PRHC Names Cardiac Centre After James Neill Who Donated $5 Million, Largest Contribution in Hospital's History

James "Jim" Neill has been immortalized in Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) history as the Cardiac Centre has been named after him after he made a $5 million donation in a sign-unveiling ceremony on Thursday afternoon.

Photo by Samantha Bianco.

The donation is in support of cardiac care and was given back in 2021. The sign was revealed at the exterior northeast corner of the hospital, naming it the James B. Neill Cardiac Centre.

Neill had ‘no idea’ that it was the largest donation PRHC had ever received when that information was made known to him.

“To have my name on the side of the building, to see it associated with such an outstanding hospital and such exceptional and talented healthcare professionals, is a great honour,” said Neill. “It’s my hope that when patients, visitors and staff look up and see it, they’ll be encouraged and inspired to support their hospital in whatever way they can, much as the donors who came before inspired me.”   

Photo by Samantha Bianco.

PRHC and its foundation Foundation members were present with Neill, his family and friends at the ceremony to commemorate the event. The former expressed their gratitude to Neill for his generous donation.

“Mr. Neill is saving and improving the lives of thousands upon thousands of present and future patients and for that, as well as the inspiration his donation will provide to so many, we’re incredibly grateful,” said Lesley Heighway, PRHC foundation president and CEO.

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Registration For Peterborough's 22nd Dragon Boat Festival Opens This Wednesday

It’s paddles up for Little Lake as registration for the 22nd Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival opens this Wednesday at midnight.

To date, the festival has raised over 3.9 million dollars. File Photo.

This year’s event takes place on June 10 at Del Crary Park and features Dragon Boat Races, artisan and food vendors, Family Fun Zone, a beer garden and more according to a press release.

“I am thrilled to once again work with an amazing group of volunteers,” said Michelle Thornton, festival chair. “We continue to work hard to fulfill our motto of ‘Making a Difference One Race at a Time’ by raising money to help fund world-class breast and other cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC).

Proceeds of the 2023 Festival go towards PRHC to invest in cancer care equipment and technology. Examples include minimally-invasive surgical tools and a second cutting-edge MRI machine.

“We’ve always focussed on breast cancer awareness and raising funds for the Peterborough Regional Health Centre’s (PRHC),” said Ann Stabler, Dragon Boat team president. “We know firsthand the importance of PRHC’s continuing mission to bring the best cancer care the world has to offer, right here to our hospital. With community support, the hospital will be able to serve more patients, support earlier cancer diagnosis, and ensure safer, more effective treatment, close to home.”

Lesley Heighway, PRHC Foundation President & CEO says she’s grateful to everyone who helped the Festival thrive over the years.

“Cancer volumes are on the rise and the number of patients from Peterborough and the surrounding area who receive treatment at PRHC has grown significantly,” she said. “PRHC’s ability to provide expert, compassionate cancer treatment depends on having state-of-the-art equipment and technology.”

The first three teams to register earn a free extra practice in a dragon boat on Little Lake.

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Two Partnerships Lead To Increase In Mobile Crisis Intervention Teams For Peterborough Police

Three Mobile Crisis Intervention Teams are working in the communities of Peterborough, Lakefield and Cavan-Monaghan after the Peterborough Police Service entered two partnerships announced on Thursday.

(Mental Health Nurse D. Forsyth (front) with (fron left to right) Constable J. Rye; Constable J. Morris; Mental Health Worker M.Faught (CMHA); Mental Health Worker A. Swift (CMHA); Constable S. Leavitt) at the Peterborough Police Station. Photo courtesy of Peterborough Police Service.

The partnerships are with Canadian Mental Health Association Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (CMHA HKPR) and Peterborough Regional Health Centre PRHC) according to a press release.

In each case, a mental health worker, nurse or social worker is partnered with an officer to respond to crisis incidents and to follow up on cases where their services may help.

“As a service, we have been working extremely hard with our community partners to put the funding and people in place,” says Inspector Jamie Hartnett, Operations, Peterborough Police. “The Service understands and believes in the success these partnerships can have for our community. They are making a difference.”

“We are extremely grateful for the Partnership with Peterborough Police Services over the past 12 years through the Mobile Crisis Intervention Team. This model has proven successful and we are excited that the team is expanding to include more skilled community partners, like PRHC,” said Mark Graham, CMHA HKPR CEO.

“Partnerships like these are absolutely vital, and we are so pleased to be working closely with Peterborough Police Service and CMHA to provide community-based care, when and where it is needed, for people who are experiencing a mental health crisis,” said Sean Martin, PRHC Vice President. “Among many other important benefits, the Mobile Crisis Intervention Team model has been shown to reduce the number of patient visits to the hospital’s emergency department and crisis response unit.”

