TEVAR team were highlighted in the July/August 2016 edition of the WRHA’s WAVE magazine, for successfully performing a TEVAR (thoracic endovascular aortic repair) on a patient with a dissection of the ascending aorta. This procedure has been performed numerous times on patients with descending aortic dissections, but this was only the second case in the world in which a patient with an ascending aortic dissection was successfully treated with TEVAR. Read more about this by clicking this link.

4. We bid farewell to Cheryl Swanson, who completed her term position as Program Team Manager for 5A Cardiology at SBH last week. Cheryl led the staff of the unit through a time of considerable change and did so with skill and grace. Although we would have really liked you to stay, Cheryl, we certainly wish you well as you return to your position in the Emergency Department!

5. Congratulations to Dr. Davinder Jassal, who has been named Head of the Section of Cardiology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Jassal has received a number of research and educational awards, and in addition to his clinical and
research activities, he has served as the postgraduate medical education Program Director for Cardiology. Dr. Jassal is superbly suited to this role, which he will assume on September 6.

6. The Canadian Cardiovascular Critical Care Society, in conjunction with the Montreal Heart Institute, is pleased to announce its first annual ECMO Day Workshop, to be held in Montreal on October 21, 2016. The workshop will facilitate multidisciplinary discussions between Perfusionists, Nurses, Anaesthesiologists, Cardiovascular Surgeons, Intensivists, Emergency Physicians, and Cardiologists involved in ECMO to exchange ideas on state-of-the-art use of ECMO and collaborate on protocol development and data acquisition in Canada. See attached notice for details and registration information.

7. Join us as we bid farewell to Dr. Harry Lapierre, cardiac surgeon, who will have completed a one year locum with the program as of August 31. Dr. Lapierre’s contributions over the past year have been greatly appreciated and we wish him the best of luck in the future!

8. Karen Throndson, Clinical Nurse Specialist at HSC, is involved in a fascinating study looking at the issue of heart health in First Nations People. The study, titled Debwewin: The Truth of our Hearts, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health) will incorporate a “two-eyed seeing” research model to try to better understand coronary artery disease severity and complexity, long term health outcomes, and experiences from the perspective of First Nation patients, family members, and Elders. See the attachment to read more about this study.

9. Let’s extend a warm welcome to Dan Quinn, who has accepted the position of Program Team manager for 5A Cardiology/Post-Procedure Beds. Dan, who has relocated to Winnipeg from Montreal, has a rich background in cardiac care, having been in both clinical and research roles. He will join the team August 19th. Welcome, Dan, we look forward to working with you!


NOTE:
Cardiac Staff Matters will not be published on August 29. Regular bi-weekly publication will resume September 12, 2016.
Tuesday 2 August 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 01/08/16

1. Congratulations to Estrellita Estrella-Holder on achieving certification for heart failure nursing from the American Association of Heart Failure Nurses. This certification recognizes Estrellita’s specialized knowledge in heart failure care and her commitment to providing optimal patient care. Well done!

2. Welcome to Leanne Hutch, who has joined the ranks of the Cardiology technologists at SBH, in a 0.7 EFT term position. Glad to have you aboard, Leanne!

3. Congratulations to Charlotte Morrisseau, who will be taking on a permanent position as Administrative Secretary, replacing Barb Pambrun, who retired. Charlotte will provide support to Dr. Arora, Dr. Singal and Dr. Manji and will start her new role on August 15.

4. Drs. Joel Scott-Herridge and William McIntyre are winners in the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress “Featured Research” category. Their project, titled “Predictors of Guideline Appropriate Anticoagulation in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation Discharged from the Emergency Department,” will be presented at the 2016 CCC in Montreal in October. Co-authors include Dr. G. Drobot, Dr. R. Steigerwald and Dr. C.M. Seifer. As well, they have been invited to submit the paper on a fast-track for potential publication in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology. Congratulations to all!

5. A very warm welcome is extended to two new cardiologists joining the ranks of our cardiology group this month! Neither of them is a stranger to Manitoba, as they both attended medical school here. Dr. David Allen will be working in the areas of general and interventional cardiology. And Dr. Rob Singh will be working with the heart failure group and in cardiac rehabilitation. Glad to have both of you back in Friendly Manitoba!

6. Inspiration Corner:
"Many of us are more capable than some of us . . . but none of us is as capable as all of us!!" --Tom Wilson
Thursday 21 July 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 18/07/16

1. On July 6th the Section of Cardiology hosted a Welcome party welcoming Dr. Justin Cloutier, Dr. Scott Donald and Dr. Christopher Lee into our Cardiology Residency Training Program. Everyone enjoyed the evening starting with a BBQ followed by a night of baseball at Provencher Park. A great time was had by all!

Missing from the photo are Dr. Amir Ravandi (taking the picture)
Dr. Karen Chu & Dr. Bradley Brochu
(visiting elective resident from U of Alberta).


2. Dr. Rakesh Arora has been offered an appointment to the Editorial Board of The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery! This honour recognizes Dr. Arora’s contributions as a reviewer for this publication. An initial and renewable 3-year term began on July 1, 2016. Congratulations, Dr. Arora!

3. A touch of humour: Due to a job transfer, Brian moved from his hometown to New York City. Being that he had a very comprehensive health history, he brought along all of his medical paperwork, when it came time for his first check up with his new Doctor. After browsing through the extensive medical history, the Doctor stared at Brian for a few moments and said, “Well there’s one thing I can say for certain, you sure look better in person than you do on paper!”

Tuesday 5 July 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 04/07/16


1. The Acute Cardiac Care Unit (ACCU) on 5AWest at SBH will officially open tomorrow! The finishing touches are complete and staff orientation to the unit has already taken place in preparation for the transfer/arrival of patients tomorrow. People who have been key in the completion of this project are Gladys Cadieux, Rosanne Labossiere-Gee and Chris Kuttnig. Many thanks to them, and to all who have contributed! As well, thanks go to the many external and internal tradespeople who worked on the unit, without whom this couldn’t have happened!

