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Please wear a mask to the hospital

Wednesday 29 April 2020: Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) is asking members of the public who have a cloth mask, to please wear it if they need to come to the hospital. Most people are doing so and we are grateful. When members of the public wear a cloth mask at the hospital, it helps protect hospital staff.

BHB management and staff are committed to our community and want to make it clear that we will not turn people away who do not have, or have forgotten to wear a mask.

29 April 2020 Home Page, News

KEMH creates more isolation rooms

Monday 13 April 2020: Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) today announces the addition of nine more negative pressure rooms at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH). Four additional rooms in the Emergency Department, two operating rooms, two rooms on the Post Anesthesia Care Unit and one additional room on the Dialysis Unit have been converted to negative pressure/isolation rooms.

These nine rooms are in addition to the 28 converted on the Ace Barber Unit, announced last week. (The 28 conversions brought the total negative pressure rooms on the unit to 30, i.e. every room on the unit.)

Creating negative pressure within a room results in the air being confined to that room. This greatly reduces the ability of infection to spread.

The Acute Care Wing opened in 2014 with two negative pressure rooms on each of the three wards and 15 in the Emergency Department. Patients who present or develop infectious conditions in the hospital are routinely housed in isolation rooms.

Black & McDonald, facility manager of the Acute Care Wing (ACW), were able to increase the number of negative pressure rooms through the ACW’s automated building management system.

“We are doing everything we can to help BHB prepare for this pandemic,” said the Black & McDonald Facility Manger for the Acute Care Wing, Warren Moulaison. “Our team of engineers, just like everyone at BHB, is committed to doing our best to serve our Bermuda community.”

“Increasing the number of isolation rooms in the Emergency Department will help us better stem the spread of COVID-19 within the hospital,” said BHB Chief of Emergency and Hyperbarics Chikezie Dean Okereke, MD.

“We are pleased with the progress of our pandemic plan,” said BHB CEO and President Venetta Symonds. “I thank the dedication of staff across our organisation, from the Facilities Departments who expand our negative pressure room capabilities, to our frontline clinical staff, dietary and environmental services staff, our partners in security services and our administrative staff – all of us are working to care for and keep our patients  and employees safe.”

13 April 2020 Home Page, News

World Heart Day: BHB offers free CPR training

Thursday 26 September 2019: Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) is celebrating World Heart Day this year with quick cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) courses for the public. BHB is the only American Heart Association Authorized Training Center in Bermuda and each of the courses offered have been created by that organisation.

Hands-Only CPR

Designed to increase the likelihood of bystanders taking action if someone suffers a heart attack right in front of them, this method does not involve any mouth-to-mouth contact. Only hand contact is required.

“Research showed that people were uncomfortable giving mouth-to-mouth help to victims, even in instances where a person fell into difficulty right before them,” said BHB Clinical Nurse Educator Kelly Pitcher. “This technique was created to increase the numbers of people that would be able to help in such circumstances, thereby increasing the prospects for anyone who may have a heart attack.”

BHB will offer the Hands-Only CPR course for free. Training takes about 30 minutes and is done to music. Research by the American Heart Association shows that people are more likely to remember the compression rate to use when they are trained to use the beat of a familiar song.

Participants must be able to kneel on the floor.

 

Family & Friends CPR

Family & Friends CPR is for people who want to learn CPR but do not need CPR certification to meet a job requirement. The course is ideal for community groups, new parents, grandparents, babysitters, and others interested in learning how to save a life.

This course includes training in the Hands-Only CPR technique as well as mouth-to-mouth CPR to use on adults and children. Adult and child AED use, infant CPR and mild and severe airway block for adults, children and infants are also a part of this training.

BHB will provide free instruction for this course. The workbook and mouthpiece required will cost $5. Family & Friends CPR training is about 2 hours long.

Participants must be able to kneel on the floor.

 

Registering for the courses

Please note that neither course is appropriate for clinicians.

Hands-Only CPR will be offered on Friday 27 September from 8:30am – 3:30pm

Family & Friends CPR will be offered on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 September.  Three sessions will be offered each day.

Session 1 Session 2 Session 3
8:30am-10:30am 11am-1pm 1:30pm-3:30pm

Call 239-1029 to register or email coursereg@bhb.bm. Please include the time and date you would like to attend.

 

Family and friends CPR training flyer 2019

Hands only CPR training flyer

26 September 2019 Home Page, News

BHB celebrates occupational health nurses

16 April 2019: Laurie Smith and Muriel Williams are occupational health nurses at Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB). They work to create a culture of health and safety for all BHB employees. They are among the first staff new employees meet as they conduct the pre-employment health assessments. During these appointments their aim is to convey a welcoming feeling while setting the standard for the quality of care staff will receive from Employee Health Services (EHS).

