The Active Offer Relaunch and a new tool to help you
Celebrating four years of Smoke-Free Together at Horizon’s SJRH
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Here are some highlights! When Horizon’s Upper River Valley Hospital (URVH) opened in 2007 it was the first LEED- approved hospital in Canada (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). In 2013, Horizon established its Energy Network, led by the Facilities, Engineering and Property Management Department. To date, the Energy Network has achieved measurable and significant reductions in energy usage — 128 million equivalent kilowatt hour (kWh). Its projects have cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30,100 tonnes and seen $8.4 million in actual energy cost avoidance. Emission reduction to date is equivalent to taking 6,500 cars off the road or heating 4,000 N.B. homes! They’ve installed LED lighting retrofits at nine hospitals, introduced of occupancy sensors and enhanced heating, cooling and ventilation. Horizon’s Miramichi Regional Hospital (MRH) was the first Horizon facility to adopt the network’s Energy Management Information System (EMIS). Improvements at MRH have included upgrades to its wood boiler plant, resulting in reducing oil consumption by 240,000 litres and $306,000 per year, a decrease in water consumption by more than 15 million litres annually, and more than $60,000 in annual energy cost avoidances by increasing air handling unit supply temperatures by 2 C. In 2016, Horizon was awarded the Wayne McLellan Award of Excellence in Healthcare Facilities Management from the Canadian Healthcare Engineering Society (CHES) for making the health authority “leaner” and “greener.” And, in 2017, Horizon was awarded the Energy and Environmental Stewardship Award from the Canadian College of Health Leaders (CCHL) for demonstrating environmental responsibility through the reduction of energy usage, the preservation of natural resources and effective waste diversion solutions. Horizon’s Saint John Regional Hospital (SJRH) was the first health care facility in Canada to earn Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCan) ENERGY STAR certification label for 2018 for its superior energy performance. In late August, SJRH received its approval for NRCan’s ENERGY STAR certification for 2019. Not only is Horizon focused on efficiency, but also on renewable energy. A small (20kW) solar photovoltaic (PV) system sits on the rook of SJRH and generates electricity using the energy from the sun. The solar panels have been designed so they can be adjusted and optimized seasonally, thereby harvesting as much energy from the sun in all seasons. The electricity generated is used instantaneously and staff can check a dashboard in real time to see the amount of electricity produced. What is Horizon doing? (continued)
“The Smoke-Free Together initiative was a huge undertaking with a lot of work put into it. With any initiative, the change in culture, habits, and attitude takes time, and education is almost always ongoing, however it is so nice to see progress has been accomplished and that it is having a positive impact on our patient and visitors while visiting our site.” Liane Jordan, Manager of Safety & Security Services, and Deryck Williams, Security Officer, Horizon’s Saint John Regional Hospital LET’S CELEBRATE! On Thursday, Sept. 26 we will celebrate four years of Smoke-Free Together at Horizon’s Saint John Regional Hospital. There will be a booth at the staff entrance hosted by Employee Health team members. Stop by to ask questions about the policy, get your Smoke-Free Together badge reel and enjoy a piece of cake.
The language we speak is the first symbol of our identity. Communication failures can sometimes lead to serious complications and even have disastrous consequences. In the April 2019 edition of the Horizon Star, we announced a forthcoming wide-scale communication operation: the Active Offer Relaunch. This initiative will provide us with the ideal opportunity to showcase Horizon’s commitment to linguistic excellence within its facilities. Horizon’s Official Languages’ team will be hosting information booths in several facilities in fall 2019. Our presence will enable us to meet not only patients, visitors, and members of the public, but all interested staff members as well. We want to inform as many people as possible of the measures we have undertaken, the progress we have achieved, and Horizon’s commitment to providing patients with services in the official language of their choice. At the same time, we will be pleased to answer any questions and offer various types of useful resources to help staff deliver the active offer. . . . In addition, we are proud to announce the launch of an extensive linguistic profile automation project.
