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:

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

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!

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?”

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.

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

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!

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

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.

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!

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.