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Peterborough Regional Health Centre Seeking New Board of Director Members

Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) is seeking individuals to become members of the Board of Directors announced on their website on Monday.

File Photo.

The Board Members are seeking members who are the following:

• reside in one of the four counties of Peterborough, Northumberland, Haliburton and Kawartha Lakes

• reflect the diversity of their changing community

• can bring volunteer Board experience and business/professional skills to our governance processes.

Duties of Board Members include:

• Governing the affairs of PRHC in line with best practices in the sector

• Advancing PRHC’s vision, mission and values

• Valuing and embracing anti-oppression, anti-racism, equity, diversity and inclusion practices and principles within its governance processes

• Committing to continuously building a truly inclusive and safe organization at every level

• Supporting the implementation of the 2024-2027 Strategic plan and ensuring that all decisions are made in accordance with the Plan

• Reviewing and approving PRHC’s Annual Operating Plan

• Provide oversight to quality of care

• Fosters regional relationships needed for seamless care

All applications are welcome, particularly from anyone with a background in clinical (professional staff and allied health included), human resources, patient/family experience, construction/facility management and quality of care according to the PRHC.

Applications and resumes are due by Feb. 17 and can be sent to the Chair, Nominating Sub-Committee, c/o Margaret Clark, Senior Executive Assistant, Administration, Peterborough Regional Health Centre, One Hospital Drive, Peterborough, ON, K9J 7C6 or email mclark@prhc.on.ca

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PRHC Emergency Department Pressured With Max Bed Capacity and Staffing Shortages; Urge Patients to See Other Clinics If Possible

The Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) is experiencing heavy pressure having to operate with staff shortages, deal with constant maximum in-patient capacity and have COVID-19 outbreaks announced in a Zoom conference on Thursday morning.

There were 191 patients admitted to PRHC on July 17 which is considered a high number. Photo by Luke Best.

Dr. Lynn Mikula, chief medical executive and chief of staff issued says the pressure has been ongoing for a number of months that preceded the pandemic but COVID-19 has made the situation more serious.

“We are seeing higher patient acuity meaning that more people who come to the emergency department (ED) are sick enough to need admission to the hospital,” she said.

On July 17, PRHC reported that 191 patients needed to be admitted which is a high number according to Dr. Mikula. She continued saying last month would on average take a person eight hours from entering the ED to departure.

Dr. Mikula urges incoming patients to seek other forms of medical attention that can be treated outside the ED if possible but PRHC will not redirect patients if they deem an ED trip is not necessary.

She suggests using Telehealth Ontario to triage the severity of a condition to go to the emergency room or seek an alternative form such as a family doctor, walk-in clinic or virtual clinic.

“As a general rule of thumb, I think people know if they’re really ill,” she said. “If it’s a more mild condition that you would see your family doctor for, even if you can’t reach your family doctor, explore some of those other options.”

When questioned if Monkeypox has played a role in the contributing pressure, Dr. Mikula said it was an ‘evolving situation,’ they are not yet affected but will notify the public if and when it does.

PRHC has been dealing with staff shortages, especially in the nursing department but is also hiring ‘basically everybody’ according to Dr. Mikula. Roles include technologists, allied health staff and environmental and accountants.

As of June 2022, PRHC had a total of 275 vacancies with a 9.25 per cent vacancy rate for all hospital positions according to Michelene Ough, PRHC director of communications.

“Like other hospitals, we also have ongoing staffing shortages, said Dr. Mikula. “This has required us to focus our limited ED resources where they are most needed. The hospital is very full, operating at or above 100 per cent of its in-patient bed capacity.

On June 5, 2019, the provincial government imposed Bill 124 that wage-suppressed healthcare workers to only a one percent increase over three years. Dr. Mikula suggests that the bill partially affected the shortage but says they need a whole “coordinated system response” to help rectify the problem.

COVID-19 has been a contributing factor to the occupied bed capacity. PRHC reported an outbreak from two patients as of Wednesday and holds 18 people total who are infected with the infamous virus.

Dr. Mukula assured the public that PRHC is prepared in case of another COVID-19 wave or strain hits Peterborough.

“We continue to have our incident management system monitor COVID-19, meet regularly, look at the infection control measures and the other measures that we have in place. We’re ready to scale them up if needed,” she said. “I would say if that’s one thing the last two years have taught us, it’s that we need to be prepared to manage another wave at any time and there are a lot of people who are predicting another wave in the fall so ready and we’re waiting.”

