Thursday 8 June 2017

Cardiac Staff Matters 05/06/17

1. Winnipeg was well represented at the CCCN spring conference in Victoria May 26-27!



2. COMINGS AND GOINGS:

- Yana Shevchenko, Cardiac Sonographer, resigned from SBH as of May 27, 2017. Yana contributed to the excellence of our Echo department with her scanning abilities and specialty training. We wish Yana well as she begins the next chapter of her life in Ontario!

- Please welcome Katrina (Kat) Bouchie, Surgical Office assistant to the Cardiac Surgery clinic team, who comes to us from the Pan Am Clinic. She started in mid-May. Hope you’re settling in well, Kat!

3. Congratulations to the Section of Cardiac Surgery on recent publications/acceptances:

- Alex S, Hiebert B, Arora R, Menkis A, Shah, P. Survival and long-term outcomes of aortic valve replacement in patients aged 55 to 65 years. Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeon. 2017 May 16. doi: 10.1055/s-0037-1602825. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 28511244

- Kuo K, Shah P, Hiebert B, Love K, Menkis A, Manji R, Arora R. Predictors of survival, functional survival and hospital readmission in octogenarians after surgical aortic valve replacement. Accepted for publication by J Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

- Richard M, Shah P, Katz P, Love K, Semaniuk N, Menkis A, Rockman-Greenberg C. Type A aortic dissection, apparent mineralocorticoid excess syndrome and syndromic aortic root dilatation. Am Assoc of Clinical Endocrinology. Doi: 10.4158/EP161525.CR [to be published in print September 2017]

4. IN THE NEWS…

- An interview with Dr. Clarence Khoo was aired on CJOB radio on May 27, speaking about the electrical system of the heart. To see a video clip of that interview, click here. To listen to the interview click here.

- To listen to Dr. Amir Ravandi’s April 2 interview on angioplasty on CJOB, click here. (Previously mentioned in the April 10 edition of Cardiac Staff Matters.)

5. On a lighter note:


Tuesday 23 May 2017

Cardiac Staff Matters 22/05/17


1. Dr. Sandra Lauck was a guest of the Cardiac Sciences Program on May 8 to share the experiences of St. Paul Hospital’s (Vancouver) TAVI (Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation) program with us. The TAVI program at SBH started in 2012 and the processes continue to be refined. While she was here, Dr. Lauck lectured at Grand Rounds and had meetings with various groups of staff to share her insight and experiences. Her visit invigorated the team with energy and new ideas!

2. The Manitoba division of the Canadian Council of Cardiovascular Nurses is holding a day-long conference on June 5 at Inn at the Forks. “Keeping Current with Cardiovascular Care 2017” will feature a number of interesting speakers on topics from prevention through rehabilitation. Follow the link for more information.

3. COMINGS AND GOINGS:

- Welcome to Melissa Wiebe, who starts her permanent full-time position in the CSP Access Office at SBH this week!

- Good luck to Jennifer Stebner, who has been a cardiac echosonographer at HSC since March 2003. Her last day there is June 14th. Join us in wishing her all the best!

-  Marina Novelli is also retiring from the Echo Department at HSC (for a second time—she just couldn’t stay away!). Her last day is June 21. Hope you get the rest and free time you so richly deserve, Marina!

-  Once again we welcome Belinda Landry to the role of Clinical Education Instructor, supporting the Intensive Care Cardiac Surgery unit at SBH. Thanks Belinda, for stepping in while Ashleigh Shearer is away!

- In September, we will welcome two new interventional cardiologists to St. Boniface Hospital: Dr. Michael Love and Dr. Ashish Shah.

4. Four Cardiology trainees will be completing their Cardiology training on June 30th 2017. Congratulations to Drs. Bilal Ayach, Karen Chu, Shuangbo Liu and Rajat Sharma. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors. Know that you will be missed!

5. IN THE NEWS…
-  Dr. Amir Ravandi presented Interventional Cardiology on the Health Report on April 2nd. The link to his talk is https://omny.fm/shows/the-health-report/health-report-april-2nd.

