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v tar 2 aq9a agfc23 nurses find new ways to care for community it mtl f it kf r re fik ml fv ymi ci pw- v rt i i ik lfi vx 3i photo bill lanning these nurses at the pediatric station were ready to welcome members of the public on their tour of the new hospita i late in february the bears are just a few of the toys donated through markham block parent toy drive which had a tremendous response from the community they were able to provide all the toys and small furniture which was requested the pediatric playroom officially opens in april meanwhile all toys have undergone a safety inspection and are ready for whatever action markham stouffville tots can dish out to provide excellence in the prevention of by julie caspersen staff reporter self scheduling at a brand new hospital has acted as a magnet to attract nurses to markham stouffville hospital in a move from managementcontrolled scheduling the hospital allows its 250 nurses choice in deciding when to work this is a first for the opening of a hospital pure selfscheduling is where staff nurses construct and control their own schedules designing their own schedules could even eliminate mental health days designing your own schedule does not violate circadian rhythms and selfscheduling helps with the selfimprovement of nurses who can plan shifts around classes when they sign up for a course flexibility and freedom are the main advantages to the selfcontrolled scheduling which applies to any staff member working other than regular monday to friday shifts quality care of patients comes with nurses ability to quickly access data markham stouffville nurses will spend less time preparing plans and more time providing care which is the basic philosophy of the nursing department illness the promotion of health and the provision of patient care coupled with a self scheduling concept is the formula for a successful nursing staff at markham stouffville hospital a state of the art computer system was coupled with selfsceduling to entice nursing staff the hospital houses a 41 million computer network the most advanced in canada in fact the ministry of health is looking to use it as a model for other hospitals the backbone of the system runs through the entire hospital allowing nurses to access patient records and lab results with the touch of a finger and the appropriate security code theres no need to stray from the nursing station to search for information nurses need never lose sight of patients thanks to the central design of their stations another factor makes markham stouffville hospital the place of choice for nurses primary nursing is the term used for the assigning of one day nurse and one night nurse to each patient a patient enjoys familiarity with these two nurses on a continuing basis more like a family atmosphere and more in keeping with the intimate way nurses prefer to work bets lobban markham resident around town when asked what the new hospital means to her bets lobban perhaps represents most young mothers in this community with her reply as a mother of three active boys the ready access to emergency services for stitches and broken noses will be a relief with a new community hospital we wont have the added stress of trying to decide which hospital we would be able to find in an emergency situation another advantage will be the ease of visiting people being able to drop in to visit a friend or family member instead of rearranging activities frr a major excursion will mean a lot to both ents and visitors making sure sue pearlagar a director of nursing at markham stouffville hospital took to a wheel chair during hospital construction to make sure future patients would have access to elevators tub enclosures and sinks the continuing care unit is designed for wheel chair access as well specially equipped doors lead to an inner courtyard and garden where patients can never be accidentally locked out instead of taking meals in their rooms patients will dine in a common cheerful dining room photos andre wolbert we would like to extend our appreciation to the communities of markham stouffville for their continued support of the markham stouffville hospital conomistsun the tribune serving markham unionville milliken thomhill stouffville uxbridge port perry