Tuesday October 2nd,
2:00 – 5:00 pm

Today’s health system prides it’s “branding” of providing patient focused care. However in reality, is the patient actually the focus, if and when one assesses organizational structures, frameworks and processes that deploy health care services? Do present day, traditional structures and processes support the patient or do they support the service provider? Technology driven solutions are changing the landscape of our practice settings where nurse leaders have traditionally been reluctant to incorporate eHealth mandates as a key focus in their operational agenda and planning. The omission of eHealth mandates at the senior leadership table is no longer feasible, since information and communication technologies (ICTs) are influencing practice and changing care delivery models that are inherently patient centric.

This presentation will highlight the activities and processes that are transforming an academic health science centre’s Chief Nurse Executive’s operational agenda. Specifically, the creation of a unique corporate eHealth partnership that involves a Chief Information Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Medical Officer and the Director of Clinical Informatics will be described. The eHealth partnership has had a positive impact that is influencing the new corporate nursing recruitment and retention strategy. This corporate eHealth transformative practice agenda will be presented. It describes the a) evolving sustainability structures and strategies that will support the adoption and leveraging of ICTs, and b) imbedded interdisciplinary team philosophy and an approach for the electronic patient record (EPR) roll-out. Organizational learnings will be shared that shaped the impetus for the development of this corporate eHealth transformative practice agenda.

Biography

Sally Remus is an experienced director/consultant in health management and informatics with an extensive career in health care organizations, government and private business. She has a broad nursing experience ranging across the continuum of care in critical care, long term care and community settings. She brings strong re-design skills in the area of clinical process re-engineering and change management focused in E.H.R. implementations. Sally serves nurses and nursing by sitting at E.H.R. policy tables at the Federal and previously at the Provincial levels. Sally is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and University of Toronto where she obtained a BScN and MScN. Currently, Sally is the Director of Clinical Informatics at St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto.

Ella Ferris is a long service employee who has been with St. Michael's Hospital since 1972. Ella has been Program Director for both the Diabetes Comprehensive Care Program and the Heart and Vascular Program. In her role of Executive Vice President, Programs and Chief Nursing Executive, Ella oversees the program areas of Trauma/Neurosurgery, Mobility, Heart and Vascular, Quality and Risk Management, Nursing and Health Disciplines Professional Practice, and Clinical Informatics. Ella brings to her role a mix of practical experience and professional credentials. She is a Registered Nurse with 30 years of diversified experience in medicine, surgery and critical care, and holds an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business. In 2005 Ella received the OHA R. Alan Hay Memorial Hospital Executive Award.