Colleagues Corner
Horizon nurse practitioner named one of 10 Champions for Cultural Diversity
Becoming One Horizon Library
Horizon’s Library Services team is celebrating a major milestone. They’ve standardized, streamlined and consolidated all their resources, processes and services, and now operate as One Horizon Library, regardless of where they work. The team began working towards this milestone when Horizon was formed, and want to share their experience with other teams and departments that are transitioning from segregated areas to one team. How it started The Library Services team includes four librarians and five library technicians who work in Horizon’s five regional hospitals. They have a wealth of experience in the field, with many team members boasting 20, 30 and even close to 40 years’ experience. “I got into this profession because I see the power in good information and how it impacts people — in particular in health care, how it impacts people lives,” said Paul Clark, librarian at Horizon’s Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital. The team provides staff, physicians and students with knowledge-based resources and information needed to provide safe and quality patient care; perform corporate decision-making, policy and procedure development, and research; and, host learning activities. “Even though we don’t directly deal with patients, we’re supporting the clinical and non- clinical staff with evidence-based information that’s current,” said Lori Leger, regional manager of Library Services, who is based at Horizon’s The Moncton Hospital. As a member of the HR portfolio, their move to work as one library service was propelled by Human Resources’ “One Horizon” motto. Now, this way of working is crucial to how they support others throughout the organization. The changing industry – from one that was print- based to one that is now primarily electronic – also helped prompt the change, as large tasks like managing subscriptions and databases was easier to do as one organization. But having staff in physical libraries at Horizon facilities is still essential to the mandate of supporting Horizon staff and learners. Horizon libraries provide space for work, study and research, along with a place for groups, including students within Horizon’s medical education and other health-affiliated programs, to work collaboratively. Local library staff are champions and promoters of library services and its resources in their respective areas. For example, Horizon’s The Moncton Hospital library alone had over 20,000 visits in the 2018- 19 fiscal year. How it happened Before the change, work was distributed per area. For example, the librarian and library tech at Horizon’s Saint John Regional Hospital would
M E E T YO U R L I B R A R Y S E R V I C E S T E AM
A Horizon nurse practitioner says she’s humbled by her recent recognition from the New Brunswick Multicultural Council because it acknowledges the importance of her daily work. Nurse Practitioner Louise Pelletier was one of 10 recipients of the council’s Champion for Cultural Diversity Award for 2019. “I share this award with the wonderful team at Horizon’s Médisanté Community Health Centre, as well as with all the newcomers I have served,” she said. “Of course, being recognized is a humbling experience but it also affirms that I must continue on this journey to help others.” In her Saint John practice, Louise cares for newcomers from many parts of the world and knows each patient’s health care journey is unique and important. “I am very passionate about the health and well-being of diverse populations and particularly immigrant women,” she said. “We strive to provide health care services according to Horizon’s values, keeping in mind that everyone deserves the best care every time, every day regardless of their origin, language, gender, religion and socio-economic background.” Jean Daigle, Horizon’s VP of Community was thrilled to see Louise recognized. “Louise embodies what it means to be a nurse practitioner by providing exceptional care, to every person, every single day in her practice,” he said. “Bravo!” The collaborative team approach at Médisanté — with its Horizon partners and other community agencies, like the Centre scolaire Samuel-de-Champlain (where Médisanté is located) — have been instrumental in facilitating services to newcomers. “We will continue this journey as immigrant newcomers are an important part of our local economy and we believe that diversity and prosperity go hand in hand,” Louise said.
