Congratulations, Butterfield & Vallis, Corporate Blood Drive Winner 2022

Tuesday 14 June 2022: Bermuda Hospitals Board today announced that Butterfield & Vallis had won the Corporate Blood Drive Winner 2022. In this ninth competition, 15 local companies competed. Every blood donation from an employee or an employee’s friends and family counts towards the final total. The winner is always announced on World Blood Donor Day, which is today, 14 June 2022. As a further celebration, the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital Acute Care Wing will be lit in red in this week.

The winner’s trophy was presented to Butterfield & Vallis by the Minister of Health, the Hon. Kim Wilson JP MP, the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ayoola Oyinloye, BHB Chief of Staff Dr Wesley Miller, and the Bermuda Blood Donor Centre team.

Dr Eyitayo Fakunle, Consultant Haematologist, comments: “Every one of the fifteen competing companies must be applauded. Every donation is a donation we need, and just by participating they are supporting their employees to be able to come and donate. Thank you all, and a special congratulations to Butterfield & Vallis, for coming first in the competition. The last two years have been very hard for individuals and companies, and your continued support of blood donation has helped us maintain our blood supplies and save lives in Bermuda.”

The fifteen competing companies in this year’s competition were: AF Smith, Ascot, Axis, Bermuda Monetary Authority, BF&M, Butterfield & Vallis, Conyers Dill & Pearman, Fidelity, FIL, Freisenbruch, Lancashire, Liberty, Marsh McLennan, Ministry of Public Works and Renaissance Re.

Lucy Correia, Nurse Phlebotomist at the Blood Donor Centre, comments: “We are so thankful to each company and to everyone who donates. Butterfield & Vallis joined the 2014/15 competition and have participated every year since then. They’ve truly earned their win this year! We hope more companies will consider joining. It can be a great way to bond and build morale, and every donation can help up to three people in Bermuda. There is no better way to support the community. And we are going into the tenth competition, so it will be a special celebration!”

Terri Durrant, Advertising Manager and Wellness Chair of Butterfield & Vallis, comments: “Supporting blood donation is something Butterfield & Vallis and its employees are passionate about. Congratulations and thanks to all of my colleagues who have rolled up their sleeves this year to donate blood. For some, it took a lot to pluck up the courage to donate in the first place but now they are regulars . We look forward to a strong competition in the year ahead and we’re determined to make it a double!”

Companies wishing to join in the friendly competition should email blood.donation@bhb.bm or call 236-5067.

Donate blood up to 30 June and have a chance to win a prize!

Wednesday 8 June 2022: Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) and Bermuda Blood Donor Centre today thank the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club for donating two prizes to recognise the blood and apheresis donors in Bermuda. This is the second year running Hamilton Princess has offered the prizes, which are a stay at the hotel and a champagne brunch. The winners will be drawn from Bermuda’s most active and new blood donors who have donated over the last year up to 30 June 2022.

Alongside the prizes, Hamilton Princess is sponsoring an online advertisement to encourage blood donation, and is encouraging and supporting its employees to donate blood by participating in the annual Corporate Blood Drive Competition. The corporate winner will be announced on World Blood Donor Day, Tuesday 14 June.

Dr Eyitayo Fakunle, consultant haematologist at BHB, comments: “Thank you, Hamilton Princess, for being a partner in our drive to increase the number of blood and apheresis donors in Bermuda. Behind this generous donation and support is the goal of increasing donors. The need for blood transfusions in Bermuda is increasing. There were nearly 2,000 transfusions in 2021 compared to 1,590 in 2017, an increase of 26%. Blood donors over the same period have only increased from 1,002 to 1081, or 8%. This means our existing donors are being true heroes and donating frequently. We hope people will see the great good they can do by joining our donors and helping us save lives.

“The increasing need for transfusions is not down to any one reason. We see people who have internal bleeding due to illness, trauma, surgery or childbirth, as well as sickle cell patients who may need therapeutic transfusions throughout their lives. We need each new generation to join so we can keep saving lives in Bermuda for years and decades ahead.”