2. A soft launch of use of the APPROACH database took place last month. This database, originally developed in Alberta, is used across the country and allows the collection and processing of information to track outcomes and improve cardiac care. In Manitoba, it will initially be used in Cardiac Angiography (Heart Cath Lab) and Cardiac Surgery; while the potential exists for other uses (e.g., waitlist management), none are not being planned at this point. Extra-special appreciation goes to Gladys Cadieux, Carolyn Gilmour- Hillier, and Dr. Riz Manji for their perseverance throughout this multi-year project. And thanks to all of the interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons for their enthusiastic participation!

3. Dr. Amir Ravandi (pictured below) has received the Dr. F.W. Du Val Clinical Research Professorship Award from the Manitoba Medical Service Foundation. This award, valued at $170,000 over three years, will allow Dr. Ravandi to continue his work studying the inhibition of lipids which cause tissue damage after a heart attack. Dr. Ravandi will begin his clinical professorship on July 1, 2016. This is a wonderful achievement, Dr. Ravandi, kudos!



4. On June 23, 2016, Lorraine Avery was awarded the clinical nurse specialist of the year award. This award was established in 2011 by the Clinical Nurse Specialists of Manitoba Interest Group to recognize a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) in Manitoba for outstanding professional achievement in the five domains of advanced nursing practice. Lorraine says, “I am humbled by this, and I am so blessed to work with such an amazing team.” Congratulations, Lorraine, on this level of recognition from your peers!

5. Mark September 30 on your calendar for Arrhythmia Day! This educational day, to be held on the University of Manitoba Bannatyne campus, will feature Dr. Andrew Krahn, an internationally recognized expert in the management of cardiac arrhythmias. Look for more information in the upcoming months!

6. Heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Carly Lodewkys, for her success in achieving a Clinical Fellowship award from Research Manitoba, announced last week. Dr. Lodewkys will receive $70,000 to provide salary support to complete her planned MSc. in Community Health Sciences under the co-supervision of Navdeep Tangri and Dr. Rakesh Arora to investigate The Long Term Functional Survival After Surgery on the Thoracic Aorta in Manitoba. Carly has also been accepted into the Clinical Investigator Program under the Directorship of Dr. Shayne Taback.

7. A celebration of the Cardiac Sciences Program’s TAVI program was held on Monday, June 27th. TAVIs (trans-catheter aortic valve implantations) have been performed in Manitoba since 2012, and in May, the 100th procedure was performed. A tea was held to recognize this milestone, and CTV was there to cover the event. Click on the link to see the video clip that aired on the 6:00 pm news on Monday and CTV Morning Live on Tuesday: http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=900360.

In addition, Dr. Malek Kass was interviewed on CJOB regarding TAVI the morning of June 27th. If you’d like to listen to the interview, you can do so by clicking here: http://omnyapp.com/shows/richard-cloutier-reports/new-technology-in-cardiology-is-saving-lives

Congratulations to the entire team!

Tuesday 21 June 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 20/06/16

1. CCCN Manitoba’s annual Keeping Current with Cardiovascular Care occurred on June 6. Members of the planning committee and the CCCN executive are members of our own Cardiac Sciences Program: Chris Kuttnig, Estrellita Estrella-Holder, Karen Coupland, Lorraine Avery, Margaret Lukianchuk, Kiran Atwal and Jo-Ann Sawatzky. This year’s event was a success with over 60 people in attendance including registered nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, registered dieticians, physicians and cardiac technologists from Winnipeg, Portage, and Boundary Trails. Many of the speakers were our own CSP residents/fellows, physicians, and nurses. Presentations included obesity risk and management, heart healthy nutrition, inflammation of the heart, subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator, environmental effects on ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarct (STEMI), left atrial appendage closures and Winnipeg street drugs. Next year’s date has already been set for June 5, 2017. Mark your calendars!

2. We are pleased to announce that Lori Hicks will be taking on a role in the WRHA Access Office, scheduling and supporting patients awaiting cardiac catheterization. While her official start date isn’t until July 4, she has been getting oriented to the office for a few weeks now. We’re glad to have you in this new role, Lori!

3. Farewell and best wishes to Barb Pambrun, who is retiring as of June 30. Barb has worked as a secretary and then administrative assistant in the program since 2007, providing excellent support to a number of cardiac surgeons. Her dedication and organization will be sorely missed, as will her willingness and skill in party-planning! A get-together in her honour will be held the afternoon of June 29 on CR3017. Congratulations, Barb, and we hope you enjoy your well-deserved retirement!

4. Congratulations to Rolly DeJuan, who will start in a new role as Charge Technologist for EKG/Holter at Health Sciences Centre on June 27. Rolly comes to the position with experience at SBH.

5. Last week, the Cardiac Sciences Program’s Standards Committee marked its tenth anniversary. The committee held its inaugural meeting on June 15, 2006. Four current members were at that first meeting, and have been valuable committee members throughout: Dr. Keith Warrian, Dr. Nasir Shaikh, Dr. Ivan Barac and Dr. Michael Raabe. Thank you for your contributions!

6. Join us in extending a hearty “congratulations” to Brigitte Chappellaz, who recently completed training as a cardiovascular perfusionist at The Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences. In recognition of her achievement as the individual who completed the perfusionist training program with the highest grade point average, she was awarded the Board of Governor’s Gold Medal of Excellence. This award will be presented to her at the graduation ceremony on June 25. We’re very proud of you, Brigitte; well done!

7. Effective June 20th, Registered Cardiology Technologists will begin to provide the service of applying a magnet to Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) for adult patients between the hours of 0800-2300 in an area that does not have the trained personnel or equipment to safely do so independently. This service by RCTs will be available only at St. Boniface Hospital.

This service was previously provided by Pacemaker and Defibrillator Clinic nurses. The purpose of this service is to apply a magnet and monitor the patient’s rhythm during a planned or urgent operative or other procedure (i.e. endoscopy) when there is a high risk of Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) which may result in inappropriate sensing and/or delivery of therapy by an ICD.

8. Cheers to Claudia MacKenzie, who has recently accepted the position a Clinical Resource Nurse for the Cardiac OR at SBH. Claudia, who has 17 years of OR experience, will start this position on July 18.