PRHC stated they have explored several recruitment avenues such as the international nurse graduate program to help fill the void. They have been actively recruiting nurses during their pressured months.

“The problem is that every other hospital in Ontario is doing exactly the same thing so we’re all basically competing now for a limited pool but not only nurses but technologists and all the other support staff,” said Dr. Mukula.

Last fall, the federal government imposed mandatory vaccines for healthcare workers at the risk of losing their jobs for anyone failing to comply.

Mukula estimated over 95 per cent of healthcare workers were vaccinated at the time of the mandate and PRHC enforces a policy where all current employees are vaccinated.

“That is not one of the factors that have landed us in the staffing shortages situation we are facing today,” said Dr. Mukula.

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Over $3.4 Million Invested Peterborough Regional Health Centre, Expansion of Eating Disorder Support and Services

Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) is receiving $3,409,974 from the Ontario Government as part of its $572.3 million investment to reimburse hospitals across the province for their lost revenue during the pandemic announced Friday.

Ontario has a total of 2,436 adult and pediatric ICU beds. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The announcement was made in a Zoom meeting with MPP Dave Smith and Brenda Weir, PRHC Executive Vice President.

A one-time payment of $1,000,000 is included to immediately address the increased demand for services to support specialized care for children and youth diagnosed with eating disorders according to Smith.

“The pandemic worsened the challenges we face in health care and mental health supports after years of neglect and underfunding,” MPP Dave Smith said. “A $4,409,974 investment builds on our work to address hallway medicine, expand mental health services and ensure people in our community get the care they need,”

The program will focus on those up to the age of 24.

“The social isolation with the pandemic definitely has impacted how people have coped. Social isolation for any child or teen is significant as part of their development,” said Brenda Weir, PRHC Executive Vice President.

This funding is part of the province’s overall investment of over $1.2 billion to help hospitals recover from financial pressures created and worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hospitals have felt financial challenges not only through direct costs, but also through the loss of other forms of revenue such as co-payments for private rooms and the reduction of retail services, all of which contribute to patient care and support clinical services according to the press release.

“While the pandemic funding will help to offset the significant financial burden we have seen at the hospital as a result of COVID-19, the additional investment into PRHC’s Eating Disorders program will help us to address a dramatic increase in the need for this important service for youth in our community and region,” said Weir.

The investment in eating disorder supports and services is part of the 2021 Fall Economic Statement which allocates $8.1 million this year to immediately address the increased demand for services to support specialized care for children and youth diagnosed with eating disorders.

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PRHC Sees Record-Number COVID-19 Patients, Longer Wait Times Expected

Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) is seeing a record-high number of inpatients with COVID-19 combined with ongoing short-staffing, resulting in longer wait times announced on Thursday.

Photo courtesy of PRHC.

PRHC is asking community members to consider their alternative options before seeking care at the hospital.

“PRHC, like hospitals across Ontario, is very much still in the midst of the pandemic,” said Dr. Lynn Mikula, PRHC Chief of Staff and Chief Medical Executive. “While mandates have lifted in most public spaces, PRHC is not operating in its pre-pandemic state and in fact a number of key factors continue to converge at the hospital as we grapple with the effects of this sixth wave of COVID-19.”

Anyone visiting the Emergency Department for care should expect longer-than-usual waits to be seen for all but the most acute illnesses and conditions.

The hospital encourages those considering coming to the ED to assess their illness and consider alternative options for care if their situation is not an emergency:

• Individuals who are registered with a family physician/practitioner should seek non-urgent care through their office before coming to the hospital.

• Telehealth Ontario is also available; this is a free, confidential service that you can call at 1-866-797-0000 to get health advice or information 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Assistance is available in more than 300 languages.

“Our healthcare workers have also seen an increase in aggressive and abusive behaviours from some members of the public,” said Dr. Mikula. “PRHC staff and physicians are working incredibly hard right now, putting in long hours under increasingly challenging conditions in order to provide life-saving care for hundreds of patients each day.”

PRHC wants to remind everyone that:

• All enhanced precautions, including screening at entrances, masking and temporary visiting restrictions continue to be in effect across PRHC.

• The COVID-19 Assessment Centre at PRHC continues to offer medical assessment, testing and treatment options for eligible patients with COVID-19. Time is of the essence when it comes to receiving treatment for COVID-19, so if you believe you are at higher risk for severe illness, please contact the COVID-19 Assessment Centre at 705-876-5086 to request an appointment as soon as possible.

