Nearly 150 golfers took to the links in support of a trio of Swift Current organizations late last week at the Emergency Services Charity Golf Classic.

The 15th installment of the event put on by the Dr. Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare Foundation Inc. was held at the Chinook Golf Course on Friday.

“I think it was a great event,” Jim Dekowny, the executive director for the Dr. Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare Foundation Inc., said. “Mother Nature was an absolute treat on Friday, it was just an amazing day. It got a little hot and then the cloud cover came over. Lots of money raised for not only the Dr. Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare Foundation but emergency services with the firefighters and ambulance people.”

No dollar amount for the event has been released yet but the healthcare foundation will receive 60 per cent of the proceeds with 20 per cent going to each the Swift Current Fire Department and Hutch Ambulance Service.

“They (Hutch’s) take the money and spread it throughout the community and donate a little back to the Noble Irwin, as well as the firefighters,” he said. “The firefighters have the burn unit and that type of stuff they send their money to, so it’s great for everybody.”

Dekowny said the funds the healthcare foundation ends up with from the event will be used towards the Cypress Regional Hospital’s obstetrics unit for a fetal monitor.

“That’s kind of where our event money goes this year,” he said. “This being our second event, we’re probably halfway there (toward the fundraising goal).”

The Chase has come to an end on May 6, 2021. The Chase the Ace for Health & Education that kicked-off on on January 13, 2021 has come to an end on the 16th week of draws! The winner Brad Bakken chosen envelope #16 on week 16 and founds the Ace of Spades! Congratulations to Brad on winning the $7,202 Ace Jackpot!

Chase the Ace for Health & Education was run through a partnership between the Dr. Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare Foundation and Great Plains College. The funds raised will to towards keeping healthcare strong in Southwest Saskatchewan and the Entrance Scholarship program at Great Plains College.

Although this round of the Chase was short, the Dr. Noble Irwin Foundation is looking forward to starting the Chase again in the summer of 2021!

Last week the Dr. Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare Foundation held their annual AGM and spent the time reflecting on the past year and looking forward to the future.

Executive Director of the foundation Jim Dekowny says overall they were happy with the foundation’s success over the past year.

“Myself and the board of directors and everybody is very happy with where we ended up and you apply for government subsidies and those types of things, so those help you. So I think it was a really successful year and really that goes to show that people in the southwest and donors in the southwest are still behind us.”

Dekowny adds that things went well considering we are in a pandemic. It was a tough atmosphere and raising money wasn’t easy and they had to adapt a lot of their events and activities.

Overall the donation rate was down last year according to Dekowny but the actual donations were larger. Evidence of this was the foundation’s successful radiothon where for the first time they reached and exceeded their fundraising goal.

Within the last year, the foundation has also brought in some new staff members who Dekowny says will help to approach things a bit differently this year.

“We really are approaching lots of things differently. I think it has a little bit to do with the pandemic but I think it has to do with the staff we have. I’ve got a great staff here and they are eager to get out there and talk to people and do things a little bit differently then has been done before.”

Dekowny adds that the foundation has a number of events coming up including the Urban Cellars Black Tie Hockey Draft on May 17th and their 15th Annual Charity Golf Classic which will be taking place at Chinook Golf Course on June 4th.

Other items discussed at the AGM included the foundation’s scholarship committee. The committee meets twice a year and distributes $15,000 twice a year. Since its start up the scholarship committee has distributed close to $690, 000 in scholarships. The foundation’s scholarships tend to be distributed to those working towards being a CCA or LPN.

Dekowny adds that two new members were also added to the foundation’s board. Nicole Friesen and Ashley Peterson were welcomed onto the board and Dekowny says that they are both eager to be involved and both know what it takes to do things and make things successful.

In closing, Dekowny wished to thank the people and donors of the southwest for continuing to support and believe in the foundation, whom without their support the foundation would not survive.