9. The ICD Support Group of Manitoba held their spring meeting at the Albrechtsen Research Centre on Saturday, June 4th, 2016. Pictured are Dr. Bill McIntyre (Cardiology Fellow), Greg Smith (Board Member), Dr. Colette Seifer (Medical Director, Arrhythmia Program), Larry Sherman (Board Member), and Dr. Justin Cloutier (Internal Medicine Resident). The lecture on Patient-Centered Research, given by Drs. McIntyre and Cloutier, was very well received.



10. And a chuckle for those of you who read through to the end:

Two paramedics described the time they went to the aid of an elderly man. As one took down his information, the other opened is shirt to attach EKG cables. “Any history of heart trouble?” asked the first.
“None,” said the patient.
Looking at the telltale scars of bypass surgery, the second paramedic wasn’t so sure. “In that case,” he said, “do you remember when the lion attacked you?”
Monday 6 June 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 06/06/16


1. Good luck and best wishes to Bev Humphries, who is retiring at the end of the month. Bev has worked in the WRHA Access Office since 2012, supporting patients while they wait for cardiac catheterization and ensuring they are scheduled on a timely basis. Thank you, Bev, for all you’ve done; we wish you the best of everything in your retirement!

2. Dr. Riz Manji (cardiac surgeon) and Jenni Hayward (ICCS nurse) were interviewed on CTV last week about their work in Africa to help fight rheumatic heart disease. Watch this video to see the interview!

Rheumatic heart disease, which is a complication of untreated strep throat, kills and maims those not fortunate enough to be able to get the simple treatment we may take for granted. This disease devastates individuals and families that are already trying to fight poverty. Cardiac surgery can change an individual's life by allowing one to be well enough to be productive and to be able support one's family.

Team Heart, originally from Boston (Harvard Medical School) has been going to Rwanda for the past 9 years to offer life-saving cardiac surgery for those struck with RHD. There is a wait list of over 1000 but only 50 patients can be operated on per year due to facility and human resource problems. Team Heart has been given the go ahead and has land set aside to build a full service cardiac hospital where missions can come on a regular basis to perform cardiac surgery; however funds are needed to make this a reality and also to assist teams to be able to go.

Please consider donating to the affiliated Canadian organization (Canadian Humanitarian, Dr. Rizwan Manji’s Rheumatic Heart Disease Fund) to help fight rheumatic heart disease in Rwanda. Any donations above $50 will qualify for an official tax receipt.

3. Cardiac Sciences Program was responsible for the development of the monthly TeamSTEPPS Topic for June here at SBH. A huge thank you the group: Sandy Warren, Linda McLean, Barb Knight, Emily Phillips, Karen Sklavenitis and Lillian Koley. Our topic was Situational Monitoring; the group developed four submissions for the weekly SBHNewsletter, a poster detailing the concept, information that the units can use to ¡§coach out¡¨ the topic at huddles and a scenario that illustrates the concept. Barb will be ¡§coaching out¡¨ all the PTMs at their monthly meeting on Monday May 30th. Job well done!

4. TeamSTEPPS has been rolled out to the physician, surgeon and perfusionist groups in the Cardiac Sciences Program at SBH. Two sessions were held, on May 19 and 24, and 67% of the individuals in these groups have now completed the training. A third session is being planned.

5. All Winnipeg paramedics are now trained in using the Code STEMI protocol. While this protocol has been in use since 2008, not all paramedics were trained to trigger it. Dr. Davinder Jassal recently participated in a CTV interview about this. See the video by clicking here.

6. The Cardiac Sciences Program held its 14th annual Research Symposium on June 1. Dr. Sam Lichtenstein, Head of the Division of Cardiac Surgery at UBC was our guest lecturer. We had a full slate of research presentations, including 17 ePoster presentations and 11 oral presentations. At the end of the day, awards were distributed at a dinner generously sponsored by the St. Boniface Hospital Foundation. The winners of the trainee research awards are:

Best Poster Presentation (Clinical): Dr. Shuangbo Liu
Best Poster Presentation (Basic Sciences): Natalie Landry
Best Oral Presentation (Clinical): Dr. Weiang Yan
Best Oral Presentation (Basic Sciences): Navid Koleini

The Don Peters award is granted to the Cardiac Sciences trainee who best demonstrates integrity, compassion, and dedication to the care of patients as individuals. This year's recipient was Dr. Mahwash Saeed.

Also awarded by the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Manitoba was the previously announced Sanofi award, given to Dr. William McIntyre.

Dr. Olga Toleva was selected by the residents as the recipient of this year's Ted Cuddy Cardiology Teaching Award. This award is given annually to the physician who has demonstrated outstanding performance in the role of clinician teacher and mentor.

Congratulations to all!

7. The next session of the Winnipeg Critical Care Nursing Education Program begins September 6, 2016. If you're a nurse who's looking for a stimulating and challenging career change, please consider this option. You'll earn while you learn, and there are plenty of job opportunities. Here at SBH, there are vacancies in the Intensive Care Med/Surg unit, the Intensive Care Cardiac Surgery unit, and in the soon-to-be-open Acute Cardiac Care unit. Please see below for details.


Tuesday 24 May 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 23/05/16







1. Nursing Week at SBH was filled with events, including a scavenger hunt. Two Cardiac Sciences nurses, Karen Coupland and Rebecca Mederios (both from the Special Procedures area), joined forces to compete as one of the eight teams. Congratulations to Karen and Rebecca who were the winners of this “Amazing Race” style competition!

2. Congratulations to Emily Phillips, Lorraine Avery, Christina Kuttnig, Andrea Szwajcer, Cheryl Swanson, and Jo-Ann Sawatzky. The team was successful in their application to the St. Boniface Hospital Nursing Research Endowment Fund for their evidence informed project entitled “The Measurement and Assessment of Vital Signs: A Guide to Nursing Decision Making.” The primary purpose of this project is to establish an evidence-based clinical approach to vital signs standards for patients presenting with an acute coronary syndrome.

