Inside this edition of the Insider:
- Maintaining public health measures at all Mackenzie Health sites to protect everyone who comes to us for care.
- Showcasing a family of incredible nurses at Mackenzie Health.
- Mackenzie Health Foundation signature events return! Choose your route and join us at this year’s Ride for Mackenzie Health.
Continuing to keep our patients and visitors safe
It’s encouraging to see case counts and hospitalization rates continue to stabilize in our community – we’re all looking forward to the easing of public health measures and being able to safely connect with friends and family again. While easing restrictions may make sense in public spaces like restaurants and gyms where individuals can choose the level of risk they feel comfortable taking, vulnerable patients who come to us for care do not have a choice. That’s why, while the rest of the world is opening up, hospitals across Ontario are not yet doing the same.
If you come to either of our hospitals or any of our community-based locations as a patient or visitor, we’re continuing to do everything we can to keep you safe. Masks will continue to be required, physical distancing measures will be maintained, hand hygiene and other Infection Prevention and Control best practices will continue to be followed and, like many hospitals in the GTA, COVID-19 vaccinations will continue to be required for all visitors and existing and incoming staff, physicians, contractors, learners and volunteers.
As the key public health and health care indicators stabilize, effective March 22, all patients are now permitted two visitors during designated visiting hours with some patients permitted to have additional visitors or visitors outside designated visiting hours depending on their specific circumstances. We will continue to monitor the situation in our community and in our hospitals and will make adjustments to our visitor guidelines as needed. Please refer to the Visitor Information page on our website for the latest information.
Thank you for your continued cooperation, kindness and patience as we continue to do our best to support our community.
Recent feature story in the Toronto Star:
Two years into the pandemic, we continue to be awed by the resilience and dedication of the Mackenzie Health team – and we’re doing everything we can to recognize them! Those with a Toronto Star subscription can get an inside look into the passionate and hardworking frontline health care workers at Mackenzie Health, by reading this story that appeared in the newspaper earlier in March.
Working at Mackenzie Health is a family affair
Eti, a Registered Nurse at Mackenzie Health, cares for patients in the Nick and Roseanne Cortellucci Emergency Department at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital while her mom, Akaterina, also a Registered Nurse, cares for patients at one of our community-based locations.
Eti first joined Mackenzie Health as a volunteer in our Urgent Care Centre while she was still in university deciding which career path she wanted to take.
Eti decided to volunteer after hearing her mom’s stories about how rewarding it was to make a difference in people’s lives. Akaterina, a Registered Nurse in the Chronic Kidney Disease program at Mackenzie Health for more than 15 years, always shared with her daughter that, while it was challenging work, she loved her career and the opportunity she had to care for people in our community.
Eti ultimately chose to follow in her mother’s footsteps, going back to school to become a Registered Nurse after spending a few years working as a Patient Access Representative.
“Being at Mackenzie Health helped open the door to numerous learning opportunities, endless connections and the incredible chance to work alongside exceptional people, who have been instrumental in my journey towards becoming a nurse,” says Eti. “I’m so lucky to have incredible role models who have helped guide me along this journey, and I’m proud to share that as of September 2021, I applied and was hired as a Registered Nurse working in the Nick and Roseanne Cortellucci Emergency Department at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital.”
Eti and Akaterina are valued members of the Mackenzie Health team and are a testament to how working at Mackenzie Health can become a family affair.
To read more about Eti’s journey to a career in nursing, visit the Staff Stories page on our website.
If you’re interested in joining the Mackenzie Health family like Eti and Aketerina did, please visit mackenziehealth.ca/careers to apply.
Recognizing innovation at Mackenzie Health
Mackenzie Health continues to be recognized as a leader in innovation and we’re proud to be able to deliver care to patients in our community in an award-winning building using innovative digital health solutions to support a positive patient experience.
Mackenzie Health was recently recognized as Highly Commended in the Social Infrastructure Project of the Year category at the international P3 Awards where projects from around the world were evaluated. This recognition was awarded for the design and construction of Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital and the unique partnerships and collaborative approach that completed the project on time and on budget.
Mackenzie Health also received revalidation of Stage 7, the highest level on the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) which measures the level at which an organization adopts and uses electronic medical records (EMR). In 2017, Mackenzie Health became the first Canadian acute care hospital to achieve this designation and this month’s revalidation is a testament to our continued commitment to innovation and ensuring patients have access to their own electronic medical record by providing seamless care across both of our hospitals and all of our community-based locations.
Save the date! Join us on June 26 for Ride for Mackenzie Health
As the warmer weather approaches, cyclists will be tuning up their bikes and getting ready to explore new routes and destinations. Now in its eighth year, Ride for Mackenzie Health presented by CIBC is back on June 26. Once again, riders can choose their own route at a distance that works for them and ride at their preferred time. New this year are rest stops for riders in Vaughan, Richmond Hill and King. Map out your route and include a rest stop – it’s the perfect opportunity to take a break, grab a refreshment and connect with other Riders. When you register by March 31, all riders will receive a Ride for Mackenzie Health jersey, a cyclist kit with great gifts from our corporate partners and a post-ride performance t-shirt. For more information visit mhfride.ca and register today!
As a reminder, registration for Strides for Mackenzie Health at Canada’s Wonderland on May 14 is also now open at mhfstrides.ca. Register today and receive a Strides for Mackenzie Health t-shirt and other goodies along with free admission to Canada’s Wonderland to enjoy after the event.