Tim Morrison, General Manager of the Hamilton Princess, comments: “Hamilton Princess & Beach Club is proud to be able to do its part to thank the blood donors in Bermuda and encourage more people to donate. Providing raffle prizes for donors and also being a participant in the Corporate Blood Drive Competition are ways we can make a difference to our community. If anyone is thinking of donating for the first time, or returning to donating, then this month is a great time to start as you’ll be included in this year’s draw. Our goal, however, is to thank all Bermuda’s blood donors, who are helping to save lives year round.”

Bermuda Blood Donor Centre Nurse Phlebotomist Lucy Correia adds: “We are so pleased all our active donors can participate in this draw. We can promise anyone who is considering donating for the first time that we will make it as comfortable and easy for you as possible. The process only takes about 30 minutes and your one gift of blood can help up to three people. We are based on the first floor of the General Wing of the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and are open Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 2:30pm and Friday 8:30am to 1pm for appointments. Call 236-5067. You can also go to bdahospitaldev.wpengine.com for more information about donating.”

BHB updates community on Electronic Medical Record Programme

Wednesday 29 December 2021: BHB today updates the community on its Electronic Medical Record Programme, which aims to replace an old, outdated clinical system that is no longer supported by the company, with the Cerner Millennium electronic medical record (EMR).

The project officially kicked off in April this year, after a year-long delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. First announced in the budget debate speech given by the Minister in March 2020, the integrated EMR at BHB will give each patient one record, no matter which BHB service they use, helping reduce duplication, delays and improve coordination of care, and access to full information for the patient and clinical team. It has the potential to have greater connectivity outside of the hospital.

Throughout 2021, about 350 staff members have been involved in the project in over 1,000 EMR workshops and meetings.

Michael Richmond, CEO & President, comments: “BHB staff and physicians have been working hard since April 2021 in order to implement our first integrated EMR. We appreciate that they have been keeping this project moving even as we have gone through the waves of the pandemic. The pressure of time is on us as our current clinical system, also from Cerner, is old and no longer supported. Implementing a full EMR as the solution will help us upgrade, and meet the standards of care expected in hospitals around the world. EMRs are a tool for staff to use in the delivery of care that puts the patient at the heart of all we do, it helps us in our mission to deliver the highest quality and safest care each day.”

Chief of Staff Dr Wesley Miller is one of the co-executive sponsors of the project. He explains: “Clinicians will use the EMR to write up their notes, review test results, make diagnoses, make referrals, prescribe medications and communicate with other people in the care team, or to other departments involved in a patient’s care. One patient, one record, wherever you go in BHB.

“It actively encourages safe care because of the safety alerts built into the system, which help clinicians make timely decisions. Someone with clinical indicators that suggest sepsis or stroke, for instance, can be immediately flagged: these are conditions in which a fast therapeutic response is critical to the outcome of patients. Medication alerts can be flagged that stop errors in doses or contraindications with other medications the patient is on.”

Bill Shields, Chief Financial Officer, is the other co-executive sponsor of the project: “We are so grateful to all the people working on this project to date as they managed the EMR commitment and the pandemic. Next year, starting in the Spring, over 1,000 staff in departments across BHB and all physicians who work within the hospital will be involved with training and testing, so the hardest part of the implementation is still ahead of us.

“We are aware that this is a big investment and would note that while we must replace an old clinical system, the EMR will replace many of our other systems, helping us integrate records with other actions such as scheduling, referrals, prescribing, and testing. Whilst the core cost of the implementation is about $30 million, when we go live we will save many millions of dollars in costs over time associated with the purchasing, updating and maintenance of many separate systems. The contract payment terms are over ten years. Of even more importance, however, is how the EMR will support our frontline staff as they strive to deliver the best care possible, and help BHB in its pursuit of excellence through improvement, to make Bermuda proud.”

Following an internal competition, BHB’s integrated EMR is now named ‘PEARL’ (Patients Electronic & Administrative Records Log) and will be used in all clinical, support and administrative areas across KEMH, MWI and Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Centre after it goes live next year.

PEARL’s history
Cerner’s Millennium was selected as BHB’s EMR in an RFP back in May 2019, after a vendor search and selection process that started in late 2018. A full business case to implement an EMR to replace the old clinical suite and improve the delivery of care at BHB was approved by the Board in November 2019. After the initial planned start in 2020 was postponed due to the pandemic, the EMR programme at BHB launched in April 2021. PEARL is expected to go live in fall/winter of 2022, following a major testing and training schedule for all staff.