3. We are pleased to announce that our very own Rose Grant was nominated for an award during this year’s Nursing Week celebrations at SBH. The awards ceremony took place Friday May 13th in the Everett Atrium where she received the Nursing Excellence Award in Clinical Practice. Congratulations on this recognition, Rose—it is well deserved!

4. Karen Throndson’s collaboration with oncology clinical nurse specialist Darlene Grantham at Health Sciences Centre was highlighted in this month’s edition of Canadian Nurse. They work together to help oncology patients who develop cardiac complications, often as a result of chemotherapy treatments. These complications can include cardiac ischemia, heart failure and arrhythmias. Not only do Karen & Darlene work directly with patients and families to help them watch for or manage cardiac issues, but they also work to raise awareness among their colleagues about cardiac issues affecting oncology patients. To read the article, click on this link: https://www.canadian-nurse.com/en/articles/issues/2016/may-2016/cardiology-and-oncology-care-providers-join-forces

5. The Acute Coronary Syndrome Network team recently undertook a review for the Emergency Program of the WRHA ACS map. To John Ducas, Travis Warner, Chris Kuttnig, Sarah Rapko, Lillian Koley and Karen Throndson—your outstanding work is very much appreciated!

6. A warm welcome is extended to Maggie Lukianchuk, who begins a term position on Tuesday, May 24 as Clinical Resource Nurse for the Pre- and Post-Procedure and the Special Procedures areas at SBH. All the best in this new position, Maggie, glad to have you!

7. A new patient education sheet, titled What is a HolterTest?, has been developed and is available on the Cardiac Sciences website.

Tuesday 10 May 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 09/05/16



1. Warm welcomes are extended to Gus Castaneda and Brenda Comte! Gus is joining the program as the Program Team Manager of the Intensive Care Cardiac Surgery unit at SBH on May 9. Brenda, who started May 2, is the new Business Improvement & Finance Officer for Cardiac Sciences at SBH. We’re very happy to have both of you with us!

2. The Manitoba Association of Cardiology Technologists held its AGM and Education sessions on April 30th. Presentations by Dr. W. Lesli, Dr. K. Kumar, Dr. C. Seifer & Dr. W. McIntyre were enjoyed by WRHA Technologists as well as a group from out of town.

3. Dr. Pallav Shah, one of our cardiac surgeons, has received financial assistance in the amount of $50,000 from the provincial Commercialization Support for Business (CSB) Program, to support his development of aortic annular support technology. Additional support will be provided by the National Research Council of Canada, through its Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP). Congratulations, Dr. Shah, and good luck in this endeavour!

4. For your information: Effective Wednesday, May 25th, Cardiopulmonary Stress Testing (CPX) at SBH will be relocated to the 3C Stress Lab. CPX testing will occur on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month.

5. Karan Kraft received a Humanitarian Award for Resuscitation at the Heart and Stroke Foundation Annual Celebration held last week for an act that helped to save her neighbor’s life. Karan acted swiftly and calmly in November 2014 when a panicked neighbor whose husband had stopped breathing showed up at her door. Karan instructed the wife to call 911 and immediately started CPR. When the paramedics arrived, he was defibrillated and transported to hospital, where he recovered and was able to return home. Congratulations, Karan, on this well-deserved recognition!

6. The St. Boniface Heart Failure Clinic hosted their 10th annual seminar about Heart Failure on May 5, 2016. This seminar is for CHF patients and the general public to help educate and allow them to recognize the risk factors, signs and symptoms of heart failure, and available treatment. Presenters included: Dr. Mawash Saed, Dr. Allan Schaffer, Dr. Jason Ediger, Dr. Francisco Cordova and Dr. Martina Reslerova.
Bruce Anderson, a representative from Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba talked about their current strategies to reduce the epidemic of heart failure. The Heart Failure Support Group of Manitoba gave a presentation on upcoming meetings and activities for 2016 to encourage people to join the support group.
Approximately 200 people were present for this seminar and the initial evaluations show that attendees felt that the speakers were very informative and they enjoyed the learning experience. The Heart Failure Team would like to thank all of the speakers and the organizers for another successful seminar for patient education.

7. There have been a few retirements in recent weeks that we haven’t yet acknowledged. We extend wishes for good luck and good times to the following people who have made wonderful contributions to the program: Kym Wiebe, Brenda Ingimundson, and Marie-Ann Roy-Wsiaki. Have a wonderful retirement!

8. For the second year, the Cardiac Sciences Program participated in the Rotary Career Symposium. We highlighted careers in Cardiac Sciences that high school students may not have been aware of: perfusionist, cardiac sonographer, cardiology technologist and advanced practice nurse. The crowds were sizable and seemed very interested in particular in the modified cardiopulmonary bypass circuit that the perfusionists demonstrated. A big thank you goes out to the organizers within the program and all those who volunteered to staff the booth from May 2 – 4!


 
9. Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a cardiac surgeon? Click on this link to get a flavour of the job: http://10mg.nl/

Monday 25 April 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 25/04/16

1. The Accreditation Canada surveyors have left the region! The CSP at SBH had a very successful accreditation survey last Wednesday.

A huge thank you to the "buddies" who acted as hosts for our three surveyors: Belinda Landry (CEI ICCS), Irene Nazarevich (CRN CSIU), Greg Vachon (CRN Pre/Post Area), Karen Coupland (CEI HCL) and Barb Knight (CRN Clinic).

The Intensive Care Cardiac Surgery (ICCS) unit was surveyed in the morning. The surveyor spoke with front line nurses and the ICCS Attending Physician, Dr. Arora. She interviewed several family members as well speaking with four different patients. She observed and asked questions at a Cardiac Surgery Inpatient Unit (CSIU) "Time Out" process and spent time attending bedside rounds. She reviewed the unit's paper and EPR documentation with one of our nurses. Dr. Jacobsohn also spent some quality time with her reviewing our medication reconciliation process.

