e-Newsletter Issue 32: Autumn 2017 Former President of Ireland Mary McAleese officially opens new facilities in Roscommon University Hospital Opening of refurbished mortuary viewing room - Mary Garvey, GM, RUH; Tina Vaughan, Assistant Director of Nursing, RUH; Professor Mary McAleese; Maurice Power, CEO, Saolta University Health Care Group; Sharon Foley, CEO, Irish Hospice Foundation; Geraldine Keane, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Palliative Care, RUH and Martin McAleese. Former President of Ireland, Professor Mary rooms and upgraded mortuaries and ensure these McAleese visited Roscommon University Hospital facilities are welcoming, respectful environments. on Monday, 25 September to officially open the Roscommon University Hospital is one of over 48 Design and Dignity Family Room and Refurbished hospitals in Ireland linked to the Hospice Friendly Mortuary Viewing Room. Hospitals (HFH) Programme. The HFH Programme is The refurbishment of the family room and mortuary an initiative of the Irish Hospice Foundation. It seeks to viewing room was funded under the Design and Dignity ensure that palliative, end of life and bereavement care Grant Fund which is operated and co- funded by the are central to the everyday business of hospitals. Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF). To date, the Design and Continued on page 16. Dignity Project has supported 34 projects around Ireland enabling hospitals to create relaxing spacious family CONTENTS NEXT ISSUE WINTER 2017 CEO update The next feature Hospital: Portiuncula University Hospital Update from the Women’s and Children’s Directorate For feedback, comments and suggestions, Feature Hospital - Roscommon University Hospital please email [email protected] In Other News… 2 Saolta University Health Care Group e-Newsletter Welcome to the autumn 2017 edition of the Saolta Group newsletter. Table of Contents In this month’s issue, we feature Roscommon University Chief Executive Officer 3 Hospital and highlight some of the recent projects and Group Chief Operations Officer 4 developments taking place there. Group Chief Financial Officer 5 Former President Mary McAleese recently visited the hospital to open a new family room and you can read all Group Chief Director Human Resources 6 about her visit in this edition. Group Director of Nursing and Midwifery 7 It’s flu vaccine time of the year and this edition features Feature - Roscommon University Hospital 16 the different initiatives that are underway across the Women’s & Children’s Directorate News 23 group to encourage staff to get the flu vaccine. General News 25 As always we could love to hear from you and we encourage you to send us your feedback on this edition. If you have any other comments, queries or stories you would like featured, please get in contact with us at [email protected]. We would also remind to you regularly check the Group’s website www.saolta.ie and follow the Group on twitter @saoltagroup for updates on news across the Group. Kind regards, Saolta Newsletter Team Issue 23: SeptemberIssue 23: 2015 September 1 2015 1 Issue 23: SeptemberIssue 23:2015 September 1 2015 1 Welcome toWelcome the last edition to the last of 2015edition of the of 2015Saolta of Universitythe Saolta UniversityTable ofTable Contents of Contents WelcomeHealth Care toHealthWelcome Groupthe last CareNewsletter. edition to Groupthe last of Newsletter. In2015edition this of month’s the of In2015Saolta this issue, of month’s Universitythe we Saolta issue, University we feature Letterkennyfeature Letterkenny University HospitalUniversity and Hospital highlight and some highlight of some of Health CareHealth Group CareNewsletter. Group Newsletter. 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Saolta NewsletterSaolta Newsletter Team Team Saolta NewsletterSaolta Newsletter Team Team FollowFollow us online us online Tweet Tweet of the of Month the Month FollowFollowFollow us onlineus us online online Tweet Tweet of the of Month the Month www.saolta.ie www.saolta.ie LinkedIn LinkedIn www.saolta.iewww.saolta.iewww.saolta.ie LinkedIn LinkedInLinkedIn @saoltagroup@saoltagroup@saoltagroup ResearchGateResearchGateResearchGate @saoltagroup@saoltagroup ResearchGateResearchGate Issue 32: Autumn 2017 3 Chief Executive Officer Dear colleagues, We will shortly be undertaking a series Welcome to the autumn 2017 issue of the Saolta of Employment newsletter. I hope you had an opportunity to Engagement Road shows take a well-deserved break with family and across the Group as we friends over the summer period. have done in previous As we look towards the end of 2017 activity across all our years. Members of the hospitals overall continues to grow and with the winter executive team will months approaching, demand will continue to increase visit each hospital over on our all services across the group, many of which are the coming months already operating at or above 100% capacity. to communicate the many developments, Our winter planning process is well underway and our opportunities as well as Maurice Power, CEO senior clinicians and managers are currently liaising and challenges that lie ahead negotiating with both the Department of Health and the of us. I look forward to HSE nationally in an effort to seek additional funding meeting you all in person during these site visits and to allow us implement a number of measures. These hope these are interactive sessions. I would encourage include opening and staffing additional beds, which you to attend and ask questions. It is very important that is particularly critical to alleviate the pressure in our your voice is heard. Emergency Departments. As you are aware, the Group Staff Achievement Awards Significant work is underway this year in the area of take place in November. This year’s event takes place patient flow in Galway University Hospitals in conjunction in Galway and I have no doubt will be as successful as with GE Healthcare Finnamore. The patient flow our last event which