C10 - Sunday, August 29, 1982 - North Shore News “The crunch between what we are prepared to pay as taxpayers and what we expect to receive as patients is now upon us.” An emergency swing bed, a common feature in extended care units in England, has proved very successful at Ever- green House. The unit has one bed allocated for stays of no longer than one month. Use of this bed provides a break for families caring for elderly relatives and enables the unit to serve a larger number of people in the community. A special program provides support and understanding ‘A Palliative Care Program is applicable to any modern health facility. If the hospital deals with cancer patients those patients need a Palliative Care Program.’ Clinical Care Director, Palliative Care Unit, Dr. W. Boldt Almost two years ago Lions Gate Hospitai embarked on a unique program to provide special services for terminally ill cancer patients. The hospital’s Palliative Care Program follows the path pioneered by the hospice movement of Britain which for many years has been helping terminally ill patients and their families face death with dignity and understanding. For those cancer patients who have received all the cura tive treatment that ts relevant or that can be tolerated there still remains the s toms of the disease to deal with. The purpose of the Palliative Care Program is to make the patients’ last months as comfortable as possible so that they can be home with thetr families Patients are readmitted to the hospital’s six bed Palliative Care Unit when problems develop or pain increases and then are able to retum home again The PCU staff along with a support system of public health, home care and home maker services and volunteers provide the assistance that encourages families to care for dying patients at home with the knowledge that they can be brought to the Palliative Care Unit at any time of the day or night. A patient may be admitted and discharged several times with the goal always being to spend as much time as possible at home An essential element of the support system ts a group of volunteers trained by the North Shore Family Services to provide one to-one support and compantonship for patients and thetr families LGH Administrator John Borthwick Participants in the Palliative Care Program spend only half as much time in hospital as other terminally ill cancer patients, a benefit to the patient as well as a saving in hospital operating costs. The LGH Palliative Care Program is one of only a handful in the province and last March hosted a seminar attended by 150 professionals who work with dying patients. With the continued support of the community the program hopes to some day leave the hospital setting and establish a hospice — a home where terminal patients can receive care dedi- cated to making their final days as comfortable and pro- ductive as possible. Gift of time an energy a Lions Gate Hospital has always been fortunate in the support it receives from the North Shore community. Individuals and groups have been generous with their time, energy and money to ensure and enhance the quality of health care provided by the hospital. ‘Volunteers join the Auxiliary out of a sense of responsibility to the community, a desire to con- tribute something worthwhile.’ President. Auxiliary to Lions Gate Hospital Ann Wilson It would be difficult to tmagine the hospital without the presence of the Auxiliary members They staff the Dogwood Shops, assist the staff and perform countless services for patients throughout the hospital This the Auocdliary welcomed six male members — the first of many. it is hoped No group has a more outstanding record of service than the Aunxdliary to LGH which marked its 60th anniversary this year From the 20 women who gathered for the first meeting in 1921, the Auxillary has grown to 456 members. the largest active hospital auxiliary in the province That first year the Auxiliary’s coffers showed a profit of $145 08 This year the Aundliary pledged a total of $82,709 to the hospital for equipment and services and completed their earlier pledge of $200,000 towards the purchase of the CT Scanner . Many other community members dedicate time and energy to their hospital. The one-to-one volunteer program in Evergreen House has been studied by other extended care units. After a training period each volunteer is matched with a resident who can benefit from having a special companion. The program has been very effective and currently has 30 volunteers, five of who have been with the program since its inception four years ago. The program co-ordinator and Evergreen House residents are hoping that more men in the community will join the program. A very special group of volunteers is an essential part of the hospital’s Palliative Care Program. Each member of the one-to-one volunteer group becomes a friend to a terminally ill patient for the rest of the patient’s life, providing a sympa- thetic, supportive presence for both the patient and the family. This type of volunteer work is not for everyone and the program has been extremely fortunate in the dedicated group that has been trained by the North Shore Family Services. The group is community based and works closely with both the hospital and home care services as the patient moves back and forth between home and hospital. It is an excellent example of the hospital and community working together to serve the total needs of the patient. Volunteers to the hospital — the Auxiliary members, the visitors and one-to-one volunteers, the Legion members and other groups, the musicians and singers, and the candy stripers — have translated their concern for others into a gift of time and service. They are much appreciated by staff and patients and the community's hospital would be a much different place without them. Foundation ensures best use of donations