6. Congratulations to Dr. Davinder Jassal on being awarded an operating grant in the amount of $118,773.10 from CancerCare Manitoba (2017-2019). Dr. Jassal, along with his co-applicant, Dr. S. Niraula, will be conducting a study titled: “Flaxseed in the mitigation of anthracycline and trastuzumab mediated cardiotoxicity study (FANTAM)”.

7. Our cardiologists have been quite prolific lately in being published:

-  Liu S, Ducas RA, Hiebert B, Koley L, Philipp RK, Tam JW. It's not just the snow; it's also the cold. CMAJ. 2017 Apr 10;189(14):E546. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.732931. PubMed PMID: 28396335; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5386852.

-  Liu S, Toleva O, Ravandi A, Pozeg Z, Menkis A, Kass M. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in an Extremely Tortuous S-Shaped Aorta. Case Rep Cardiol. 2017;2017:2936513. doi: 10.1155/2017/2936513. Epub 2017 Mar 2. PubMed PMID: 28352480; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5352869.

- Capoulade R, Chan KL, Mathieu P, Bossé Y, Dumesnil JG, Tam JW, Teo KK, Yang X, Witztum JL, Arsenault BJ, Després JP, Pibarot P, Tsimikas S. Autoantibodies and immune complexes to oxidation-specific epitopes and progression of aortic stenosis: Results from the ASTRONOMER trial. Atherosclerosis. 2017 May;260:1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2017.03.013. Epub 2017 Mar 9. PubMed PMID: 28319871.

- Clarke B, Ducharme A, Giannetti N, Kim D, McDonald M, Pflugfelder P, Rajda M, Sénéchal M, Stadnick E, Toma M, Zieroth S, Isaac D. Multicenter evaluation of a national organ sharing policy for highly sensitized patients listed for heart transplantation in Canada. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2017 May;36(5):491-498. doi: 10.1016/j.healun.2017.01.003. Epub 2017 Jan 6. PubMed PMID: 28162932.

- Pituskin E, Mackey JR, Koshman S, Jassal D, Pitz M, Haykowsky MJ, Pagano JJ, Chow K, Thompson RB, Vos LJ, Ghosh S, Oudit GY, Ezekowitz JA, Paterson DI. Multidisciplinary Approach to Novel Therapies in Cardio-Oncology Research (MANTICORE 101-Breast): A Randomized Trial for the Prevention of Trastuzumab-Associated Cardiotoxicity. J Clin Oncol. 2017 Mar 10;35(8):870-877. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2016.68.7830. Epub 2016 Nov 28. PubMed PMID: 27893331.
Friday 12 May 2017

Cardiac Staff Matters 08/05/17





1. Kudos to Dr. Davinder Jassal for being awarded a grant from Diagnostic Services Manitoba for his research on Scleraxis as a biomarker for cardiac fibrosis in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

2. COMINGS AND GOINGS:

-  Help us extend a belated yet warm welcome to Cliff Cruzat, who accepted an indefinite term position as CRN for Y2PP & Y2 Special Procedures at SBH. He’s been with us since April 21st. We’re glad to have you aboard, Cliff!

-  Four new casual Cardiology Technicians joined the Non-Invasive Cardiac Diagnostics area at SBH. Trypheana Geddes, Amy Grewal, Chelsea Neilson and Jazlyn Wark, all recent graduates from Stenberg College, have begun their orientations here. Welcome to all of you!

-  Three new nurses have been hired within the program at SBH. Welcome to Bethany Campbell who will be working on CR4 at SBH, and to Lindsay Skelly and Amanda Wray, who will both be with the Cardiac Sciences Relief Team. All completed their senior practicum here—we’re so glad you decided to stay on with us!

-  Liza Alupay is a nurse at SBH who recently transferred from ACCU to the Cardiac Clinics, starting on May 1st. She has experience in a number of aspects of our program, and we’re happy she’s staying with us!