The pair are responsible for treating all BHB staff for work related illness and injury. Their care covers all aspects of an employee’s health – physical, emotional, financial, social and occupational. Often they also have to treat employees for non-work related health matters providing guidance on resources that can best assist affected staff with improving their health outcomes.

Ms Smith and Ms Williams are also advocates for the health and safety of BHB employees and often liaise with managers, Employee Relations, and external agencies like the Department of Health.

In addition to serving BHB’s 1,700 employees, Ms Smith and Ms Williams also provide occupational health services to external client companies. These companies send their employees to EHS for services such as drug screening.

Not everyone is aware of the unique responsibilities of occupational health nurses. From case management to health counselling to the oversight of legal and regulatory compliance, these nurses help to improve employees’ health and a BHB’s bottom line. Businesses count on occupational health nurses to protect their workers’ health which in turn helps to reduce absenteeism, lower turnover rates, improve employee morale, increase productivity and create a positive brand image.

Occupational health nurses are recognised leaders in workplace health and safety. Their prominent position allows them to:

  • collaborate with employees to develop healthy lifestyle and behaviours,
  • set expectations for employees to self-manage their physical, mental and emotional health
  • serve as health advocates and experts to internal and external groups
  • manage occupational injury/illness leading to reduced time away from work  and cost savings
  • create a culture of health and safety to ensure a supportive environment where everyone can do their best

The American Association of Occupational Health Professionals celebrates Occupational Health Nurse Week 15-19 April.

16 April 2019 Home Page, News

Bermuda Hospitals Board wins at international WOW! Awards 2017

Thursday 7 December 2017: Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) is pleased to announce it has been voted Workplace of the Year by the international employee recognition programme The WOW! Awards. BHB’s Child and Adolescent Services placed second in the WOW! What a Team category.

BHB was shortlisted in the two categories from more than 20,000 nominations submitted to the independent customer service awards organisation The WOW! Awards. The WOW! Awards help manage BHB’s staff recognition programme, the RISE Awards.

At the annual WOW! Awards Gala held in London last month, BHB won 2017 Workplace of the Year, beating out fellow finalists City University of London, Help to Buy South West, Imperial College London and University of Gloucestershire. According to the nomination committee, BHB won for staff programmes that “recognise their employees as one of their greatest assets and strives to keep teams enthused and engaged”, and because BHB “has shown innovative ways of communicating and recognising their certificate winners and nominees”.

“This win is not only good for BHB, it’s good for Bermuda,” said BHB CEO Venetta Symonds. “Showing the world that we value our patients and our employees breeds confidence in the way we treat each other on the island and the way we do business here.

“Our staff members have demanding, stressful jobs – our community depends on them to safeguard their health and wellbeing. It’s up to us as employers to ensure our staff are taken care of in return and given the best chance to succeed in providing exceptional care.

“On behalf of the management and staff of BHB, we are proud of this achievement and the Workplace of the Year award.”

“Being on hand when they announced the winners was an incredible experience for me,” said BHB Rewards & Recognition Manager Dean Parris. “I was so proud to be representing BHB.

“There were 65 finalists at the awards ceremony. Listening to their stories and sharing the experience with more than 400 attendees was both inspiring and humbling.”

Child and Adolescent Services (CAS) narrowly missed out on the WOW! What a Team award, coming second to the UK’s Durham Constabulary. The CAS team was nominated for two RISE Awards following their highly successful implementation of the Teen Life Skills programme.

Four members of the CAS team attended the London event. Occupational therapist Moffatt Makomo, speaking for the team, said: “The recognition our team received at the awards ceremony was truly motivating for us. We’ll continue to do our best for Bermuda’s youth.”

While in the UK, the CAS team also had the opportunity to tour Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.

Derek Williams, CEO of The WOW! Awards, said: “Bermuda Hospitals Board really impressed the judges with the focus that they have put on their employee engagement strategy.

“Allowing the employee voice to be heard throughout the organisation, creating employee wellness programmes and providing teams with new gym facilities are just some of the examples of keeping employee happiness at the heart of the organisation.

“It is truly inspiring to see such passion for employee wellbeing and a great desire to be an employer of choice. We are so proud to be working with them.”

BHB Chief Operating Officer R. Scott Pearman said: “The People Pillar is one of the four pillars of the BHB Strategic Plan 2016-2021, alongside Care, Performance and Community. Our Human Resources Department is driving a transformational agenda to improve employee engagement and satisfaction.

“Although we have not achieved compete transformation yet, it is inspiring to receive recognition, particularly international recognition, for our work to date. Being named 2017 Workplace of the Year by The WOW! Awards is an indicator we are on the right track for building employee engagement.”

The RISE Awards is BHB’s employee recognition programme. To nominate a BHB employee for providing exemplary service or to learn more about the programme, visit the BHB website at bdahospitaldev.wpengine.com and search ‘RISE Awards’ or click the link at the bottom of the homepage.

7 December 2017 Home Page, News