Cardiac monitors for the emergency department, a clinical analyzer for the lab, a specially equipped bus for extended care residents, an isolette for the nursery and practice manikins for cardio pulmonary resucitation training — all important items of hospital equipment and all purchased with the help of community groups or individuals. Funds from the Ministry of Health cover only a portion of the cost of equipment, the remainder must be raised by the hospital Some projects such as patient comfort items, staff education, special equipment and new programs are ineligible for government funds. A year ago the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation was set up to encourage and provide a medium for gifts, legacies, bequests and donations from individuals, groups and other sources. Directors of the Foundation are the President and Vice-President of the North and West Vancouver Hospital Society and the Administrator of Lions Gate Hospital Donations to the Foundation are tax deductible and may be specified for a certain purpose or as a general donation to be used where most needed Facing the future together The board, administration and staff. of Lions Gate Hospital and the residents of the North Shore share a common — to ensure accessible and high quality health care for all members of the community The present economic sttuation does not appear to be short term We must antictpate a continuing problem of shortages tn funds and staff IGH has always run a lean “Community support has been an important factor as we continue our move towards more ambulatory care and day care services. We perform more than twice as many day care surgery procedures now than we did eight years ago and other day cane visits are seven times as numerous.’ efficient operation and has for years had one of the lowest bed per capita ratios in the province — much lower than the provincial average of 4.5 beds per thousand population. This year the hospital was allocated nearly $4million short of the amount needed to continue existing services. The layoff of 144 employees, many of therm nurses, and the closure of 55 beds left LGH with a staff of 1320 and 401 beds for a community of 145,000 — a ratio of only 2.6 beds per 1000 population. More than 1700 people are on the hospital’s waiting list for elective surgery. The hospital and the community will have to work together to make the best possible use of available resources and ensure that care ts ted where it is most needed. Encouraged by the success of the Medical Day Centre and the Surgical Day Centre, we will have to continue to explore new and more efficient ways of delivering health care. We will have to use our ingenuity and energy to develop better facilities for serving the elderly in our community. And very soon we will have to come to grips with the role of preventive medicine in reducing the numbers of people who will require expensive medical treatment In our favour in these endeavors is a history of sound financial management, a ptoneering spirit tn devising pro grams to meet both medical and humanitarian needs, and the demonstrated support and involvement of our community “The Board, Administration and staffs of the Lions Gate Hospital are again commended for the excellent programs that have been developed to meet the needs of the communities the hospital eerves and for the high standards that have been achieved.’ Report of the Canadian Council on Hospital Accreditation LGH Administrator dohn Borthwick STATISTICS 1976 1982 BED Acute 485 456 ECU 169 169 Total (excluding bassinets) 654 625 Newbom 36 36 INPATIENT ADMISSIONS Acute 14,858 14,616 Extended Care 101 89 Long Term Care —_ 103 Newbom 1,410 1,561 Total 16,369 16,369 PATIENT DAYS Acute 137,727 139,070 Extended Care 62,048 61,461 Long Term Care ; 9,315 Newbom 8,865 9,357 Total 208,630 219,203 OCCUPANCY RATE Acute 78% 89% Extended Care 100% 100% AVERAGE LENGTH OF STAY (days) Acute 9.3 9.6 Long Term Care _ 94.5 Extended Care 539.7 823.1 EMERGENCY PATIENTS 37 ,Q67 48,917 PHARMACY (# of prescriptions) OUTPATIENTS ~- 1976 1982 Laboratory (incl. Lab, ECG & EEG)~ units 736,358 1,340,657 Imaging (Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Ultrasound) -units 25,412 30,571 Rehabilitation Medicine (PhystcalOccupational Therapy) —units 685,103 1,018,654 Surgical Procedures 2,404 5,399 Medical Day Care Visits 585 5,998 Psychiatric Day/Night Care Vistts 9,406 12.116 [ntetary Meals Therapeutk Diet Meals l_aundry Pounds of linen Processed 59,883.77” 72,918 INPATIENTS ° 1976 1982 2,788,008 3,311,455 19,017 29,998 1,638,857 1,811,693 9 023 7,186 1976 1982 791.109 867 396 103.701 109 989 7 885.014 7 143.800 “Note Inpatients -those patients admitted to a hospital bed Outpatients —those patients not admitted to a hospital bed but who have undergone a treatment of diagnustk pro cedure at the hospital Cll - Sunday, August 29, 1982 - North Shore News BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE NORTH AND WEST VANCOUVER HOSPITAL SOCIETY 1981-82 ELECTED OFFICERS Municipality of West Vancouver K.C. Bruce Ms. H. Clark N. Duce - until December 1981 F. Russell - from Jan. 1982 M. Whelton City of North Vancouver H.V.B. Anderson/ Mrs. A. Waghom J.W. Warme P. Webb District of North Vancouver G.C. Carruthers M. Fellis B.E. McCrea P_A. White MUNICIPAL REPRESENTATIVES Ald. D. Hutchinson Mayor J.E. Loucks Ald. J.R. Ball PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVI JR Knight AUXILIARY REPRESENTA TIVI Mrs S Larson MEDICAL STAT REPRE StNITATIVES Chief of Staff Dr W Pankratz President of Staff Dr A Clarke EXECUTIVE STAFF OF LIONS GATE HOSPITAL John W Borthwick Administrator bricH O'Dell Sentor Assistant Administrator Ln James W Corbett Medical Coordinator Mrs JoyceM Campbell — Nurstng Director TomE McMillan Thomas B Crump Gerry A Martins Assistant Administrator Assistant Administrator Comptroller