3. Congratulations to Dr. Shuangbo Liu, Chief Cardiology Resident, is the recipient of the Sanofi 2017 Canada/Heart & Stroke Foundation Award in Cardiology for excellence in research and scholarly activity in the discipline of Adult Cardiology at the University of Manitoba. Well done!

4. Internal Medicine held its Resident Research Day on April 25th, and cardiology was well represented:

-  Dr. Justin Cloutier presented the day’s best published paper, which was derived from his 2015 Resident Research Day presentation. Way to go!

-  Dr. Malek Kass supervised research by both Dr. Anas Merdad and Dr. Chris Parr who placed 2nd and 3rd (respectively) in the category of “Clinical Investigation by a Core Resident.

5. Dr. Lorraine Avery, one of our Clinical Nurse Specialists, was featured in the Canadian Nurses Association’s National Nursing Week 2017 publication, which was an insert in the May 4th edition of the Winnipeg Free Press. In the article, Lorraine described the wide range of opportunities and career paths available to nurses, and emphasized the importance of being always focused on the patient. Lorraine—you’re a great role model!

6. On May 4th, the SBH Heart Failure Clinic held a free educational afternoon for patients and families at the Canad Inns Transcona. This Heart Failure Awareness Day, which was attended by 165 people, gave attendees information to allow them to recognize the risk factors for heart failure as well as the signs and symptoms. Experts in the treatment of heart failure also presented on treatment options. Congratulations to the Heart Failure Clinic staff on this very successful public education event!
Monday 24 April 2017

Cardiac Staff Matters 24/04/17



1. The Heart Attack Education Day held on April 13 was an overwhelming success! The brainchild of Dr. John Ducas, Lorraine Avery, and Randy Fransoo attracted over 150 attendees, who were introduced to the 17 standards and 2 algorithms for the care of patients with acute coronary syndrome across the province. In
addition, they had opportunities to learn about many other aspects of ACS care.


A big thank you to all those who contributed to Heart Attack Day, including the planning committee, the speakers, and the fantastic volunteer actors who starred in the video!

2. COMINGS AND GOINGS:

- Parminder (Pam) Singh, Cardiology Technologist at SBH, will be retiring after 36 years of service. Pam has provided expert care to the patients in the Stress Lab, Holter Lab and EKG and will be missed. Pam's last day will be April 28th. Please join us on that day from 1400-1600 in the Asper Mezzanine to celebrate her retirement.

- We bid a fond farewell to Lesli Meek, who is leaving the program as of April 27. Lesli has been an integral part of the program for 8 years, first as an Administrative Secretary and more recently as Program Team Assistant for the WRHA Cardiac Sciences Program. Throughout this time she has demonstrated a very high work ethic and an attitude of professionalism and she will be greatly missed. Please join us in wishing her the very best in her new position.

- Welcome to Kylie McClurg who started work as a nurse on 5A at SBH on April 18. Completion of a recent senior practicum there provides a springboard for her in this position. Glad to have you aboard!

3. A presentation describing the research projects that have been undertaken to address the issues of frailty and delirium in older adults undergoing cardiac surgery was given by Dr. Rakesh Arora and Dr. Todd Duhamel on April 13. The audience, though small, represented a mix of specialties and expressed a high degree of interest.

4. Congratulations to Dr. Rakesh Arora on his receipt of a Top Performance Award of the Editorial Board of the The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. As one of 5 recipients in the Perioperative section, Dr. Arora received this award as a result of his "...hard work, dedication, and outstanding performance as a reviewer The Journal and the specialty have benefited greatly from [his] commitment and expertise." We're proud to have you as part of our team!

5. We all need a chuckle:

I'd just come home from my sixth medical appointment of the week with one more to go, so I was in a lousy mood when my daughter called. After I recited my woes, my daughter said, "Well, seven doctors is better than one coroner."

Did you hear about the guy who lost his whole left side? He's alright now!

