Kingston Health Sciences Centre

🎧 Catch up on an important conversation with CBC's the Current where #myKHSC Patient Experience Advisor Rachel Koven joins program to share her family's story, as well as discuss a movement that's looking to better balance cancer treatment with quality of life. The conversation is just a part of the work of Common Sense Oncology initiative which is pushing for cancer care that truly puts patients first. Their latest research—just published in The Lancet Oncology—highlights the need to focus on treatments that make a real difference in people’s lives. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/giq9NByc

🚨 We’re Hiring! 🚨 We are looking for a Director, Ambulatory Care Services & Program Operational Director, Ophthalmology to lead and enhance our ambulatory care programs. This is a permanent, full-time leadership role focused on ensuring safe, high-quality patient care across multiple specialties, including Medicine, Surgery, Ophthalmology, Urology, and Chronic Pain. If you’re a strategic leader passionate about improving access to care in Southeastern Ontario, we want to hear from you! 📍 Location: Kingston, ON 🔗 Apply now: https://lnkd.in/g3qrtqT8 #HealthcareLeadership #Hiring #AmbulatoryCare #KHSC #DirectorRole #Ophthalmology

Today, we celebrate Founder’s Day at our Hotel Dieu Hospital (HDH) site. Staff gathered in our main lobby to mark the occasion with chocolates and complimentary coffee, as we reflect on the incredible legacy of our founders. Jérôme le Royer de la Dauversière and Marie de la Ferre answered the call to serve and co-founded the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph (RHSJ) in France. In 1845 the RHSJ then opened a small hospital in Kingston, caring for the sick and vulnerable, and laying the foundation for the compassionate healthcare we continue to provide today. As we honour their vision, we remain committed to meeting the evolving needs of our community—just as they did centuries ago. Happy Founder’s Day! #FoundersDay #MyKHSC #YGK

📣 Breaking news at KHSC! We’re thrilled to announce that we will soon become only the second hospital in Ontario to bring a portable MRI to our Intensive Care Unit (ICU), thanks to a generous $500,000 donation from Stephen Sorensen through the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation. The Swoop Portable MRI Imaging System is a game-changer for critically ill patients who need brain imaging. Instead of moving these vulnerable patients to a traditional MRI suite—risking discomfort and delays—the portable MRI comes to them! This means that: ✅ Scans can be done at the bedside ✅ Patients will experience no radiation exposure ✅ Medical teams will have faster results for quicker treatment decisions ✅ More time for ICU teams to focus on patient care “Thanks to Stephen, our hospital will have cutting-edge medical technology that brings advanced diagnostics directly to patients in need,” says Dr. Pichora. “This incredible gift will improve access to timely care, enhance patient comfort, and reinforces KHSC’s commitment to innovation, ensuring people in southeastern Ontario receive the best possible medical treatment.” We’re incredibly grateful to for this visionary support in advancing medical imaging and improving patient outcomes. Read more about this exciting innovation: https://lnkd.in/gT2QRS3d

🌟 Join Our Team as an Employee & Labour Relations Advisor! 🌟 Are you ready to make an impact where it matters most? At Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC), we’re searching for two dynamic Employee & Labour Relations Advisors to lead the way in fostering positive workplace relationships and promoting inclusivity. 💡 Your Mission: Be the go-to expert on all things employee and labour relations. Provide expert advice on collective agreements, policies, and employment legislation. Guide and coach leaders, staff, and unions through complex workplace matters. Lead investigations and support a culture of inclusivity and collaboration. 📌 Why KHSC? At KHSC, we’re more than just healthcare – we’re a community committed to innovation, collaboration, and making a difference every day. 🔗 Ready to make your mark? Apply now and help shape the future of healthcare at KHSC! https://lnkd.in/g5F-hP8Z #KHSC #LabourRelations #HRLeadership #MakeAnImpact #NowHiring

Important information for patients and families in our region.

🌟 This is the place where addiction recovery begins 🌟 Simon Cashman’s journey is a testament to the power of compassion and support. After struggling an addiction to stimulants for over a decade, Simon found hope and a path to recovery at KHSC's Detox Centre. “It was a life choice for sure. There were some things I believe that had driven me to that direction and myself, I chose to stay in that direction. Instead of looking at my life, I was looking at everyone else’s. When things would trigger me, instead of dealing with it properly, I would just use.” Over the years, his addiction impacted his health, his family, and his job. His habit started with small amounts of cocaine, but he was eventually using over seven times that. “I pulled myself together and got myself in here, and it was one of the best things I could ever do. It was like the weight was off my shoulders for a little bit.” For Simon, the KHSC’s Detoxification Centre, or Detox, provided the support and structure he needed to get started on recovery. “This is where it starts. This literally is where it starts, I have seen so many people come in here broken and come out and actually become very successful because of the knowledge, techniques and learning a routine, and it works. This place works.” Reflecting on his journey of recovery, he says everything comes back to compassion. Read the Simon's full story online here: https://bit.ly/42roedu

