Page 7 - GBGH Foundation Newsletter - Summer 2024

GBGH UPDATE FROM HOSPITAL PRESIDENT & CEO
MATTHEW LAWSON

Summer is a time when we like to reflect back We are moving forward rapidly on the new MRI project,
on the excellent work of the GBGH Team over the with construction on the 2,000 square foot addition
past year, and celebrate some of the outstanding beginning in June 2024.
accomplishments that our team and our donors,
helped make possible. And, we are one year into our new Strategic Plan, which
is guiding everything we do around our purpose –
Just over six months ago, GBGH was Accredited with We Make Excellent Care Personal – and four strategic
Exemplary Standing – the highest achievement possible themes. Below you will see how some of this past year’s
in this very thorough quality and safety evaluation accomplishments align under each theme.
process.
Continual Excellence
• Achieved Accredited with Exemplary Standing.
• Launched a dedicated Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) and Palliative Care service to enhance end of life care.
• Added new equipment in our surgical program to expand the program and better serve our community. New C-arm enables GBGH to
now perform endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) to access and repair bile and pancreatic ducts.
• Added a new patient experience survey – Insights to Inspire Care - to gather timely feedback after patients’ discharge from hospital to
improve services.
• Launched the Essential Care Partner Program to ensure essential visitors have access to patients as part of the care team.
Trust & Belonging
• Continued to collaborate with the Indigenous Health Circle on opportunities to improve culturally safe care at GBGH.
• Officially raised the Pride flag for the first time in GBGH history.
• Launched series of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Forums for GBGH team members to attend and provide feedback
and insights on priorities.

Dedicated Team
• Invested $40,000 to support staff learning through the creation of an Education Trust Fund.
• Hosted open houses to familiarize prospective staff with GBGH and held hiring events to recruit new team members, helping to address
ongoing healthcare human resources shortages.
• Launched Housing for Healthcare website to connect local property owners with prospective hospital staff seeking accommodation.
• GBGH welcomed more than 30 students to complete hands-on training in the fields of nursing, lab, occupational therapy,
physiotherapy, pharmacy and personal support work.
Sustainable Growth
• Completed a major renovation to our two x-ray rooms including installing the latest technology.
• Invested $11.1 million in clinical and non-clinical capital purchases based on necessity, safety, and replacement needed/new equipment.
• Launched the GBGH@Home program to assist with patient flow across the hospital and ensure patients are receiving the right care in
the right place.
• Entered into a research partnership with Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) to expand research activities focused on
improving patient care and clinical outcomes.
• In preparation for the future hospital to be built on the adjacent land donated to the hospital, completed an environmental assessment
and are working with the Town of Midland to re-zone the land.
• Continued to make progress in submission for a mental health program at GBGH, adding much needed resources in an under-serviced
region.

We are proud of our team’s commitment to GBGH, for being kind and respectful to each other, for listening to our
patients/families and for continually striving to make our hospital a better place to work, practice or receive care.

And, we are incredibly grateful to our community – of donors, businesses and organizations – who have
invested in our hospital by giving our teams the tools, technology and education that supports so many of these
accomplishments.

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