Mother: I need to speak to the doctor, it's an emergency, my infant has a temperature of 101.
Doctor to Secretary: Find out how she's taking the temperature.
Secretary: How are you taking it?
Mother: Oh, I'm holding up OK.
Tuesday 11 April 2017

Cardiac Staff Matters 10/04/17

1. Dr. Rizwan Manji was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery, effective March 30, 2017. Congratulations, Dr. Manji!

2. Congratulations as well to Dr. Michael Raabe, who was awarded the 2015/2016 Academic Teaching Award by the Manitoba Medical Students Association (MMSA).

3. IN THE NEWS…

Dr. Mahwash Saeed was interviewed on CJNU 93.7 FM just after 1:00 am on April 1, 2017. She spoke about women's heart health.

Dr. Amir Ravandi was on the CJOB health report this past Sunday, April 2, 2017 sharing our educational, research, and clinical accolades in Interventional Cardiology. Click this link to listen: http://www.thehealthreport.ca/Audio/april2_2017.mp3

4. COMINGS AND GOINGS:

Farewell and good luck to Bernardine Brys, a nurse in the cardiac clinics with 30 years of service who will be retiring at the end of this month. Her last day will be April 28th, capped off by her retirement tea to be held from 2-4 pm in the Buhler Gallery. Thank you for your contribution, Bernardine, and enjoy your retirement!

Welcome aboard to Karen Throndson, who will start on April 18 in a new position as WRHA Clinical Nurse Specialist, Cardiac Sciences. This isn’t a new role for Karen, as she’s been a CNS at Health Sciences Centre for the past 7 years. We look forward to having you with us here at SBH, Karen!

Welcome to Stephanie McEwan, who will be starting as a casual Receptionist I in the NICD department, effective today! Glad to have you on the team!

5. Heart Attack Education Day will be held this week, on April 13 at the Samuel N. Cohen Auditorium. The day, which will launch use of the new ACS Standards across the province, will be filled with informative presentations and opportunities to network. If you haven’t already registered, hurry to do so as registration is near capacity! Click for more information and to register.

6. This year’s Heart Failure and Transplant Clinic Retreat will take place May 24. The theme this year is From Guidelines to Clinical Practice: Optimizing the Management of Heart Failure. For more information or to register, please contact Karan Kraft at kkraft@sbgh.mb.ca or 204-237-2744.

7. The Cardiac Sciences Program Team Managers and the Program Director at SBH recently visited The Real Escape, where they escaped from Death Row.



From left to right:
Donna Lee Samson, Rosanne Labossiere-Gee,
Gus Castaneda, Kelly Lewington, Reid Love,
Steve Klassen, Lisa Bowen and Dan Quinn.
Tuesday 28 March 2017

Cardiac Staff Matters 27/03/17

1. Congratulations to Dr. Davinder Jassal, whose promotion to the rank of Full Professor was approved by the Executive and Governance Committee of the University of Manitoba’s Board of Governors. This promotion is effective March 30th, 2017.

2. At the March 7, 2017 Teacher Recognition and Manitoba Medical Students Association (MMSA) Teaching Awards dinner, Dr. Clarence Khoo received the Med 1/Class of 2019 Award for Innovation and Dr. Anita Soni received the award for Best Course, Med 1 for the Cardiovascular course. This is wonderful recognition of the individuals, but also of the excellent teaching done within the program. Congratulations to both of you!

3. Another honour was achieved by Dr. Shuangbo Liu, Chief Resident Adult Cardiology, who was the recipient of the Dean of Medicine’s Education and Research Fellowship Fund 2017.

4. COMINGS & GOINGS:

A warm welcome is extended to Julio Molina, who started last week in the permanent position of Administrative Secretary in the CSP at SBH. Julio has over ten years of experience and will be a wonderful addition to the program. Glad you’re on board, Julio!

