HIROC sponsors travelling SHN workshop
Monday, May 28, 2007 -- Jason Thompson
Clara Ballantine says there’s a link between the eventual outcomes of Safer Healthcare Now (SHN) and an organization’s ability to get the campaign up and running.
In an effort to assist organizations or teams new to the SHN Campaign, Ballantine, a safety and improvement advisor for the Ontario node of SHN, is facilitating a number of workshops across the province.
The workshops, sponsored by the Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC) and the Quality Healthcare Network, are designed to help personnel involved in SHN interventions at an organizational level overcome some of their challenges and network with others who are also rolling out the campaign.
“We know there’s a need out there, especially being able to get (the campaign) started right,” Ballantine says. “We had a good sense that there were needs out there for information, help getting started properly and certainly data collection and submission, which is a big challenge for a lot of organizations.”
As part of the workshop registration, people were asked to identify which interventions they’re working on and what their needs are. Ballantine says most of the 150 participants already enrolled in the learning sessions are in the early stages of SHN implementation.
Ballantine believes holding workshops is a superior alternative to hosting a video or teleconference because it gives participants the chance to network with one another.
“If nothing else they find out they’re not alone, everyone is having the same challenges and struggles and someone may have actually found some good strategies to help them,” she says.
“It’s really hard to sustain people’s attention and interest in a phone call for more than an hour and it’s really hard to do any hands-on practical work. Phone calls work better as a way to follow up a workshop like this to add more depth on a focus topic or respond to questions.”
Regardless, Ballantine says the real benefit comes from attending the workshop in person.
“This is the kind of thing you learn by doing the work and then talking with someone about what went well, what was a problem and how might you do it differently next time,” Ballantine says.
The sessions are being held in hospitals where significant progress has been made in regards to SHN. Below is a list of dates and locations. For more information or to register, visit www.qhn.ca, e-mail info@qhn.ca or phone (416) 351-3760.
- May 29, Chatham Kent Health Alliance, Chatham.
- June 1, London Health Sciences Centre, London
- June 5, Queensway Carlton Hospital, Ottawa
- June 7, Sensenbrenner Hospital in Kapuskasing or through Ontario Telehealth Network
- June 11, Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton
- June 18, Credit Valley Hospital, Mississauga
- June 19, University Health Network, Toronto
- June 21, Southlake Regional Health Centre, Newmarket