Story via: Swift  Current Online 

​The team from the Women and Children Health Service department at the Cypress Regional Hospital in Swift Current has been honored with the Salus Global’s moreOB Recognition Award.

Salus Global is a specialty consulting and implementation firm focused on helping healthcare organizations improve performance and quality outcomes through increased interprofessional collaboration, and moreOB is one of their programs. MoreOB (Managing Obstetrical Risk Efficiently) is a comprehensive patient safety improvement, and professional development program offered for caregivers and administrators in hospital obstetrical units.

“In the midst of the pandemic, this team went over and above to reduce fears and uncertainty there by improving the patient experience,” stated Nicole Vance, department manager. “This team turned a stressful and difficult year into an opportunity to show resilience and highlight the exceptional team they are.”

The purpose of Salus Global’s Recognition Award is to celebrate Milestone achievements and recognize high performance. The criteria for the award are the same as what Salus Global has identified as key elements to the moreOB program, which was instituted at Cypress Regional Hospital in 2015. These elements include core team effectiveness; leadership support and involvement; effective, high-quality communication; engagement and involvement of all professions and application to practice.

The team at Cypress Regional Hospital was notified that they received this award for their work to improve the teamwork, collaboration and processes related to identifying and managing pre-term labour.

Over the past year, a transformation has occurred during Core Team meetings as members have stayed focused on their goal and what needs to be done to accomplish it.

“The team is a multidisciplinary team consisting of physicians, a midwife, LPNs and RNs from women’s and children’s and critical care, as well as paramedics from the local ambulance service,” stated Brandi Zacharias, Nursing Unit Coordinator for the Women’s and Children’s department. “Everyone worked together to collaborate between departments and improve patient care. Staff from all units were engaged and excited to make changes to better care for patients in pre term labour on the women’s and children’s unit, the ER department as well as for transport to tertiary centers. The teamwork and collaboration between units was really amazing to see.”

“You truly perform as a team, as you share responsibilities, perform within your roles and strengths, and add to your team the members needed to accomplish the goal,” said Heather Coutts, lead facilitator for Salus Global. “You have also demonstrated that there is trust, an ability to engage in a healthy debate and commitment to each other and your patients. You have demonstrated effective communication with clarifying and reviewing next steps and responsibilities at the end of each meeting. You have also closed the communication loop with participants and other departments with changes that have been made as a result of activities.”

The unit has received support from leadership at the unit level and all the way up to the provincial level.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority supported the decision to implement the moreOB program across all 17 maternal care sites in fall of 2018.  This program, supported by both the SOGC and HIROC, helps the SHA establish a provincially standardized team approach to maternal care and decision making.  The Program is supported by the Maternal and Children’s Provincial Programs and Maternal Child Outreach Coordinators, such as Christina Santo, who help to support to program here in the province.

 The Core team members for the moreOB team in Swift Current pose with their award.

According to Salus Global, “While you do not have all professions active on your Core Team, this Milestone attracted the interest of the different professions. This shows that you are choosing topics that people see as relevant and applicable to their roles. By adding ad hoc members to your team from other departments, you are showing that you recognize that importance of interdepartmental and interprofessional relationship and the connectivity/reliance that there is throughout the healthcare system.”

Utilizing approaches such as practice simulations helped to reduce fear at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and is something to acknowledge and celebrate, Salus Global added.

“There was so much fear and uncertainty at the beginning of this pandemic. As a team, we did weekly simulation to better prepare and work through processes together as things were ever changing. I really can’t say enough about the nursing staff and physician’s on our unit, everyone was so eager to prepare and patient with all the changes that were happening. They really are a great team,” stated Zacharias

“You are consistently excelling at applying knowledge into practice safely by utilizing simulations, and inviting all applicable roles to contribute,” Salus Global stated. “You review activities to identify opportunities to improve processes and identify lessons learned. You effectively monitor staff engagement and the impact of the activities through confidence survey’s, not only within your unit, but with other applicable units as well.”