We have also hired a term secretary from April 2017 – May 2018. A warm welcome is extended to Cassandra Both, who is coming to us from Pharmacy. We’re happy to have you join us!
Monday 13 March 2017

Cardiac Staff Matters 13/03/17

1. The cardiology residents gave community presentations at Wellness Center and Reh-Fit Center on February 15, 2017. This is an annual event to provide general cardiology education to the public. The three topics were: Negative effects of sedentary behaviour; E-cigarettes: friend or foe; and Taking supplements: does it affect your heart health? Dr. Thang Nguyen helped arrange this event and the residents enjoyed the experience. The sessions were very well attended and the feedback was positive.


Left to Right: Casie Nishi (Executive Director Wellness Institute), Rhea Vaags-Olfson, (Chronic Disease Coordinator, Wellness Institute), Dr. Hardeep Mahal, Dr. Scott Donald, Dr. Shuangbo Liu, Dr. Thang Nguyen (Attending Cardiologist), Dr. Russell Fernandes, Dr. Karen Chu and Dr. Bilal Ayach

2. Calling All Former HSC INTENSIVE CARE Staff: In 2017, the ICU at HSC Winnipeg is celebrating 50 years of care. They want to share celebration information with as many past and present members of the HSC ICU team as possible. If you, or someone you know, worked with or at HSC’s ICU in past years, kindly forward names and contact information to Donna Henry at dhenry@hsc.mb.ca. Congratulations to HSC ICU!

3. Dr. Shelley Zieroth was featured, along with Dr. Thomas Netticadan, on the CJOB Health Report on February 26th in an episode about heart health. They were discussing how compounds found in red wine, specifically resveratrol, may promote heart health.

4. Dr. Rakesh Arora, Dr. Shelley Zieroth and Ms Andrea Edel travelled as part of a group of approximately 20 researchers from Winnipeg to Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel last week. The Cardiac Sciences researchers had the honour to be part of a research collaborative involving the St. Boniface Hospital Foundation and the Ben Gurion University. They had the opportunity to network and explore the potential for joint research initiatives.

5. Wednesday, March 15 has been designated World Delirium Day by iDelirium, an international consortium of organizations dedicated to fostering research, education, quality improvement, advocacy and application of knowledge to minimize the impact of delirium on short and long term health and well-being.

On this day, all health care professionals are asked to take one action to help raise awareness of delirium. You could teach a student about delirium, talk to a patient/family member/colleague about delirium, or screen a patient for delirium. Information sheets are available that could be posted or distributed in your workplace (one is for health professionals and one for family members).

For more information, visit http://www.idelirium.org

6. COMINGS & GOINGS:

- We welcome Aleksandra Kaminska to the program! She will start today as a Unit Assistant in the Cardiac Clinics.

- Also welcome to Kathryn Braun, who will be working as a casual NP to the Cardiac Sciences Program. She starts tomorrow!

- A farewell celebration was held last week for Irene Marlatt, a Unit Assistant in the Cardiac Clinics who retired. Her last day was March 9th.

7. Congratulations to principal investigator Dr. Davinder Jassal, who along with coapplicants Dr. Iain Kirkpatrick (Dept. of Radiology) and Dr. Michael Czubryt (Dept. of Physiology and Pathophysiology), received the Diagnostic Services Manitoba Operating Grant 2017 for their work on a study titled Scleraxis as a biomarker for cardiac fibrosis in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Tuesday 28 February 2017

Cardiac Staff Matters 27/02/17

1. February is Heart Health Awareness month, and the program has taken advantage of opportunities to bring information and education on cardiac issues to the public.

  • Dr. Olga Toleva was interviewed about cardiac health for women for the Living Well portion of CTV Morning Live which aired on February 4, 2017. She spoke about women’s heart health highlighting some of the different symptoms women can experience compared with men. Click here to see Dr. Toleva’s interview with CTV Morning Live host Rahim Ladhani.
  • The growing number of people living with heart failure was the topic of an article in the Winnipeg Free Press on February 13, which featured a patient using a LVAD (left ventricular assist device) while awaiting a heart transplant. Dr. Shelley Zieroth was interviewed for this article, pointing out that treatments for heart failure have improved significantly, allowing more people to survive longer. Click here to view this article.
2. Farewell to Dr. Zlatko Pozeg, cardiac surgeon, as he leaves the Cardiac Sciences Program effective March 17. His expertise in aortic surgery and his role in the establishment of TEVAR (thoracic endovascular aortic repair) and TAVI (transcatheter aortic valve implantation) procedures here have contributed greatly to the program. Join us in wishing him and his family good luck as they move east.

