Public Health supports access to COVID-19 and influenza immunization and testing across the province. To help ensure all Nova Scotians have access to these important services, we will be holding testing and immunization clinics next week. All upcoming clinics can be found online at www.nshealth.ca/PHMU.

Sixty-five Nova Scotia Health individuals and teams from across the province have been nominated as safety champions.

Patient safety nominees are chosen by their peers for demonstrating a genuine interest in safety, and they model the organizational core values of patient safety.

One of the nominees is Jocelyn Barron, a licensed practical nurse (LPN) at Buchanan Memorial Community Centre in Neil’s Harbour. 

For Catherine-Anne Murray and Kathryn Hominick, changing how people view risk is key to enhancing the quality of life of older adults.

Through their work in Geriatric Ambulatory Care at Nova Scotia Health’s QEII Health Sciences Centre Camp Hill Veterans Memorial Building in Halifax, Murray, an occupational therapist, and Hominick, a clinical social worker have witnessed a growing health concern among older adults living with frailty and dementia.

Public Health supports access to COVID-19 and influenza immunization and testing across the province. To help ensure all Nova Scotians have access to these important services, we will be holding an additional COVID-19 and influenza testing clinic this week:

Henry G Bauld Centre
35 Wilfred Jackson Way, Dartmouth
Thursday, Feb. 1 from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

In Pictou County, a dedicated effort is underway to enhance understanding, inclusion and support for the Muslim community. Recognizing the significant number of doctors in Pictou County who follow the Muslim faith, the community organized Islam 101, a gathering to share valuable insights into Islam beliefs and practices. The goal extends beyond ensuring respect and understanding of religious and spiritual needs, aiming to establish a welcoming environment where recruited physicians of the Islamic faith choose to establish their practice and put down roots in the community.

Registered nurse Thea Lacastesantos usually works on a medicine unit at Dartmouth General Hospital. But the internationally educated nurse recently volunteered to pick up extra shifts at the QEII Health Sciences Centre, to help alleviate the pressures in the emergency department.

“It's one of my dreams to work in emergency,” said Lacastesantos, who is originally from the Philippines. “I like a challenge, and it’s so busy, but everything is new – new staff, new types of patients for me.”

In summer 2023, the Nurse Specializing in Wound Ostomy & Continence shifted roles, creating a gap in patient access to wound and ostomy care at Colchester East Hants Health Centre (CEHHC) in Truro. Licensed practical nurses Catherine Campbell and Bria Harper expressed interest in addressing this need and expanding their wound care expertise. In response, the ambulatory care team collaborated with the CEHHC Foundation to support them in enrolling for the Skin Wellness Associate Nurse (SWAN) program through the Wound Ostomy Continence Institute.

In the bustling halls of the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, three remarkable individuals defy the conventional trajectory of a career in healthcare. Eric Morrison, Dave Doyle, and Frankie Fougere are the seasoned trio who collectively hold nearly a century and a half of experience in the hospital's X-ray department. These dedicated professionals have all retired at one point, only to return to the very place where they had spent their entire careers.

Public Health supports access to COVID-19 and influenza immunization and testing across the province. To help ensure all Nova Scotians have access to these important services, we will be holding testing and immunization clinics next week. 

She’s known as “speedy Maddie” on her units for her swiftness and precision in keeping patient rooms and equipment clean and sanitized.

“It’s all about my routine,” explained Maddie Wheeler, who works in environmental services at South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. “I do things a certain way, and that’s how I get my speed.”

Wheeler is one of twenty-three employees from Nova Scotia Health to receive a 2023 Frontline Award of Excellence from the Canadian Healthcare Housekeepers Association (CHHA)