⚡ Go Go Mobility Team! ⚡ This team of students puts the power in teamwork. Ruth Woodman calls them the 🌟‘Power Rangers.’🌟 But there’s no morphin’ time here. These students’ superpowers are intuition and empathy, and they are armed with time. Soon after she was admitted to the hospital with low sodium levels, she was visited by members of Kingston Health Sciences Centre’s mobility team, whose work includes assisting with getting people moving and activities of daily living. Woodman admits she was not ready, at that time, to budge from her bed unless necessary, but soon realized the team was there to do so much more. “They have been my lifeline, my superheroes, helping me at this difficult time by connecting with me like family and doing simple things that make a huge difference,” says Woodman. “I’m amazed at their skill set. They pick up on the smallest things that are often taken for granted, like being able to reach for a personal item.” Realizing that Woodman didn’t have the strength to get out of bed, let alone stand to look for something she needed, Abigail de Jong, a second-year Queen’s University nursing student and mobility team member, took the time to organize her things in plain sight, making it easier for friends and other care team members to find. “We have time on our side,” says de Jong, “if a patient needs 30 minutes, we can give it and they won’t feel rushed, which helps build their self-confidence and confidence in us.” From Woodman’s patient perspective, the mobility team is exactly what is needed in a hospital system that is regularly caring for more patients with complex medical conditions. “The mobility team is amazing and one that every hospital in Canada should have,” she says. Not only is the team good for patients, it is helping prepare the next generation of nurses and physical and occupational therapists for a rewarding career in health care. When it was ‘go time’ – the point in her recovery to get up, walk to the other side of her bed and sit in the chair, Woodman put her trust in her ‘Power Rangers’ and got stronger each time she moved. “Having never been hospitalized for an illness – it was a bit scary – and the support I received from the mobility team was important to getting well again,” says Woodman. #ONhealth #healthcare #nursingstudent

Trust 🤝 Support 🤗 Respect 🙌 Building a trusting relationship, grounded in compassion, respect and understanding, is a top priority for Khayman Wood. You see, the patients and families he supports are living with substance use disorders. Wood is #myKHSC's first addiction care navigator and works closely with the Substance Treatment and Rehabilitation Team, helping to guide individuals through their recovery journey. “The care I provide is to assist in the comfort of patients while in hospital, and then work with them to identify the best resources and supports to attain their goals as it relates to substance use and addictions,” explains Wood. “I bring a lens of compassion and equity to ensure these folks are not ‘lost in the cracks’ of the health-care system and provide them with high-quality and relevant referrals to improve their level of community well-being.” Wood joined the multidisciplinary team, featuring a group of physicians, nurses and other care providers who specialize in addictions, six months ago. Together, they provide assessments, counselling and pharmacological interventions. They also develop individualized treatment plans, share harm reduction education and supplies, and connect with partners for program referrals. “I’m motivated by the quality of care that I and the entire team can provide for someone while they’re in hospital. “I believe this position gives me the opportunity to truly connect with people at a time when they’re vulnerable and uncomfortable, and create trusting relationships that will yield the best results for them, entirely dependent on what goals they’re pursuing at any given time.” Wood is not only passionate about advocating for patients and families, but also creating system change. “Prior to working at KHSC, I used to conduct crisis emergency outreach in Ottawa and saw a glaring gap between the community and hospital in terms of care and communication. This position is a great opportunity to take what I have seen in terms of gaps and try to address it, in a community I call home. “It’s also a great opportunity for the team and the hospital at large to intervene early with folks to prevent long-term health complications and more demand on the system. Whether it be pursuing harm reduction teaching for those still active in their addictions or full abstinence, I believe we have the opportunity to provide compassionate care that is both wraparound and informed by best practices.” And as #myKHSC continues to expand its addiction care services, Wood is not only committed to being there for patients on their recovery journey, but also to helping navigate it with dignity, support and kindness. #PeopleOfKHSC #ThisIsThePlace #AddictionCare #ONHealth

If a health care provider has provided you or a loved one with excellent patient- and family-centred care, now is your chance to nominate them for a #myKHSC Exceptional Healer Award. The award is presented to two health care professionals at KHSC each year who demonstrate the core concepts of patient- and family-centred care while providing direct care. Learn more at kingstonhsc.ca/exceptional.