Wilson Memorial General Hospital

Annual Report of chief of Staff to
Wilson Memorial General Hospital 

Board AGM 

June 24, 2008 

As this year for the board ends, I want to thank the board for the opportunity of serving as Chief of Staff since January 2008.  I also want to thank Dr. Peter Cunniffe for his leadership in the previous term.  This report reflects our work together on behalf of the board this past year. 

Medical Staff:  

The medical staff experienced some significant changes this past year with Dr. Scott Wilson leaving in January for a one year educational opportunity to train in the provision of anaesthesia services.   Despite his time away he has provided some locum on call services and has continued to remain involved in medical staff policy reviews. 

We celebrated the time that Dr.’s Kris and Christine Aubrey Bassler had spent providing service to the hospital and we were sorry to see them leave in May of this year. 

The medical staff has otherwise remained stable, supported by locums throughout the year.  It is important to note that, despite the change in human resource, clinical services, with the exception of exercise stress testing have remained at previous levels. 

Active physicians currently include Dr. Eliseo Orrantia, Dr. Nancy Fitch, Dr. Barb Zelek (President of medical staff), Dr. Peter Cuniffe, Dr. Mary Wilson and myself. 

Locums and learners: 

We have been pleased to be able to recruit a number of locums through the past year who come to work for our group and provide coverage so that local physicians can go to conferences, on vacation or on leave.  I believe it is a testament to their good experiences here that a number of the locums we have had choose to come back again.  However, we have struggled, like most communities in Ontario, to find the number of locums that would be ideal for key periods such as spring break, Christmas and the summer.  At present we have locums booked for 2-3 week periods through the summer and into the fall.  At present, only one of these will be new to our community. 

We have hosted a number of NOSM learners at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.  We have been host to 4 NOSM students on mandatory placements here, and several elective students and residents from NOSM and other medical schools.  We are pleased to note that the opportunity to learn in Marathon has been requested by many learners this past year, more in fact than we are able to accommodate.  We hope that this group will be the pool of physicians in the years to come from which the community can draw future providers. 

Clinical Services: 

As noted above, all of our usual clinical services including obstetrics, emergency room coverage, and chemotherapy have been provided this past year.  Exercise Stress testing has not been provided since January, but we hope to reinstate this service on Dr. Wilson’s return. 

We were pleased with the inception of the cataract program and congratulate the hospital on the smooth operation of this clinical service. 

The medical staff is looking forward to the local provision of colonoscopy services which is anticipated to begin in September of 2008. 

CQI:  

The medical staff continues to maintain our commitment to continuous quality improvement following a process that allows us to look at difficult, challenging or important cases that arose locally and work towards enhancing all of the physicians knowledge and management skills.  We have provided educational sessions for ourselves and participate in many of the telehealth educational initiatives offered through OTN and NOSM.  In addition, the physicians remain committed to their own professional development and have each attended a variety of CPD events that support their learning.   

The NRP (neonatal resuscitation provider) course was offered locally in the fall and was well attended by physicians and nursing staff. 

Looking into the future: 

As we look to 2008-2009 we anticipate active participation in the Strategic Planning for the board and the development of a local colonoscopy program.  We will be joined by Dr. Nelvia van Dorp in November and hope to host a number of learners through the coming year.  Dr. Scott Wilson will return in January with a new skill set that we hope to utilise well. 

I want to offer our congratulations to the hospital and to the board on a successful year.  The development of the cataract program has required a dedicated effort from many and the successful initiation of this is a very important step for this facility.  We, as a medical staff, have been pleased to work along side all of the other care providers and support staff in this facility.  We are thankful for their dedication and professionalism.  

I believe that the Board of Directors of Wilson Memorial General Hospital and the community you serve can be proud of the work done in this facility. 

In the spirit of excellent health care delivery, 

Sarah Newbery MD CCFP FCFP 

Chief of Staff