March 2014

A New Kind of Health Care

We achieved a significant milestone last November celebrating Trillium Health Partners’ second anniversary as one hospital. And we are proud to announce that we marked the occasion as a fully Accredited hospital. Following a rigorous week-long survey by Accreditation Canada, we received the designation having met all of the Required Organizational Practices and achieving 98.7 per cent of the high priority standards. This achievement is a reflection of our commitment to continuous quality improvement and patient safety, and marks our first Accreditation as one organization.

It has been an entire year since we launched our new strategic plan and name, and made a promise to our community to deliver a new kind of health care for a healthier community. And in the first year, we are well underway in laying the groundwork for a number of initiatives to move forward on our mission. With a continual focus on delivering quality, access and sustainability for our community, recent highlights include:

• Reduced emergency wait times in our Emergency Departments and Urgent Care Centres over the first three quarters of the 2013/14 fiscal year, despite a three per cent increase in the number of patients (5,335 more patients than the year before);
• Established key partnership with the country’s leading experts on mental health services to launch the Medical Psychiatry Alliance;
• Improved access to quality care and reduced wait times in the Emergency Department through Cardiac DART (Direct Accelerated Response Team);
• Launched a state-of-the-art radiation treatment for patients, close to home with our new Brachytherapy program, the only one of its kind in the region;
• Improved the sustainability of health care in our community through a leadership role on the Healthy City Stewardship Centre.

The list below provides a more detailed account of these initiatives, and highlights many of the ways we are working in partnership to advance our mission.

Alan Torrie, Board Chair, Trillium Health Partners; and Michelle DiEmanuele, President and CEO, Trillium Health Partners.

Key Achievements that support our strategic goals of quality, access and sustainability:

Trillium Health Partners launches new research institute to improve community health

On February 25, 2014, Trillium Health Partners launched a new institute for research and innovation – the Trillium Health Partners Institute for Better Health. The Institute is an important step in advancing our mission and promise to the community to create a new kind of health care for a healthier community. It will be a place to collaborate, innovate and brainstorm new ideas. And as an engine of change, the Research Institute will improve the delivery of care for patients, our community and the health care system as a whole

As a health system changer, the Institute will attract world-renowned experts and leaders in research and innovation. As part of the Institute’s vision, Research Chairs in all of the Hospital’s clinical programs will be established in partnership with the Trillium Health Partners Foundation. This will enable the Hospital to conduct clinical research for advancements in patient care and system improvement.

The Institute is a natural extension of our Research and Innovation team at Trillium Health Partners, whose goal is to use research to inform decision making, make meaningful contributions to health care practices and processes, and improve our patients’ overall experience, both within and outside of the hospital.

State-of-the-art radiation treatment for patients, close to home

A highly effective radiation treatment is now available to cancer patients in the regions of Mississauga Halton and Central West. The Brachytherapy program within the Mississauga Halton/Central West Regional Cancer Program is the only one of its kind in the region and is housed in The Carlo Fidani Peel Regional Cancer Centre at Trillium Health Partners – Credit Valley Hospital.

Brachytherapy is a form of radiation for some types of cancer therapy that is highly targeted, takes less time and is much easier on patients’ health. The therapy results in less tissue damage and a shorter treatment period for patients than other forms of therapy. The new Brachytherapy program offers the most advanced High-Dose-Rate (HDR) treatment for skin cancer. HDR treatment for cervical, endometrial, prostate and breast cancer is currently in development at The Carlo Fidani Peel Regional Cancer Centre.

Innovative new program provides support for men battling prostate cancer

The Mississauga Halton/Central West Regional Cancer Program has developed a patient-centred approach in a Prostate Cancer Diagnostic Assessment Program (DAP) for patients who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The DAP is the main point of contact where a patient and their loved ones can better understand their treatment options. Through a Nurse Navigator, patients have an opportunity to get answers to their questions about prostate cancer and treatment options, assistance with organizing appointments, psychosocial support and access to any other available resources.

The DAP, located at Trillium Health Partners’ Credit Valley Hospital and Queensway Health Centre, is the first and only DAP in the region that has been developed for patients in the post-diagnosis stage of their prostate cancer.

Breastfeeding initiative with Peel Health

Trillium Health Partners and Peel Public Health have been selected to participate in an exclusive, national program led by the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI). Our two organizations will work in collaboration to improve the health of Peel residents by increasing breastfeeding supports.

The project will focus on the prenatal, hospital and early postpartum programs and services offered by Peel Public Health and Trillium Health Partners with an emphasis on mothers who have had caesarean sections. The fellowship will analyze the root causes of supplemental feeding in hospital, and implement and evaluate interventions to increase breastfeeding exclusivity at hospital discharge and in the first two weeks of life.

During the 14-month program, the two organizations will be working together to ease the transition for new mothers by providing supports to patients at different stages of their breastfeeding experience. By receiving the supports they need when breastfeeding before they leave the hospital and when they get home, new mothers may breastfeed longer, making a positive impact on the lifelong health and nutrition of their babies.

Trillium Health Partners and Peel Public Health were awarded the 2013/14 CFHI EXTRA Cross Jurisdiction Fellowship for their proposed intervention project titled: Evidence-informed Practice Change – Increasing Breastfeeding Exclusivity in Hospital. The team is one of nine selected from across the country to participate in the 14-month program.

ED wait times

We are continually reviewing our processes and investigating new methods to improve access to care at Trillium Health Partners. This fiscal year we targeted wait times for admitted patients in our Emergency Department (ED). By the end of December 2013 — three quarters of the way through the fiscal year — we had succeeded in reducing wait times in a number of areas.

