Orillia Hospital receives exemplary standing

Orillia Packet and Times

ORILLIA - The lines of communication are open at Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (OSMH) and the real beneficiaries are the patients, say staff.

OSMH is in exemplary standing, the highest possible rating of Accreditation Canada, which uses a set of nearly 2,000 standards to evaluate all aspects of health-care delivery.

It’s the first time the local hospital has been at the top of the ladder.

“You cannot get this kind of a standing without having frontline staff very much involved in quality and safety,” OSMH CEO and president Elisabeth Riley said Thursday.

When Riley arrived at the hospital six years ago, it barely passed accreditation. Three years later, though things had improved, it still had a ways to go.

The accreditation process was previously very top-down, Riley said.

It’s since changed, as have things at OSMH.

Frontline workers agree.

“We’re more in tune with each other,” said Kerry Myers, a tech aid in the sterilization, processing and distribution department.

Myers, who has worked at OSMH for 29 years, said the gap between senior management and those delivering patient care has recently begun to close.

“They opened the door for communication,” she said. “We’re listened to more and we have more input.”

It’s not just communication among staff that’s improved, said registered nurse Colleen Goobie, but communication with patients as well.

If a department is busy, staff try to let patients know they haven’t been forgotten, Goobie said, with hopes of alleviating some of the apprehension and anxiety they may be experiencing.

There’s also been an increased focus on family involvement in patient care, she said, to ensure all necessary supports are in place for the patient both in and out of the hospital

“I think the teamwork is better in trying to get the patient in and looked after,” Goobie said.

“It means that they’re getting the best-quality care that we can put out there,” Myers added.