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Peterborough Regional Health Centre Adds Three Extra Days For COVID-19 Testing Pop-Up Clinic

Three additional days of a COVID-19 testing pop-up clinic by Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) and Peterborough Public Health (PPH) have been scheduled at St. Peter’s Secondary School announced Tuesday.

PRHC had run the clinic from Dec. 23 to 25 however the demand for COVID-19 testing has been extremely high in the past few weeks due to the Omicron variant.

It continues to spread across Ontario and confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Peterborough area have increased significantly according to the PRHC.

The details for the pop-up testing location are as follows:

• Dates: Dec. 29 - 31

• Location: St. Peter Catholic Secondary School, 730 Medical Dr.

• Available by appointment only through this link: https://bit.ly/3spXWWM

Criteria for testing at this site:

• You have been identified as a high-risk contact and directed to receive testing by Peterborough Public Health, Public Health Ontario or Provincial Work Force

• You have COVID-19 symptoms

• You have received a positive result on a rapid antigen test

Additional appointments are now available at the pop-up testing clinic for December 29, 30 and 31.

— PRHC (@PRHC1) December 28, 2021

Testing services continue to be offered through PRHC’s COVID-19 Assessment Centre however demand continues to be extremely high as stated by PRHC. 

More information about booking a test through the COVID-19 Assessment Centre can be found here:
https://www.prhc.on.ca/about-us/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/getting-tested-for-covid19/

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Ontario Government to Distribute COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Tests To Peterborough

The Ontario Government is distributing COVID-19 rapid antigen tests at several locations in Peterborough over the next few weeks to increase access to publicly funded testing announced Wednesday.

A rapid antigen test displaying a negative COVID-19 reading. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Rapid antigen tests provide results in 15-20 minutes after administering the test. Rapid antigen testing is used for screening purposes only and should not be used for diagnosing someone with symptoms or exposure to COVID-19.

A positive result from a rapid antigen test needs to be followed up with a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test, which is administered through the Peterborough Regional Health Centre’s COVID-19 Assessment Centre or a participating pharmacy then sent to a lab for processing, to confirm the person has COVID-19.

The Ontario Government is distributing rapid antigen tests in Peterborough over the next several weeks at the following locations:

• Peterborough Farmers’ Market, Morrow Building, 151 Lansdowne St. W. – 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Sat., Dec. 18, and 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Sat, Jan. 8

• Lansdowne Place, 645 Lansdowne St. W. – Dec. 21 to Thu., Dec. 23, 2021 (hours to be determined)

• Peterborough Memorial Centre, 151 Lansdowne St. W. – 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Sat., Dec. 18 and 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Dec. 27

• Peterborough Public Library, 345 Aylmer St. N. – Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

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Dragon Boat Festival Raises Over $90,000 For PRHC Breast Assessment Centre

The fight against breast cancer takes another step forward as Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival members donated $91,853.20 to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) Foundation at Peterborough Square on Thursday.

To date, the festival has raised more than $3.7 million for cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment through the PRHC Foundation. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The money is towards a diagnostic ultrasound machine for the Breast Assessment Centre at the PRHC which Dragon Boat Festival had raised money for in their first-ever campaign. It will aid in cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment.

The target goal was $84,509.18, a specific figure that was quickly addressed by Gina Lee, 2021 festival chair.

“We also realized that we have come full circle and to celebrate our 20th anniversary, we decided our goal would be to match the $84,509.18 donation we made to the PRHC Foundation 20 years ago when we were first starting out,” she said.

Volunteers from Survivors Abreast, the Dragon Boat Festival organizing committee, PRHC reps and sponsors were in attendance to unveil the final amount raised.

This year’s event was run virtually where teams were challenged to hold virtual races online. Points were awarded to individuals and teams for participation, fundraising and video or photo submissions.

The number of cancer treatment patients from Peterborough and the surrounding area is trending upward every year. 

“The hospital’s mission to provide world-class cancer care, close to home, remains as important as ever. So the support of Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival and our community is vital,” said Lesley Heighway, PRHC President and CEO. “This state-of-the-art equipment will provide better quality images so radiologists can detect smaller, difficult-to-see breast abnormalities quickly and accurately. This will help save lives.”

Survivors Abreast is the festival host team and is overjoyed of the Festival’s impact on the PRHC.

“Our goals remain the same,” said Marg Walsh, Survivors Abreast President. “To raise funds for the best cancer care in our community, to raise awareness about breast cancer and to encourage participation in the festival. None of this would be possible without the generous spirit of giving in our community and the joint efforts of our sponsors, volunteers, enthusiastic paddlers and donors.”

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