For patients who required admission to the hospital for ongoing care, we reduced their wait time in the ED by 32 per cent. This translates to almost 14 hours less time spent in Emergency. We also saw a seven per cent reduction in the length of time patients, who were less ill and did not require admission to hospital, spent in the ED.

These results are particularly encouraging as they were achieved in spite of a three per cent increase in patient volumes (5335 more patients) from the previous year. Not only did the number of patients visiting the ED increase during this time, they were presenting with more serious ailments. Trillium Health Partners achieved wait time reductions under these challenging circumstances by working to improve patient flow across the hospital and, in collaboration with our health care partners, to improve the transfer of patients back home or to other facilities in the community.

We will continue to implement these successful strategies and to seek more opportunities to reduce wait times for our patients.

New Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Mississauga Hospital

A new, state-of-the-art Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Trillium Health Partners’ Mississauga Hospital offers families of newborns the ultimate in safety, comfort and privacy. The 6,200 sq. ft. unit is a unique and modern space that ensures our most fragile patients have access to the highest quality of care, in a calm and healing environment. The new space was made possible thanks to a $1.5 million donation by Peter Gilgan, local businessman and philanthropist.

The unique and modern space provides a home-like atmosphere providing each infant and family with their own space. Families also have access to amenities that include a kitchenette, washer and dryer, family lounge and shower. The space is also flooded with natural light and artwork to create a comforting and soothing space for families.

Trillium Health Partners delivers over 9,000 babies a year and provides families with comprehensive care and education so newborns get a healthy start in life. About 4,000 babies born at Mississauga Hospital spend some time in the NICU. This new facility ensures we are providing the right care for our most fragile patients and their families when they need it, close to home.

Improving Access with Cardiac DART

The new Cardiac DART (Direct Accelerated Response Team) has improved access to care and reduced Emergency Department wait times at Trillium Health Partners. A patient who comes in to the ED experiencing chest pain but not having a heart attack, whose medical history suggests further investigation is warranted, will now be enrolled in Cardiac DART. In this program, the patient will have expedited access to diagnostics and they are seen by a Cardiologist much faster than before.

Supported by a Nurse Practitioner and a Cardiologist, the Cardiac DART is a virtual area focused on the strategic priority of providing patients the right care, in the right place, and at the right time to avoid unnecessary admissions.

Medical Psychiatry Alliance

On January 28, 2014, Trillium Health Partners helped launch an exciting partnership in medical psychiatry that will be a powerful engine of change in mental health services. Together with The Honourable Deb Matthews, the Hospital for Sick Children, and the University of Toronto, we announced the launch of the Medical Psychiatry Alliance (MPA) – an unprecedented, collaborative partnership addressing the pressing issue of patients suffering from the often life-long challenges of combined medical and psychiatric illnesses.

As one of the largest community hospitals in the country, we will be the flagship centre of excellence in providing an integrated model of care for these patients who will now have access to revolutionary diagnostic tools closer to home. This Alliance will provide our patients, their families and community with much needed support that will have an enormously positive impact on their daily lives.

It is estimated that nearly 1.3 million people in Ontario suffer from combined physical and mental illness, and experts report that these illnesses occurs simultaneously 25 to 45 per cent of the time. Patients with these combined illnesses are much more likely to end up in hospital and nearly half of those admissions are preventable.

The establishment of this Alliance was made possible by a $60 million grant contributed by the above founding members and an anonymous donor.

Medical students at Trillium Health Partners

The first group of third-year medical students (known as clerks) from the University of Toronto’s Mississauga Academy of Medicine (MAM), began their clinical training at Trillium Health Partners last fall. Under the supervision of a licensed physician, 53 clerks take part in direct, hands-on patient care, helping provide the essential experience they need to become competent and skilled health care professionals. We currently have a total of 162 students from the Mississauga Academy of Medicine at Trillium Health Partners. In 2014/15, we will have a full cohort of 216 MAM undergraduate learners.

Through our rewarding partnership with the University of Toronto Mississauga, Trillium Health Partners is investing in the sustainability of health care in this community, and increasing access to health care by training the next generation of physicians needed in our community and in our province.

Building tomorrow's health care leaders

We recently launched a new pilot leadership program to help mentor and train our community's future health care leaders.

The program partners nursing and allied health staff with a mentor to help build leadership skills, and develop in the areas of collaboration, critical thinking, engagement and emotional intelligence. The program, made possible by TD Grants in Medical Excellence, will have 125 front-line nursing and allied health staff participate in a comprehensive in-class program with modules taking place over three months. The programs mentorship element will help make the program sustainable for years to come. If the pilot proves successful we hope to implement the program across the organization to all eligible employees.

The program is an initiative of the internationally-recognized Best Practice Guideline in Developing and Sustaining Nursing Leadership, which the hospital has committed to achieving as one of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario's (RNAO) Best Practice Spotlight Organizations (BPSO).

Healthy City Stewardship Centre

It was an honour to announce recently that I have assumed the role of Chair of the Healthy City Stewardship Centre (HCSC), succeeding Ulli Krull, Vice-Principal, Special Initiatives at the University of Toronto Mississauga, who had been the HCSC Chair since 2012.

The HCSC goals are to develop a city where people:

• Value and strive for optimal health;
• Feel safe in their communities;
• Have equal access to information and services;
• Live in and contribute to a clean and sustainable environment; and,
• Feel part of a larger community and will know that they will be cared for in times of need.

Our organization has a solid focus on establishing collaborative partnerships that will work to support the needs of our growing and diverse community. It is my honour to lead the HCSC as it continues to positively influence the health and well-being of the people of Mississauga.

HCSC was formed in 2004 when The City of Mississauga and the University of Toronto Mississauga and other key organizations in the city came together to collectively work toward improvements in local health.

Trillium Health Partners
100 Queensway West, Mississauga, ON, L5B 1B8

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