Four years ago, in September 2015, Horizon’s Saint John Regional Hospital (SJRH) was the first Horizon facility to implement a Smoke- Free Environment Policy. The policy, together with our Smoke-Free Together initiative, provincial legislature (the Smoke Free Places Act), and supportive smoking cessation benefits, is providing a supporting environment to truly make this, and all Horizon facilities, a smoke-free place. Here’s an update on several aspects of how we became a Smoke-Free Together facility. It feels extremely satisfying to know that our Smoke-Free Together initiative has had a positive impact on staff, visitors and our patients. Their experience of not having to walk through second-hand smoke as they enter our facility shows we value a healthy workplace and environment. By supporting a smoke-free environment we have seen significant improvement in the awareness of and need to provide support to our patients and staff to manage their tobacco cravings while they are in our environment. We always have room for improvement, but I strongly feel we have been successful in changing the culture on our campus here at SJRH. Brenda Kinney Executive Director, Horizon’s Saint John Regional Hospital
Currently, updating the linguistic skills of each of our departments is a major challenge. We are required to constantly assess linguistic profiles in response to a number of circumstances, such as the hiring or departure of employees or the change in need for services in the two official languages. We therefore wish to offer an effective monitoring tool to assist managers in their recruiting and continuing education strategies. What’s more, such an advancement will make it possible for us to maximize, at all times, our compliance with the Official Languages Act of New Brunswick, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Here is an excerpt from the policy and guidelines pertaining to New Brunswick’s Official Languages: “Institutions must have the linguistic capacity to serve the public… in both official languages. They must be equipped with a team of employees who are ready to actively offer services of equal quality in both official languages.” As always, our team is available to help you and will be pleased to answer any question you may have.
HORIZON’S SMOKING CESSATION BENEFITS Employees, and any family member included in their benefits plan, have a maximum allowable amount of $800 every five calendar years in smoking cessation medications. Coverage includes nicotine replacement therapy patches, nicotine gums, lozenges and oral medications (drugs – i.e. Champix). All such products must be prescribed by a Physician or Health Practitioner who is licensed to prescribe under applicable provincial legislation. If you are a smoker who is thinking about quitting, wanting to quit or have already quit, the inConfidence Stop Smoking Centre is also available to help. It is a free personalized online program and can be accessed by visiting myinconfidence.ca. (Visit the Employee Health Skyline page for username and password.) WANT TO LEARN MORE? Visit the Smoke-Free Together Skyline page for information about the policy, including FAQS and “how to” videos. You’ll also find a manager’s toolkit to help educate and support your team members. STUDYING SMOKE-FREE A year after the comprehensive smoke-free hospital policy was implemented at Horizon’s Saint John Regional Hospital (SJRH), Dr. Kerrie Luck, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of New Brunswick, explored the perceptions, experiences, and behaviours of health care providers at the SJRH regarding the policy as part of her dissertation. Four overarching themes emerged from this qualitative descriptive study, including: • Greater support for tobacco reduction; • Enhanced patient care and interactions; • Improved staff morale; and • Some barriers still exist. The main findings suggest a comprehensive smoke-free hospital environment can strengthen the tobacco-free workplace culture within a hospital setting among health care providers where support for tobacco reduction is amplified, patient care and interactions regarding tobacco dependence are improved and staff morale is enhanced. While there are still some challenging barriers as well as opportunities for improvements, the implementation of a comprehensive smoke-free policy heightened the call-to-action among HCPs to take a more active role in tobacco reduction. This study was published in the Global Qualitative Nursing Research journal in 2018.
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My story goes like this: I’m turning 52 this year and have smoked since I was 12. Around the end of 2014 to the early months of 2015, I went on a fishing trip and it was so hot I couldn’t breathe. I blamed it on the
Violators are subject to a maximum fine of $2,100 for smoking or vaping on our properties.
cigarettes and swore to quit right there. When I got to work the next day, I went to Employee Health and signed-up for the program. They had done their homework, and the program they came up with for me through a few simple questions worked. I was smoke-free until the about the summer of 2018; I went through a divorce and caved in to peer pressure to relax myself. Recently I spoke with Tina (Ramsay, a member of the Smoke-Free Compliance team) and got myself back on track and on the program again. This will be it, all over. The policy has helped me immensely, from supplying the products I need to do this and the support group behind it. If you have questions or just need to talk to someone for a minute to help you through a rough moment, they are they for you. It is by far one of the most organized and well- researched programs I have had the pleasure to be involved with. Dean Jones, Supervisor, Food Services, Horizon’s Saint John Regional Hospital
Do not hesitate to contact the Official Languages Advisor in your area for any additional information. They are here to help.
BUTTING OUT Before the policy was implemented: 1,592 butts were found at the front entrance “U” area and back entrance. Five weeks later: Only 60 butts were found – a 96% reduction. Four years later: 260 butts were found; that’s up from the earlier count, but still an 83.7% reduction! We still have work to do!
Miramichi Pauline Durelle Pauline.Durelle@HorizonNB.ca
Fredericton Lorna Mansfield Lorna.Mansfield@HorizonNB.ca
Moncton Jason MacKenzie Jason.MacKenzie@HorizonNB.ca
Saint John Gary Selway Gary.Selway@HorizonNB.ca
Regional Director Pauline Babineau Pauline.Babineau@HorizonNB.ca
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