In January 2013, SAH held a

celebration for staff, physicians

and volunteers recognizing it’s

upgraded Accreditation status.

In April 2012, 4 surveyors from

Accreditation Canada were on

site for three-and-a-half days

reviewing SAH and comparing

practices to national standards.

Shortly thereafter, SAH was

advised it had been granted

‘Accreditation’ status.

Since April 2012, SAH worked

hard on addressing a number of

the standards that remained

outstanding. As a result, SAH

was upgraded to ‘Accreditation

with Commendation’ after

successfully meeting 98.2% of

the 2.243 applicable national

standards.

SAH recognized the numerous

indiv iduals who worked

tirelessly to improve even

further on the initial results.

In March, the first ever Lean expo

was held to showcase the positive

changes that were implemented at

the hospital.

The Expo highlighted the 18

‘yellow belt’ Lean projects that

were completed over the previous

year.

Each candidate for certification in

yel low belt projects was

responsible for leading a significant

change at the hospital.

The projects included organizing

supplies, improving processes

and creating tools to enhance the

patient experience.

A total of 250 people dropped by

to get a closer look at the

projects and more that 50 Lean

project suggestions were offered.

SAH Celebrates Accreditation with Commendation

SAH Celebrates First Ever Lean Expo

Y E A R T H R E E

years

Do Come True

Celebrator y Newsletter

Lean Expo in front lobby

Quiz Question: What is a Swiss LithoClast?

SAH is a shining

example of what

can be

accomplished when

we work together

Dr. Haidar, Urologist with

the new Swiss LithoClast

Minister Deb Matthews visits

Together we make a difference

Swiss LithoClast® Select

The SAH Foundation supported

the Surgical Program by the

purchase of the Swiss LithoClast®

Select for a cost of $55,117. This

piece of equipment crushes and

removes stones produced by the

body (i.e. kidney stones). SAH

can now offer stone removal

treatment to patients instead of

them having to travel to Toronto

or London.

Farewell to TCU—Plummer Site

The Transitional Care Unit at the Plummer Hospital site closed March 31st. To commemorate the occasion, a ‘First Day of Spring’ tea was held. It was a great opportunity to have one last

visit, to meet with past and present staff, reminisce and celebrate.

in length and 6 30-second

commercials or Public

Service Announcements

(PSAs) developed. Everyone

featured in the campaign

was an SAH volunteer, staff

member, physician or patient

who gave freely of their time

to participate and show their

pride in their hospital.

SAH launched a campaign to

do a better job of ‘telling our

stories’ and ‘celebrating our

successes’. The campaign

featured our people and was

augmented by testimonials

from our patients. The

campaign was made possible

by a generous donation by

OLG. There were 3 videos

of approximately 3-5 minutes

Together We Make a

Difference became our SAH

signature and was seen on all

of our promotional material.

The intent of the promotion

i s t o h i gh l i gh t t h e

tremendous people who

compromise SAH, along with

the commitment, compassion

and skills they bring

patient station/bedside were

demonstrated. As part of

her visit, she addressed staff,

visitors and volunteers

where she stated that ‘SAH is

a shining example of what can

be accomplished when we work

together.’

Minister Matthews went on

to praise and thank everyone

at SAH for their hard work

in providing quality patient

care, reducing alternative

level of care numbers and

overcoming a large and

stubborn budget deficit. She

made a special point of

a c k n o w l e d g i n g t h e

extraordinary contributions

of “those individuals in the

red vests” - SAH volunteers,

extending a huge thank you

to them for making a

difference every day!

The Honourable Deb

Matthews, Minister of Health

and Long Term Care visited

on March 1st. She had the

opportunity to visit the

Algoma Region Renal

Program and received a

demonstration of the new

Nexadia system. She also

toured the Algoma District

C a n c e r P r o g r a m ’ s

chemotherapy suite where

the use of the iPads at the

Caption

describing

picture or

graphic.

Sault Area Hospital’s 5 Year Anniversary Celebration is

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