A second surveyor spent time in CSIU and visited the Heart Catheterization Lab (HCL), the Pre- and Post-Procedure Area and the Electrophysiology Labs. She spoke with nurses, ward clerks, health care aides, physician assistants and surgeons. She watched the pre-operative "Time Out" of the TAVI case in the HCL and spent time with our Pacemaker CRN, Esther McGimpsey. She attended the Performance Huddle and interviewed two patients. She commented that the CSIU was a "well-oiled machine" and that the "staff are amazing and very engaged". Quite a compliment!

The Outpatient Clinic areas (which included Y2, Asper CR1 and CR3) were surveyed in the afternoon. The surveyor spent a few hours speaking with Barb Knight, Donna Lee Samson (Program Team Manager for the areas) and Reid Love (CSP Program Director) to gain insight into our program's history and structure. He then toured the area and spoke with nurses. He was impressed with the Congestive Heart Failure database and the Lipid clinic.

Once the surveyors' final report is received, planning will begin to determine our next steps. At this time, we need to acknowledge Lillian Koley, CSP Manager of Quality and Patient Safety, for all of the time and effort she put into ensuring that we as a program did all of the necessary background work and were well-prepared for the survey visit. Lil, you're the best!

2. Farewell and good luck to Colleen Bemister, who will be retiring at the end of this week! Colleen is currently the Charge Cardiology Technologist at HSC, though in her lengthy career in cardiology technology, she has also worked at Misericordia. Congratulations, Colleen, on your achievements and thank you for all your hard work. We all wish you well and hope you enjoy this well-deserved retirement!

3. This year's Department of Internal Medicine Resident Research Day was held on April 19 and there were a number of presentations by our Cardiology residents. See the attached listing for details. Kudos go to three residents in particular:

- Dr. Shuangbo Liu won 1st prize (Clinical Investigation, Poster presentation by a sub-specialty resident) for her presentation titled "Comparison of in-stent restenosis rates after percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with hemodialysis versus peritoneal dialysis"

- Dr. William McIntyre won 1st prize (Clinical Investigation, Podium presentation by a sub-specialty resident) for his presentation titled, "Risks of stroke and death according to pattern of atrial fibrillation: results from a 6-year cohort study (1948 2008)."

- Dr. Joel Scott-Herridge won the Emy Ozamoto Award for best quality improvement project for his presentation titled, "A multi-hospital analysis of patterns of anticoagulation for patients with actionable atrial fibrillation who attend the emergency department: results from a community hospital."

In addition, many of the Cardiologists supervised projects by residents in other Internal Medicine programs. Special recognition goes out to Dr. Colette Seifer for supervising a record number of research projects!

4. The Heart and Stroke Foundation has a new patient education resource entitled "Living Well with Heart Disease." This patient education booklet gives patients living with coronary artery disease comprehensive recovery information. We're proud of three CSP staff who were involved in the development of this national resource: Karen Throndson, CNS (co-lead, risk factor sub-committee), Lorraine Avery, CNS (member, risk factor sub-committee) and Travis Warner, pharmacist (lead, medication sub-committee). The new booklet is available for viewing or download here: http://bit.ly/1Sb8ZdO

5. A warm welcome is extended to Marlene Myketa-Girard, who has joined the program as of today as the Manager of Echocardiography at HSC. Happy to have you on board, Marlene!

6. And we wish farewell to Shalene Rochon, Business Improvement & Finance Officer for Cardiac Sciences at SBH. Thanks, Shalene, for all your support and work with the program, and best of luck in your new position!

Department of Internal Medicine
Resident Research Day
Cardiology Presentations
 
Clinical investigation
RISKS OF STROKE AND DEATH ACCORDING TO PATTERN OF ATRIAL FIBRILLATION: RESULTS FROM A 60-YEAR COHORT STUDY (1948 2008)
PRESENTED BY: Dr. William McIntyre, PGY6 Cardiology
SUPERVISORS: Dr. Phil St. John and Dr. Robert Tate

Clinical investigation
A MULTI-HOSPITAL ANALYSIS OF PATTERNS OF ANTICOAGULATION FOR PATIENTS WITH ACTIONABLE ATRIAL FIBRILLATION WHO ATTEND THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT: RESULTS FROM A COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
PRESENTED BY: Dr. Joel Scott-Herridge, PGY2 Internal Medicine
SUPERVISOR: Dr. Colette Seifer

Clinical investigation
PREDICTORS OF LONG-TERM PACEMAKER DEPENDENCY FOLLOWING CARDIAC SURGERY
PRESENTED BY: Dr. Anas Merdad, PGY2 Internal Medicine
SUPERVISOR: Dr. Clarence Khoo

Clinical investigation
INCREASING QRS DURATION OVER TIME IS ASSOCIATED WITH MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY IN AN OUTPATIENT HEART FAILURE POPULATION
PRESENTED BY: Dr. Hassan Alfraidi, PGY3 Internal Medicine
SUPERVISOR: Dr. Colette Seifer

Case report
POSTURAL TACHYCARDIA SYNDROME AND PLATYPNEA-ORTHODEOXIA: WHAT IS THE CONNECTION?
PRESENTED BY: Dr. Brittany Perija, PGY2 Internal Medicine
SUPERVISOR: Dr. Colette Seifer

Clinical investigation
PHYSICIAN DECISION MAKING IN ANTICOAGULATING ATRIAL FIBRILLATION: A PROSPECTIVE SURVEY OF A PHYSICIAN ALERT SYSTEM FOR ATRIAL FIBRILLATION DETECTED ON CARDIAC IMPLANTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICES
PRESENTED BY: Dr. Justin Cloutier, PGY3 Internal Medicine
SUPERVISOR: Dr. Colette Seifer

Clinical investigation
PREDICTORS OF PHLEBOTOMY INDUCED VASOVAGAL SYNCOPE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
PRESENTED BY: Dr. Scott Donald
SUPERVISOR: Dr. Colette Seifer and Dr. Arjuna Ponnampalam

Clinical investigation
CHARACTERISTICS OF ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROME PRESENTATION IN YOUNG PATIENTS IN MANITOBA
PRESENTED BY: Dr. Bill Ayach, PGY5 Cardiology
SUPERVISOR: Dr. Olga Toleva