3. It is with profound sadness that we share the news that Barbara Shearer, who spent her entire nursing career in cardiac care here at SBH, passed away on February 14, 2017. Barb epitomized a professional nurse. She was a hard worker, always had a smile and aimed to have fun. She was well loved and respected by all who knew her and worked with her. Barb will be sorely missed.

4. A big “Thank you!” to all the staff on 5A, ACCU, CSIU and ICCS at SBH who spent time with internationally educated nurses over the past few weeks. There were 12 IE nurses here who had the opportunity to observe Canadian nurses at their best and ask questions about nursing in Canada and in cardiac care.

5. Construction will begin in the Stress Lab Reception area at SBH in the upcoming weeks. The plan is to have a joint reception area for Nuclear Medicine and the Stress Lab. The first phase of construction will entail the relocation of the Stress Lab reception area. As of March 2nd, Stress Lab Reception will be relocated to C3114 in the northeast corner adjacent to the Stress Lab. Signage will be posted in the area as there will be a narrow hallway to navigate. The Stress Lab will be operational during this phase of the construction.

6. "There are few, if any, jobs in which ability alone is sufficient. Needed, also, are loyalty, sincerity, enthusiasm and team play." --William B. Given, Jr.

Tuesday 14 February 2017

Cardiac Staff Matters 13/02/17





1. February 14th is Cardiology Technologist Day across Canada. In the WRHA, Registered Cardiology Technologists perform all types of non-invasive cardiac diagnostic procedures such as numerous types of EKGs, graded exercise tests, cardio-pulmonary testing, nuclear testing, drug challenge testing, Holter monitoring and event recording.

A Registered Cardiology Technologist is someone who has completed a training program recognized by the Canadian Society of Cardiology Technologists (CSCT) and the Canadian Medical Association, and who has passed the CSCT certification exam.

There are 112 Registered Cardiology Technologists within the province, approximately 90 of whom are employed in the WRHA, with 40 at SBH! Happy Cardiology Technologist Day! We do it with Heart!

2. Welcome to Dalibor Gavranovic, who has accepted the position of Manager, Respiratory Therapy and Perfusion at SBH. His move into this role was effective February 1, 2017. Please join us in welcoming him!

3. Dr. Davinder Jassal was featured on CJOB’s Health Report on February 5th, speaking about the past, present and future of Cardiology in Manitoba. To listen to his conversation with the hosts, click here: http://www.thehealthreport.ca/Audio/feb5_2017.mp3.

4. Some reorganization of duties has occurred at Health Sciences Centre, and as of today, we wish Marlene Myketa-Girard farewell and good luck in her expanded responsibilities in the Surgery Program. At the same time, we welcome Suzanne Zdanuk, who will be managing the echocardiography service at HSC. Suzanne is currently the manager of Diagnostic Imaging Support Services, Adult CT as well as Adult Ultrasound. She will be reporting to Christine Parfeniuk, the Director, Diagnostic Imaging there. Welcome, both of you to the Cardiac Sciences Program!
Monday 30 January 2017

Cardiac Staff Matters 30/01/17





1. Dr. Colette Seifer, who has been the Acting Medical Director for Cardiology for the past year, has now accepted that position on a permanent basis. Congratulations, Dr. Seifer!

2. Two cardiac intensivist/researchers in the CSP were recipients of the University of Manitoba, Department of Surgery Research Grant Awards for their projects. Dr. Rizwan Manji was awarded $15,000 for his project on The Immune Response in Aortic Stenosis and Dr. Rakesh Arora was granted $12,950 for his on Validation of the 4AT delirium screening tool in cardiac surgery patient population. Congratulations to both of you!