Lori Léger, Regional Manager of Library Services, Horizon’s The Moncton Hospital
Karen Darrach, Library Technician, Horizon’s The Moncton Hospital
Shannon MacTavish, Library Technician, Horizon’s The Moncton Hospital
Paul Clark, Librarian, Horizon’s Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital
John Booker, Library Technician, Horizon’s Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital
Alison Manley, Librarian, Horizon’s Miramichi Regional Hospital
Marilyn Sherman, Library Technician, Horizon’s Upper River Valley Hospital
Sandra O’Driscoll, Librarian, Horizon’s Saint John Regional Hospital
Cheryl Gass, Library Technician, Horizon’s Saint John Regional Hospital
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primarily support staff and teams at Horizon facilities in the Saint John area. Now, a team member in one area can support clients in any area, and work is distributed throughout the team. Some team members have subspecialties or interests, which means they’ll be the go-to person for certain requests. They developed one email address to take in all requests (Library@HorizonNB.ca) and one Skyline page to be the key internal resource point. “In the past, people had to physically come visit us in the library where now they can just send us an email from their office or their workspace,” said Cheryl Gass, library technician at Horizon’s Saint John Regional Hospital. To further help bridge the geographic divide, they started using Skype with their video cameras turned on, whether for team meetings or when helping clients remotely. There were challenges along the way, too. Finding technical solutions and IT support, and consolidating resources was daunting at times. “When we first came together, even though we’re all health libraries, it was amazing how different our collections were,” said Lori. “Now, everybody, everywhere has the same access to the same resources.” They leaned on the Performance Optimization team, and completed 13 waste walks, including merging book catalogues and consolidating journal subscriptions based on use, and developing around 40 standard operating procedures. They’ve seen many advantages from these changes: coverage during vacation or leaves is
Timeline: Transition to One Library Year Milestone 2011 Established online workspace 2012 Conducted journal inventory 2013 Created search request log Standardized cataloguing process Standardized request forms 2014 Standardized statistics collection 2015 Initiated ~ 40 SOPs Regionalized ejournal subscriptions 2016 Merged book catalogues Merged ejournal directories 2017 Merged database admin accounts 2018 Merged library email accounts Standardized book purchase process 2019 Standardized e-resource renewal process They are truly helping people be healthy. “At the other end of this information is a patient,” Cheryl said. easier, as is sharing resources. They’ve also seen hard and soft financial savings. How it’s helped Through it all, their main goal remained the same: provide decision-makers, frontline health care professionals, physicians, support staff and students with the best evidence-based information in a timely and accessible manner. “For me, it’s making sure everyone has the best information they can get in order to fulfill our mission, fulfill our vision, fulfill our values every day,” said Alison Manley, librarian at Horizon’s Miramichi Regional Hospital.
From left, Nicole Nader, project manager for the New Brunswick Multicultural Council; Louise Pelletier, Horizon nurse practitioner; and Moncef Lakouas, president of the New Brunswick Multicultural Council. Photo: Nataliya Kutsurenko
knew she wanted to help others. She graduated with her degree in nursing in 1991, followed by a degree in adult education in 1995, both from the Université de Moncton. She received her master’s in nursing research from Laval University in 2000 and a master’s in nursing as nurse practitioner in 2008 from the Université de Moncton. She’s now enrolled in a doctorate program in nursing with the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The Cultural Diversity Awards were handed out at the council’s annual Growing Together Gala, which took place Oct. 24 in St. Andrews. This event aims to recognize individuals and employers who are actively working towards increasing diversity and inclusion in New Brunswick workplaces and communities.
Community Health Program for Saint John said Louise is an important part of the team doing great work at the community level. “Louise plays an integral part of the Horizon team that serves the needs of the diverse group of patients we serve,” Gillian said. Louise has been a nurse for nearly 30 years, and an NP for the last 11, spending her last nine years at Médisanté. “I have been blessed to be in a career that I am so passionate about even to this day,” she said. “My experience in the various domains of nursing including, clinical, education, and research have inspired me through this great journey to pursue and achieve excellence in care.”
Merged Pubmed, Google Scholar & TRIP accounts Merged document delivery accounts
Gillian Haycox, manager of Horizon’s
Louise, who grew up in Edmundston, always
Look for a follow-up story in the April 2020 edition of the Horizon Star where the Library Services team will share more about the changing library industry and how they can support you!
Look Who’s Shining! Know someone who’s accomplished something outstanding outside the workplace? Nominate a colleague, peer or volunteer for this feature by emailing HorizonStar@HorizonNB.ca .
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