Clinical investigation
QRS COMPLEX FRAGMENTATION AS A PREDICTOR OF LATERAL ¡§SCAR¡¨ IN PATIENTS WITH TRASTUZAMAB INDUCED CARDIOMYOPATHY
PRESENTED BY: Dr. Chris Hayes, PGY2 Internal Medicine
SUPERVISOR: Dr. Colette Seifer

Clinical investigation
VENOUS THROMBOEMBOLISM PROPHYLAXIS ON AN INPATIENT CARDIOLOGY WARD, WHO IS AT RISK OF UNDER TREATMENT?
PRESENTED BY: Dr. Chris Hayes, PGY2 Internal Medicine
SUPERVISOR: Dr. Colette Seifer

Clinical investigation
COMPARISON OF IN-STENT RESTENOSIS RATES AFTER PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY INTERVENTION IN PATIENTS WITH HEMODIALYSIS VERSUS PERITONEAL DIALYSIS PRESENTED BY: Dr. Shuangbo Liu, PGY5 Cardiology
SUPERVISOR: Dr. Malek Kass

Clinical investigation
IT'S SHOCKINGLY COLD: IMPLANTABLE CARDIOVERTER-DEBRILLATOR SHOCKS AND EXTREME COLD WEATHER
PRESENTED BY: Dr. Justin Cloutier, PGY3 Internal Medicine
SUPERVISOR: Dr. Colette Seifer

Clinical investigation
INCIDENCE AND OUTCOMES FOR ACTIONABLE ATRIAL FIBRILLATION IN A TERTIARY ELECTROCARDIOGRAM READING CENTRE
PRESENTED BY: Dr. Rae.Kiran Jhinger, PGY1 Internal Medicine
SUPERVISOR: Dr. Colette Seifer

Clinical investigation
THE DIAGNOSTIC YIELD OF IMPLANTABLE CARDIAC MONITORS IN OLDER VERSUS YOUNGER PATIENTS PRESENTING WITH SYNCOPE
PRESENTED BY: Dr. Karen Chu, PGY5 Cardiology
SUPERVISOR: Dr. Colette Seifer

Clinical investigation
ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY IN UNCROSSABLE AND UNDILATABLE LESIONS: OUTCOMES POST SECOND.GENERATION DRUG ELUTING STENTS
PRESENTED BY: Dr. Rahul Bhindi, PGY3 Internal Medicine
SUPERVISOR: Dr. Malek Kass

Clinical investigation
UTILITY OF NT-PRO BNP LEVELS IN PREDICTING THE SEVERITY OF AORTIC STENOSIS PRESENTED BY: Dr. Bill Ayach, PGY5 Cardiology
SUPERVISOR: Dr. Francisco Cordova

Clinical investigation
THE PREVALENCE AND IMPACT OF FRAILTY IN ICD AND CRT-D PATIENTS: EARLY RESULTS FROM THE FRAIL-D STUDY
PRESENTED BY: Dr. Christopher Lee, PGY3 Internal Medicine
SUPERVISOR: Dr. Colette Seifer

Case report
IMAGING MODALITIES TO CONFIRM PACEMAKER LEAD PLACEMENT IN AN INTERESTING CASE
PRESENTED BY: Dr. Lindsay Torbiak, PGY2 Internal Medicine
SUPERVISOR: Dr. Colette Seifer
Monday 11 April 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 11/04/16

1. Dr. William McIntyre, one of our outstanding Cardiology residents, has been the recipient of a number of awards recently:

- He received the 2016 Sanofi / Heart and Stroke Foundation Award in Cardiology. This $10,000 annual prize is presented to a clinical resident who demonstrates academic excellence and pursues additional academic training beyond core cardiology.

- It was just announced that he was named as Resident of the Month for the month of December 2015. This award is bestowed by PARIM (Professional Association of Residents and Interns of Manitoba) on an outstanding resident nominated by one of his/her peers.

- Dr. McIntyre was also awarded a 2-year, $120,000 research award from the Canadian Stroke Prevention Network (C-SPIN). He will hold this award during his fellowship at McMaster University in Hamilton, which will begin July 1, 2016.

2. You'll see some new faces among the EKG staff at WRHA facilities this week, as we are joined by 6 students from the Stenberg College cardiology technology program who are doing their 12 week practicums. Each student will gain experience in Holter, EKG and stress testing. Welcome to all of them!

3. The countdown to the Accreditation Canada surveyor visit is in the single digits now - T minus 9 days until they're on-site at SBH to review Cardiac Sciences. As part of the final preparation, please review the attached newsletter.

4. We're pleased to announce that Mr. Gus Castaneda will be joining the Cardiac Sciences team at St. Boniface Hospital! He has accepted the position of Program Team Manager for the Intensive Care Cardiac Surgery unit and will begin in that position May 9.

5. Congratulations to Dr. Davinder Jassal, who was awarded the 2016 Doctors Manitoba Scholastic Award for scholarly activity in the health professions. This accomplishment will be recognized at the Doctors Manitoba Awards & Presidential Installation dinner on May 6.
Monday 28 March 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 28/03/16





1. This year's annual meeting of the American Delirium Society will be held in Nashville, Tennessee June 1-3. An excellent program has been developed, with opportunities for education, networking, and this year, a barbecue at a real Nashville honky-tonk! More information can be found here. You can take advantage of the early registration discount if you register by March 31!

2. Accreditation is fast approaching: the countdown is now at 23 days! This week's information sheet gives information about the ROPs (Required Organizational Practices) that are important to know about. By reviewing the information sheet, you'll be prepared to answer any questions that may be asked.

3. Congratulations to Dr. Rakesh Arora on his promotion to full Professor jointly in the Department of Surgery, the Department of Anesthesia and the Department of Physiology & Pathophysiology (College of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba).

4. Too much work and too much to think about are probably the reasons that lead to the following mistakes and bloopers which were assembled from medical charts!

- The baby was delivered, the cord clamped and cut, and handed to the pediatrician, who breathed and cried immediately.

- The patient lives at home with his mother, father, and pet turtle, who is presently enrolled in day care three times a week.

- When she fainted, her eyes rolled around the room.