3. Five residents and trainees presented on behalf of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Manitoba, Department of Surgery Research Day:

- Kyla Barrie BSc Med: TELESCOPE-CS: ThE long tErm SuCcess Of Prolonged intEnsive care patients after Cardiac Surgery

- Dr. Ricky Muller Moran: Effect of operating room extubation on post-operative delirium after cardiac surgery

- Summer Dubriel BSc Med: Long-term outcomes of survivors undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in Manitoba between 2007 and 2016

- Dr. Weiang Yan: Long-term functional survival and re-hospitalization after surgical aortic and mitral valve replacements in a large provincial cardiac surgery centre

- Oksana Marushchak BSc Med: Analysis of short- and long-term outcomes of surgically treated left-sided infective endocarditis patients: A 10-year longitudinal follow-up study

Dr. Weiang Yan was awarded 2nd place and Oksana Marushchak was awarded 3rd place in the Plenary Podium Competition.

4. Dr. Rakesh Arora has been named co-chair of the newly created Advisory Board for the Cardiac Surgery Unit-Advanced Life Support (North America) organization. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons has recently (January 22) issued an Expert Consensus Paper for the Resuscitation of Patients Who Arrest After Cardiac Surgery.

5. Farewell to Jessica Fraser, Administrative Secretary at SBH, whose last day will be February 3rd. Jessica has worked with the Cardiac Sciences program for 10 years; her efficiency, knowledge and experience will be greatly missed. Good luck in your new position at the University of Manitoba, Jessica!

6. Congratulations to Dr. Rakesh Arora on his appointment as Section Head of the Section of Cardiac Surgery (Dept. of Surgery, University of Manitoba) and the Medical Director, Cardiac Surgery (Cardiac Sciences Program, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority)! Please join us in welcoming him to this role.

7. We wish a very happy retirement to Ed Stocki, Program Support Manager for Respiratory Therapy & Perfusion at SBH. He¡¦s worked with the Cardiac Sciences Program for the past 5 years, although his tenure at SBH has been almost 40 years! His last day will be tomorrow (January 31). Please join us in congratulating him and wishing him great times!

8. A paper by Dr. David Allen and co-authors B. Ma, K. Leung, M. Graham, N. Pannu, M. Trabousli, D. Goodhart, M. Knudtson & M. James, has been accepted for publication by the Canadian Journal of Cardiology. The paper, Risk Prediction Models for Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury Accompanying Cardiac Catheterization; Systematic Review and Meta-analysis, is in press. Congratulations, Dr. Allen!

9. And yet another piece of news about Dr. Rakesh Arora¡Khe has accepted the position of Section Head, Cardiac Surgery and as such will lead the cardiac surgery group in matters clinical as well as academic.
Tuesday 17 January 2017

Cardiac Staff Matters 16/01/17





1. Bev Laurila, Program Director for Cardiac Sciences (among other programs) at Health Sciences Centre, has announced that she will be retiring as of January 27, 2017. Bev has worked in health care in the Winnipeg Region for over 40 years, and her vast knowledge and experience will certainly be missed. A tea will be held in her honour on January 27 from 2 – 4 pm in the Annie Bond Room in the Community Services Building (FE127) at HSC. Join us if you can!

2. Effective January 1st, Dr. Kunal Minhas and Dr. Allan Schaffer were named as medical leads for the Acute Cardiac Care Unit (ACCU) at SBH and the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) at HSC. Dr. Minhas is the Director and Dr. Schaffer the Associate Director. Join us in congratulating them on these new responsibilities!

3. SAVE THE DATE! ACS Network Heart Attack Day will be held on April 13, 2017 at the Sam Cohen Auditorium to launch the new provincial Acute Coronary Standards. More detailed information will be coming soon!

