DURING WARD RENOVATIONS LGH maternity patients to be nursed at home LIONS GATE Hospital has developed a new Maternity Early Discharge program to overcome the noise an crowding that will be created during the upcoming renova- tions to the huspital’s new $2.4 million maternity ward. Under the program, healthy mothers and babies who live on the North Shore will have the option cf returning home within 12 to 24 hours following the birth, where they will be cared for by specially Maternity ward funds sought THE LIONS Gate Hospital Foundation (LGHF) will launch a direct mailing campaign this week aimed at raising the remaining funds needed for the hospital’s new $2.4 million maternity ward. LGHF director of development Melanie Wheating said appeals for the Mu:n’s The Word fund will be mailed to each household on the North “fore as a final push in the campaigv’s target to raise $500,000 towards the purchase of new maternit' ward equipment. Thus faz, she said, the cempaign has been extremely successful: $400,000 cf the $500,000 has been raised. “We have a very strong com- munity anyway here on the North — Shore,’’ Wheating said, ‘‘but peo- ple have really rallied around this.”’ ‘ . ‘ . She said the new maternity ward appeals to the strong sense of fam- ily ‘shared by al!. sectors of the North Shore public. Members on: the Mum’s the Word 15-member volunteer com- mittee, for example, include such prominent North Skore residents as Vancouver Sun columnist Nicole Parton and former world figure skating champiox Karen Magnussen. Provincial funding for the renovation and upgrade of the LGH maternity ward was an- nounced in February. And while the provincial Ministry of Health and the Greater Vancouver Regional hospital district will con- tribute a total of $1.9 million toward the project, a further $500,000 is needed to purchase such equipment as birthing beds and fetal monitors. The hespital’s present maternity facility was designed in the late 1950s and opened in 1961. It has changed little over the years. The new maternity ward will replace its cold and clinical predecessor with such features as seven private bedroom-style bir- thing rooms, each of which will be used for labor, delivery and recov- ery; a Caesarean birth cperating room; and a family lounge. Construction on the four-month maternity ward overhaul, initially scheduled to get under way in June, has been delayed to mid-August by the recent B.C. Nurses’ Union and the Hospital Employees’ Union strikes and the need to remove asbestos from ceiling material in the ward area. But Wheating said it is vita) that all funds for the ward’s new equipment are collected soon so that orders can be placed now to offset any possible delays in delivery. trained registered nurses from the maternity ward. The maternity home care nurse will visit the family on the first, second, third, fifth and 10th days following the birth and spend be- tween one and two hours with mother and newborn providing similar care as that provided in the LGH ward. Like ward nurses, the maternity home care nurses will work closely with the mother’s doctor. Mothers at home can call a maternity home care nurse for consultation 24 hours a day. “*The maternity home care nurse will assess tne health of the motuer and infant on each visit, but she will also place a lot of ernphasis on teaching and giving information about what happens to both the mom and the babe during this ear- ly period,’”’ said director of LGH nursing obstetrics Wendy Winslow. “‘If the mother and the family have more understanding of newborn behavior it helps them to be more confident about caring for a new baby.”’ , Although the LGH program has been developed specifically for the situation created by renovations in the hospital’s maternity ward, it also gives tlorth Shore families an opportunity to participate in an innovative program that em- phasizes a less clinical, more natu- ral approach to childbirth. . “As far as we know, Lions Gate is the first in the province to offer the early discharge program,” Winslow said. “‘—t fits very well with the objectives set by the. minister of health of enhancing patient care by letting people re- cover at home with the support of professional services.”’ A four-year research study in- volving 176 women conducted at Grace Hospital by the UBC School of Nursing showed that new mothers who returned home early with professional nursing support were less anxious and depressed and more confident in providing care than those who stayed in hos- pital the usual four days following dirth. Dr. Rob Wishart, a North Shore pediatrician involved in planning the LGH Maternity Early Discharge program, agreed that the option responds to the desire of parents 19 make childbirth a more natural event. “I'm confident that with the in- ter-disciplinary organization of this program and careful selection of the participants, mothers and babies can be cared for as safely at home as in the hospital,”’ he said. ‘*And there is the added benefit of bringing the whole family together as early as possible.’” The decision to participate in the Maternity Early Discharge pro- gram, which will run until December, must be made by the mother and her doctor. An assessment following the birth wil! confirm if the early discharge option is the best choice. Factors to be considered will in- clude the condition of both mother and baby and a requirement that the family live on the North Shore with someone to provide support and care for the household during the early postpartum period. Families interested in the early discharge option should discuss it with their doctor or cail Wendy Winslow at 988-3131, local 212. 3 - Friday, July 7, 1989 ~ North Shore News EWS photo Nelt Lucente Sliding into summer JESSE PHERCE shows perfect form as he glides along a water slide during North Vancouver Recreation Commission’s family picnic held receutly at Waterfront Park in North Vancouver. LYNNTERM FACILITY Multi-milfion dollar improvement project planned for NV terminal THE VANCOUVER Port Corporation (VPC) announced Wednesday the awarding of a $5.4 million contract to a New Westminster firm for the construction ofa specialized storage warehouse at VPC-owned .Lynnterm in North Van- couver. The warehouse project is the centerpiece of a $9 million Lynn- . term improvement program being undertaken by VPC in anticipation of increased demand for pulp handling capacity. New Westminster’s Matthews Projects Inc. submitted the low bid on the eight-month warehouse project, which is expected to begin this month. The warehouse will cover more than 150,000 sq.ft. of floor space, and has been designed specifically for handling wood pulp and other forest products requiring covered storage space. A special roof-framing system will minimize the need for building columns, allowing freer movement of modern heavy equipment. Forest products will be shipped via adjacent rail lines. The warehouse complex has been designed to accommodate future expansion. Warehouse con- struction will generate an estimated 170 man-months of work. Port manager and CEO Francis MacNaughton said the Lynnterm expansion program is part of overall planning to prepare the port for increasing volumes of western Canadian forest products. “The port corporation has been monitoring industry forecasts, and consulting with terminal operators and the forest industry,’’ he said. “It’s important that the Port of Vancouver offer efficient facilities and service — on time — in response to changing market con- ditions.”’ In 1988, port terminals handled nearly i.2 million tonnes of Western Canadian pulp destined for offshore markets. Shipments for 1989 are running at close to the . same pace. The Lynnterm improvement program has thus far involved the demolition of two old sheds, and will also include rearranging maintenance facilities, paving and installation of new site services. The new warehouse will almost double covered-storage capacity at Lynnterm. Lynnterm is one of five port terminals owned by VPC. It is operated under a service contract by Western Stevedoring Co. VPC is committed to investing $39 million this year in capital port facility projects. Third hospital union votes to strike ANOTHER union with membership employed at Lions Gate Hospital has voted overwhelmingly to strike. — The 200-member International Union of Operating Engineers (IUGE) members voted 96 per cent Wednesday in favor of strike ac- tion to back contract demands. LGH employs seven IVOE members, who are responsible for running the hospital's steam boilers and heating system. The union wants wee increases 18 21 Editorial Page.......... 6 of just over 40 per cent over two years. IUOE members at LGH are currently paid $15.56 per hour. . Thus far, the Health Labour Relations Association, which rep- resents B.C.’s hospitals and health care facilities, has made no counter offer. No strike notice has been issued by the union, and medijator Don Home & Garden Mailbox What's Going On...... Second Clauss Registration Number 3885 Cott has been appointed to the negotiations, which are scheduled to continue ever the weekend. The IUOE vote follows the re- cenit 17-day strike at’ LGH and other health care facilities by members of the B.C. Nurses’ Union and the Hospital Employees’ Union. The strike ended after tentative agreements were reached between the HLRA and the BCNU and HEU. WEATHER Friday, sunny with cloudy periods. Saturday, mostly sunny. Highs near 21°C.