- The patient is tearful and crying constantly. She also appears to be depressed.

- Healthy-appearing, decrepit 69 year old male, mentally alert but forgetful.

- The patient's past medical history has been remarkably insignificant with only a 40 pound weight gain in the past three days.

- He had a left-toe amputation one month ago. He also had a left-knee amputation last year.
Monday 14 March 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 14/03/16

1. The University of Manitoba, Department of Surgery is hosting a Grand Rounds presentation on March 16 from 0800 – 0900. The topic will be “How far have we come since the Cardiac Inquest?” and the invited speaker will be The Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair. You can attend in person by going to the UM Bannatyne Campus in Theater C in the Basic Medical Sciences Building. Or tune into a live webcast! http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/health_sciences/medicine/units/surgery/home/10006.html Once you’re on the page in the link, click on the globe/stethoscope on the right to join.

2. Dr. Amir Ravandi has received support for his research on blood analysis (looking at oxidized fats as markers to predict heart attach) from the Conrad & Evelyn Wyrzykowski Fund, through the St. Boniface Hospital Foundation. Congratulations, Dr. Ravandi, on this well-deserved recognition!

3. Welcome to Rikki-Lee Fletcher, who started work in the SBH Cardiac Catheterization Lab recently. She comes to us from the Critical Care Relief Team, and we’re very happy to have her on board!

4. Farewell and good luck to Wade Morrison, Health Care Aide, who retired from the Pre- and Post-Procedure unit (Y2) at SBH on Friday, March 4, 2016. All the best in your well-deserved retirement!

5. A very warm welcome, as well, to MaryAnn Tucker who has joined the team of Cardiac Transcriptionists. MaryAnn has significant experience, having worked as a medical transcriptionist since 2006. We are very pleased to have her join our transcription team. MaryAnn’s first day will be Monday March 14th.

6. Bring on the dance music as we celebrate with the SBH Cardiac Surgery Inpatient Unit on their achievement of obtaining excellent patient satisfaction results! For the June – September 2015 period, 100% of inpatients who responded to the regional patient satisfaction survey rated the overall quality of care and services to be excellent or very good! Congratulations to everyone on CSIU for setting an example in delivering excellent patient-centred care!

7. Welcome to all the students who will be starting placements at SBH on March 14th: Non-Invasive Cardiac Diagnostic area will be welcoming Cardiology Technology Students from Stenberg College, and Echocardiology will be welcoming its first student from the inaugural class of the Red River College Cardiac Sonographer Program. Let’s all make them feel welcome! 8. The Accreditation visit is coming up; surveyors will be on-site at SBH on April 20 to review the Cardiac Sciences program…for information on what to expect, please see the attached newsletter. And please share this with others in your area!
Monday 29 February 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 29/02/16





1. The Canadian Council of Cardiovascular Nurses (CCCN) represents the largest group of Canadian nurses practicing within the cardiovascular field and is proudly associated with the Canadian Nurses Association, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society. If you are interested in more information about CCCN, please check us out at www.cccn.ca or contact a Manitoba chapter executive at CCCN-MB@cccn.ca.

The Manitoba Chapter of CCCN has just started a quarterly journal club, which is open to all. The first meeting on February 8 was well attended and the next meeting will be in May. For further details contact CCCN-MB@cccn.ca or ckuttnig@sbgh.mb.ca We'd love to have you join us!

2. From Friday, Feb 12 to Sunday, Feb 14, 2016, the Adult Cardiology residents at the University of Manitoba participated in the annual Western Cardiology Residents Education Program (WECREEP) conference in Calgary. WECREEP is a conference where all of the Adult Cardiology trainees in Western Canada (including those from UBC, U of Alberta, U of Calgary, U of Saskatchewan, and U of Manitoba) meet on an annual basis. The U of M trainees took first place in the Academic Jeopardy competition at WECREEP showcasing their academic and trivia knowledge!





3. Congratulations to: Lorraine J. Avery, Andrea Szwajcer, Shelley Zieroth, Bev Temple, Jo-Ann V. Sawatzky for their recent publication entitled: Caregiver experiences of providing care to adult individuals living with a left ventricular assist device: a qualitative systematic review protocol. Published in: JBISRIR Vol 14, No. 1 (2016) pp 44-54. Take a look at the publication here: http://joannabriggslibrary.org/index.php/jbisrir/article/view/2534

4. The Manitoba Medical Students' Association honours physician teachers each year with a number of awards. The MMSA 2014/15 Teaching Awards were announced recently, and a big congratulations goes to Dr. Anita Soni, who received an award for Best Course for the Med I Cardiovascular course. A number of other cardiologists were nominated for awards as well, and we want to congratulate them on being recognized in this way for their teaching:

Dr. Colette Seifer - nominated for Med III Attending Clinical Teaching, Mentorship, Patient Advocacy and Professionalism.

Dr. Anita Soni - nominated for Med I Awards for Innovation, Inspiration and Mentorship as well as Med II Award for Innovation and Inspiration

Dr. Clarence Khoo - nominated for Med I ¡V Best Small Group, Innovation and Inspiration

Dr. Thang Nguyen - nominated for Med I - Best Small Group

Dr. Davinder Jassal - nominated for Med I ¡V Mentorship

Dr. Amir Ravandi - nominated for Med I ¡V Best Small Group

5. February is Heart Month¡Kthe Winnipeg Free Press published an article that showcased the success of the Cardiac Sciences Program's Code STEMI procedure. Read the article here: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/health/heart-of-the-matter-369676411.html

6. HSC's display to celebrate Cardiology Technology day (pictured: Kathryn Hurtig and Gary Trepanier).


Monday 15 February 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 15/02/16



1. In recognition of February as Healthy Heart Month, Dr. Shelley Zieroth was interviewed on CJOB radio, where she spoke on behalf of the Heart and Stroke Foundation, promotion the 2016 Report on the Health of Canadians. She was also a guest, along with patient Mr. Fern Robidoux, on CTV Live, speaking about heart failure. Both of these appearances took place on Tuesday, February 2. Click on this link to see a video clip of the CTV interview: http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=799897

2. It was wonderful to see so many people out at the Cardiac Sciences Staff Social on Saturday, February 6. The crowd totalled about 80, and all had a great time. Door prize and silent auction winners went home very happy! The 50/50 draw raised about $250 for the Heart Pillow Project and the leftover food was donated to Winnipeg Harvest. A big thank-you goes out to the planning committee and to Lesli Meek and Terri Hillier for all their work in making this event a success!