Story via Sask Health Authority 

The Dr. Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare Foundation recently partnered with the Deobald Family to help raise funds to purchase a wheelchair-accessible van for Madison, a ten-year-old girl with severe complex special needs.

Jim Dekowny. Executive Director of the Foundation says purchasing the van was a team effort and mentions two key players.

“The hero’s in the community right now are Telemiracle and the Plewis Automotive Group. We have a young girl now who can go around. She hasn’t left the house in a year and a half. It’s pretty remarkable to see what just happened. It’s pretty emotional and pretty cool.”

Madison was diagnosed on February 28, 2018, with a rare disease called Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood.

Along with this diagnosis, Madison also deals with other medical issues, such as Microcephaly Spasticity, Strokes, Abnormal Detention, Chronic Pain, Constipation as well as Brain Atrophy

In a press release sent to Swift Current Online from the Dr. Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare Foundation, Cherie Deobald, Madison’s mother said “A wheelchair accessible van would change Madison’s life for the good in so many ways.
I need her to be safe and comfortable but I also want to be able to give her the best life I can,”

Dekowny adds that the plan was always that Telemiracle would pay half and the Plewis Automotive Group found the other half and it’s a remarkable story.

Source: Swift Current Online

Chase The Ace is back thanks to a partnership between The Dr. Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare Foundation and Great Plains College.

Tickets will be available online starting January 13th and due to the partnership, the lottery will reach a wider audience as Jim Dekowny Executive Director of the Foundation explains.

“Great Plains College has many colleges throughout all of Saskatchewan so it’s not just a south west lottery but the whole province.”

Dekowny adds that he thinks the partnership will help to drive sales and get the jackpot up while increasing excitement throughout the south west and the province as a whole.

The foundation had run this lottery in the past, however, they wanted to try it again as Dekowny details.

“I wanted to try it again and see if we could gain that big payout and multi-million dollar things. It all goes to a good cause, it all goes to equipment for doctors in the south west, our portion.

Dekowny adds that Great Plains College will be using their portion towards student scholarships.

Chase the Ace is a progressive-style lottery where 20% of the weekly ticket sales goes towards the winner whose name is drawn, 30% of the weekly sales goes to the jackpot, and the foundation and college will share the remaining 50% of weekly ticket sales. Each week’s raffle winner whose name is drawn will also pick an envelope number that will have a playing card in it and they will win the accumulated jackpot if the ace of spades is drawn. If the ace of spades is not drawn, the playing card will be removed and the jackpot rolls over to the following week.

The first draw will take place on January 21. Due to current COVID-19 restrictions, ticket purchasers will not be able to attend the weekly draw in person but are encouraged to follow the updates and watch the weekly live draw on the organizations’ “Chase the Ace for Health & Education” Facebook page.

Weekly lottery draws will take place Thursday afternoons at 4 pm at the Foundation office. The Living Sky Casino has signed on as the presenting sponsor for Chase The Ace and once they open again, weekly draws will begin to take place there.

Individual tickets are available for $10.00 apiece or multiple tickets can be purchased at 10 for $25.00 or 50 for $50.00. The jackpot will begin at $2,000.

Source: Swift Current Online

Strong community support from across southwest Saskatchewan helped make the 2020 Pharmasave Radiothon for Healthcare a success and to achieve the Dr Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare Foundation’s goal of raising $150,000.

The two-day event took place in the clubhouse of Elmwood Golf Club, Oct. 29-30. The final amount raised at the end of the second day was $150,800.

“It proved today that people care” Foundation Executive Director Jim Dekowny said. “People really want to give and they believe in what we’re doing at the Foundation, and it’s been a great day”

In a fitting conclusion to the event, the final cheque presentation was made by the Cypress Regional Medical Association. The donation of $15,000 helped the Radiothon to move past the fundraising target.

