Left to right at Celebrating Innovations in Healthcare awards presentation are Tom Closson, president and CEO, Ontario Hospital Association; Beverley Griffiths, RN, Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital for Sick Children; Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-term Care; and Dr. Nasrin Najm-Tehrani, lead clinician remote retinopathy program and ophthalmologist, Hospital for Sick Children.
Remote retinopathy pilot linking Sudbury and Sick Kids wins award
Sudbury Regional Hospital was recognized at two provincial health conferences this fall.
A pilot project involving Sudbury Regional and the Hospital for Sick Children earned an award for health care innovation at the Celebrating Innovations in Health Care Expo in Toronto. The Remote Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) Screening Pilot Project was named winner in the category of Improving Access. The 18-month pilot project was funded by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
Under the pilot project, specially trained nurses at Sudbury Regional obtain digital images of the retinas of premature babies using a special Retcam. The images are then forwarded to pediatric opthalmologists at the Hospital for Sick Children to check for an eye disease specific to premature babies. Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) is a disruption of normal growth of blood vessels in the retina. Severe cases can lead to retinal detachment and blindness. During the pilot project, 57 exams were performed using the Retcam at Sudbury Regional. Having the technology in Sudbury saved the health-care system approximately $718,000 in travel costs between Sudbury and Toronto, not to mention the stress of travel on the babies and their families.
Recognition
"I am very happy that we are being recognized for such a great project, "said Suzanne Lacroix, project lead for Sudbury Regional on the ROP pilot project and one of the nurses trained to use the Retcam.
Sudbury Regional was also singled out by Minister of Health Deb Matthews at the 2010 Health Achieve Conference for placing first in improvements in the government's wait time strategy. "Since we started measuring, Sudbury Regional Hospital has cut wait times for knee surgery by 774 days, or more than two years," announced Matthews. "Think of what that means for a patient's quality of life."
"These are wonderful accomplishments for our hospital, "said Sudbury Regional's president and CEO Dr. Denis Roy.
"They indicate that we are succeeding in our mission to be both a centre of excellence in research and teaching and patient care."