3. Accreditation is fast approaching! The countdown to April 20, when the survey team will be at SBH to survey the Cardiac Sciences Program, is 65 days.

4. The HSC Cardiology Technology group held a public education event in the William Ave. mall on Friday, February 12th from 9-3 in recognition of Cardiology Technologist Day (February 14th). A booth showcased the profession with posters, power point presentations, games and displays. A big thank you goes out to Kathryn Hurtig for all her hard work on this endeavor. Happy (belated) Cardiology Technologist Day to all you CTs out there!!

5. Thoughts for the day on Teamwork:

"None of us is as smart as all of us." --Ken Blanchard

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." --Henry Ford

"Finding good players is easy. Getting them to play as a team is another story." --Casey Stengel
Monday 1 February 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 01/02/16

1. At this point, everyone should have their tickets for the Cardiac Sciences Staff Social on February 6th! We’ll see you at the Belgian Club—come ready for lots of fun! If you don’t already have a ticket but want to come, please call Lesli Meek to check out last-minute ticket availability (204-258-1089).

2. With all the issues related to slowdowns with the SBH EPR lately, this video (EHR State of Mind) might help everyone laugh a little bit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB_tSFJsjsw

3. Sheila Bowles’ retirement dinner, held at the Winnipeg Winter Club on January 14, was a great success! We shared good food & drink, a few laughs and even some tears. Sheila said, “I had a blast! I would like to thank everyone for their support over the years and the wonderful times I had working in such a great program. THANK YOU ALL!”

4. Movin’ on….down—from CR5 to CR1! Congratulations to Reid Love, who is leaving his SBH position as Program Team Manager of the Intensive Care Cardiac Surgery on CR5, to take on the role of Program Director, WRHA Cardiac Sciences Program (with an office on CR1). His official start date in the new position is next week (February 8th) and his first order of business will be to find a new PTM for ICCS!

5. Congratulations to Dr. Davinder Jassal who is the recipient of the Doctors Manitoba Scholastic Award for 2016, for scholarly activity in the health professions (examples of scholarly activity are research, teaching, and writing).

6. A touch of humour: I was having some chest pains, but my cardiologist assured me nothing was wrong. I told him I was planning a cruise to Alaska and asked if he had any suggestions for avoiding the discomfort. “Have fun,” he said with a straight face, “but don’t go overboard.”
Monday 18 January 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 18/01/16





1. Dr. Karen Chu, cardiology resident, has had an abstract accepted and is one of 6 finalists from across Canada who will be presenting at the Arrhythmia Update Plus 2016 later this month in Whistler, B.C. Her case is, titled "An Unusual Presentation of Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia," was supervised by Dr. Colette Seifer. Congratulations and good luck, Dr. Chu!

2. Congratulations to Belinda Landry, who is the new continuing education instructor for the ICCS (Intensive Care Cardiac Surgery, SBH)! She accepted a term position that ends July 2016.
 
3. There are 9 students from Winnipeg who are enrolled in the Stenberg College (Surrey, BC) program for Cardiology Technology. They will be back this spring to begin their 12 week practicums at WRHA sites.

4. Need a little lift mid-way through this dreary Winnipeg winter? Celebrate Heart Month by coming to the Cardiac Sciences Staff Social for some warmth and good cheer! See attached for details. It promises to be a night of fun and entertainment, with dancing and prizes! Tickets are on sale now; for more information, call Lesli at 258-1089.

5. See attached for an update on Accreditation 2016, which is fast approaching! The accreditation surveyors will be coming to survey all of WRHA April 17 – 22.

6. On the lighter side:

A consultation letter:
Dear Doctor, I am apparently referring this man to you! Unfortunately I can't find any records in the notes as to why, but I'm sure you will find out. Yours sincerely with kind regards.
Monday 4 January 2016

Cardiac Staff Matters 04/01/16

Cardiac Staff Matters is a regular publication of updates, information, points to ponder, and news items that are significant to the Program. The aim is to pass these points on during huddles, in conversations, and by posting in clinical areas to ensure widest dissemination.

1. Congratulations to Elaine Ibbotson on her recent retirement from the Victoria Hospital after 23 years of dedicated service. Since 1999 she has held the Charge Technologist position in the EKG department where she has been an exceptional leader. We thank Elaine for her many contributions over the years and wish her a happy and healthy retirement.

2. Also, congratulations and “fare-thee-well” to Sheila Bowles, who retired as the Program Director for the WRHA Cardiac Sciences Program as of December 31. Sheila worked with the program for many years, moving from her position as the Program Team Manager of the SBH Intensive Care Cardiac Surgery unit to the WRHA Program Director position in 2008. She has been a strong advocate and leader for the CSP, and was always a pleasure to work with. Thank you, Sheila! Good luck and best wishes for a happy retirement!

3. A chuckle to start 2016:

A panel of doctors was asked for their opinions concerning a proposal to build a new wing to their hospital. This was what they said:

The Allergist voted to scratch it.
The Dermatologist preferred no rash moves.
The Psychiatrist thought it was madness.
The Radiologist could see right through it.
The Gastroenterologist had a gut feeling about it.
The Neurologist thought the administration had a lot of nerve.
The Obstetrician was labouring under a misconception.
The Ophthalmologist considered the idea short-sighted.
The Pathologist yelled, "Over my dead body."
The Paediatrician said, "Grow up!"
The Plastic Surgeon said, “This puts a whole new face on the matter.”
The Podiatrist thought it was a step forward.
The Urologist felt the scheme wouldn't hold water.
 The Surgeon decided to wash his hands of the whole thing.
The Anaesthesiologist thought the whole idea was a gas.
The Cardiologist didn't have the heart to say no.