4. Lucy Cabel, Cardiology Technologist, will be retiring after 40+ years of service in the region, both at SBH and HSC. Her last day will be January 27th. Throughout Lucy’s long and distinguished career, she developed special expertise in Holter analyzing. Please stop by the Holter department at SBH to wish Lucy well in her retirement. Good luck, Lucy! Enjoy!

5. We’d like to welcome two new staff members on 5A at SBH. Erika Sandor (nurse) and Shanelle Nault (unit clerk) both started last week. Congratulations on these new positions, Erika & Shanelle, and best of luck as you continue your orientations!

6. "Don't find fault, find a remedy; anybody can complain." — Henry Ford
Wednesday 4 January 2017

Cardiac Staff Matters 19/12/16

1. Dr. David Mymin was interviewed for an article that was published in the Winnipeg Free Press on December 5. Titled “Cholesterol Conundrum,” the article helped health information consumers understand some of the confusing information about diet, cholesterol and heart health. Click on the link to read the story.

2. A very warm “welcome back” to Kristina Patskan, who is a recent grad of the Cardiac Sonography Program at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario. Her first day of work in the Echo Department at SBH was Monday, December 12th. Kristina previously held a position as a Cardiology Technologist at SBH prior to focusing her education on sonography. Please help us welcome her back to the program!

3. We have 2 new RNs in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at SBH: Welcome to both Courtney Maley (formerly from ICCS), and Will Devlin (from SOGH). We’re glad to have you with us and hope you settle in quickly to your new roles!

4. After working meticulously for the past three years with the Interventional Cardiology Research Group, Dolores Friesen is retiring. She has worked at St. Boniface General Hospital since her graduation from the St. Boniface School of Nursing in 1983. Dolores has worked in several areas including CVT, Medical ICU/CCU, Surgical ICU, PARR, Emergency, and Critical Care Float Pool. She has been a staff nurse as well as CRN in the SICU and CVT units and has been a research nurse since 2007, at first with Nephrology and then successfully transitioning into Interventional Cardiology. She has diligently developed the Interventional Cardiology Research Nurse role that has expanded rapidly and successfully over the last three years.
A tea in her honour will be held on Friday, December 23 from 1:30 – 3:30 in room CR3017. Dolores, we will greatly miss you and wish you good luck in your retirement as you spend more time with your beautiful grandchildren!

5. Jan Mawhinney, who has been picking up a lot of casual shifts in the Pacemaker & Defibrillator Clinic over the years since her “retirement,” has decided to move into true retirement from nursing. We will miss her, and wish her all the best!

6. A warm welcome is extended to Kiran Atwal, who has accepted the position of Interventional Cardiology Research Nurse at SBH, effective January 9, 2017. She brings experience in Cardiology, MSICU, and Interventional Cardiology. Kiran will be based in CR3123, phone number: 204-258-1322, pager number: 204-931-2385, and email address: katwal@sbgh.mb.ca. Please help us welcome her to her new role.

7. Update on leadership searches: There are three leadership positions within the Program currently in the process of being filled: Medical Director, Cardiology; Section Head, Cardiac Surgery; overall Medical Director, Cardiac Sciences Program. For all three positions preferred candidates have been selected, and for all three, contracts have been drafted and are being considered by the applicants. Formal announcements about all three are expected early in the new year.

8. Thank you, thank you, thank you to the Section of Cardiology and the Cardiology residents (especially Dr. Raj Sharma) for hosting a festive and funny Holiday Rounds on December 14 at SBH. In addition to receiving entertaining greetings from the various groups within Cardiology (who knew they had such wicked dance moves?), attendees were treated to some hilarious “doctored” video clips (like “The Godfather” aka Dr. John Ducas). There was a rousing game of Family Feud involving docs from the Cath Lab, Heart Failure, EP and Echo areas, hosted at first by Dr. Justin Cloutier and then by Dr. Mahwash Saeed. Team Echo ended up the overall winner and celebrated energetically! Thanks again for the laughs…and the pizza!