“All the doctors that look after everybody in the southwest decided to pool their money, not knowing that we’re going to be at $135,000” he said. “They give $15,000 and take us right to the end to finish it off. It’s a Hollywood, you know that I mean. It was a pretty cool two days. The resident of the southwest should be so happy and proud of what they’ve done these last two days.”

The final cheque presentation was made by the Cypress Regional Medical Association president, Dr. Clare Kozroski and treasurer, Dr. Kobus Steenkamp.

“We are so happy to help our patients individually, but it’s really a privilege for us as a group to also help the hospital, the surgeons and the whole area in terms of updating to some really needed equipment,” Dr. Kozroski said afterwards.

Dr. Steenkamp noted that donation is made from the financial contributions  of physicians toward their regional medical association.

“As physicians,  we each contribute on a monthly basis to our medical association,” he said. “We use the money for events, and if there’s money in surplus, we like to donate that to a worthy cause, and this is one of them. Radiothon  is one way of doctors giving back to the regional healthcare foundation.”

The funds raised through the Radiothon will be used to purchase a 4K ultra high definition laparoscopic surgical tower at the Cypress Regional Hospital.

“That equipment brings Cypress Regional Hospital and therefore our region up to the standard that our residents deserve,” Dr. Kozroski said. “The high definition really makes a difference. You could imagine what maybe your cell phone photo might have looked like 15 years ago compared to what you can see now. The same on your computer screen or tablet. So if a physician only has 2D resolution, he’s going to be much happier with 4K high resolution.”

The two surgical theaters at the Cypress Regional Hospital perform approximately 2,100 surgeries annually, including 900 cataract and 1,200 other lifesaving procedures. Surgeons currently use laparoscopic surgery towers in a 2D format that were originally purchased in 2009. A new laparoscopic surgery tower using 4K technology will provide surgeons with the latest technology during surgical procedures.

“The surgery is much more accurate,” Dr. Steenkamp explained. “So the outcome for the patient is much better and because it’s done laparoscopically, it reduces recovery time and it also reduces anaesthetic time. So all in all, it’s better for the patient.”

In past years the Radiothon took place in the foyer of the Cypress Regional Hospital, but it was not possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dekowny felt the clubhouse at Elmwood golf course provided a good alternative that allowed sufficient space for following COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

“We had a great facility here.” he mentioned. “Elmwood golf course really stepped up and allowed us to social distance and keep things clean and keep people safe.”

Dekowny experienced some uncertainty before the event about achieving the fundraising target, because the Radiothon took place in the midst of a global pandemic.

“I thought it was going it be a big challenge,” he acknowledged. “You’ve goy the two ways to look at it. Everybody that usually spends tens of thousands of dollars going on holidays might have a bit of extra savings, because they can’t go anywhere. But there’s also the people that are hurting right now and have lost their jobs and are hired back on a smaller scale. So you didn’t know. To me, it was the unknown, for sure, but the people of the southwest should be so proud of what they did and how they’ve stepped up.”

The Radiothon was well supported  by the business community. They made corporate donations, and various businesses provided prize packages that were available to win if people called in to make donations.

The Radiothon was kicked off with a dollar for dollar match up to $20,000 from the Hanlon family. The Innovation Credit Union also provided a dollar for dollar match up to $30,000.

“It was a great corporate and citizen’s effort to raise this money,” he said.

This year’s event took place over two full days, from 9am to 5pm on Oct. 29, and from 6am to 5pm on Oct. 30. This is a change from last year, when it was only a 15-hour broadcast. According to Dekowny there were more donations this year, which was already noticeable on the first day of the broadcast. Healthcare foundation staff had to go back to their office to photocopy more receipt forms because there were not enough available at the Radiothon.

“We never thought in a million years that we’ll have this many donations,” he said. “It’s the southwest people. And not just Swift Current, but the whole southwest, right from Climax to Leader to Herbert to Maple Creek. They’ve all stepped up.”

Source: Prairie Post