Stop.Look.Listen.

STILL ...

ALSO FEATURING! APRIL-JUNE 2013

VOLUME III, ISSUE I

A s I looked out the window, I saw the sky was dreary and large clouds were moving towards me. I heard a tapping on the window and then it became a pitter-patter. People ran for cover outside and umbrellas were opened as the clouds spat out their beads of water. Puddles began plinking as the drizzle became heavier. It sounded like the buzzing of angry bees. Then, it

dawned unto me – rainy days are ahead of us.

To us Generals, this cloudy, cold, and dank weather creates a symphony of emotions in our hearts. To some, it may constitute feelings

2

EDITOR’S NOTE

THE GAZETTE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY….

EDITOR IN CHIEF: DARYL PANERIO, RN

ASSOCIATE EDITOR: LEVIEN GAIL LEDESMA, RN

MANAGING EDITOR: ERICK VON FREDELUCES, RN

CIRCULATIONS MANAGER: JOANN SIENES, RN

NEWS EDITOR: NEIL ARINZOL, RN

FEATURES EDITOR: PAMELA AQUINO, RN

COLUMNS EDITOR: ARGENTINA ROMA, RN

LAYOUT ARTIST: DARYL PANERIO, RN

GRAHIC DESIGNS ARTIST: JUVIE MAY BONIFACIO

EDITORIAL CONSULTANTS

MA. HELENA VENERACION-GARCIA , MD

& RONALDO G. VENERACION, MD

MODERATOR/PUBLISHER

ANTONIO G. VENERACION, CPA

STAFF WRITERS/CONTRIBUTORS

DESIREE JOYA GO, RN

DAVE MARTIN GEPITULAN, RN

JUSTIN RHYZ ISMAEL, RN

GWENDOLIZA ESCALON, RN

despite

the losing c on dengue ,

of freshness, renewal, and sometimes excitement. However, to some it may signify discomfort and

despair due to muddy terrains, leaky roofs, choked-up drains, and drenched outfits.

Bleak as it may seem, the monsoon seasons brings forth various troubles . It is during this

season that news are flooded with landslides, deluge, and disease outbreaks such as flu,

leptospirosis, and the dreaded dengue virus.

According to the recent report released by the Department of Health, an alarming nine (9) deaths

due to dengue in our region have already been reported this year which is double the case fatality

rate in 2012. The fight for dengue wages on– and it seems that we are on the losing side. Unless

we cast off that apathetic attitude and actively join the campaign for the eradication of these pests

through responsible waste management, only then can we turn the tide and win this war.

But dengue is only the tip of the iceberg, diseases such as flu and leptospirosis are quite

prevalent these days and contributing to more fatalities every month notwithstanding those caused

by flash floods and landslides. In times like these, constant vigilance, awareness, and teamwork is

key solution to our resolving our plights.

Despite this wet season’s inconveniences, our healthcare institution, SEHI, keeps its programs

and advocacies strong in order to support the citizens needs and protect the locality and its

neighboring communities from the constant onslaught of diseases and calamities. By continually

setting a high standard of quality services, through ISO 9001 accreditation, the hospital ensures

safe and efficient delivery of care to customers.

The creation of the Medical Services Office paved way to the development of new trends and

techniques in the medical field leading to exemplary performance of professional medical care.

Furthermore, programs like the Patient’s Council and the Mother -Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative

(MBFHI) are excellent indicators of the willingness of the institution to support proactive solutions

needed to develop a healthy and prosperous community.

To sum, St. Elizabeth Hospital, Inc. never wavers in continuously delivering the highest quality

health care to the community with zero incidences of error and delay —despite rainy days.

Daryl S. Panerio EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

per 10,000 population in the city was highlighted which give a boost to all concerned members of the commu-nity to participate on the advocacy which includes the City Health Office, Center for Health and Development Region 12, Department of Education, Day Care Centers, Philippine Nurses Association, local hospitals and healthcare institutions and other stakeholders from different Inter lo-cal health zones.

Regional Epidemic Surveillance Unit Chief, Dr. Alah Baby C. Vigno, stressed during his discussion that eve-ry four o’clock in the afternoon, the community shall develop a habit to STOP all activities and start cleaning, then LOOK around to search and de-stroy all possible breeding area. Finally, LISTEN to the barangay officials to en-sure proper ways to prevent dengue infestations. The operation was also in lined with the department’s “Aksyon Barangay Kontra Dengue, pagtibayin” advocacy.

The activity was started with a mo-torcade participated by local govern-

Volume III, Issue 1 3

“WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER; THIS IS AN ALL-OUT WAR AGAINST DENGUE!”

Thus said Dr. Marlyn W. Convocar, the Regional Director of Department of Health Region 12 on her resounding inspirational message in line with the anti-dengue campaign during the ASEAN Dengue Day held last June 18, 2013 at Family Country Hotel.

There have been 4,182 dengue cases reported in Region XII as emphasized by Dr. Convocar nailing its figure to 0.53% on the Case Fatality Rate. A tre-mendous increase has been distin-guished to the number of 2012 cases which has 192 reported admissions which elevated to 957 in the early quarter of 2013. On the word of Dr. Jebie Aireen Biron, Dengue Control Regional Coordinator, an alarming nine (9) deaths has been reported this year which is higher than 5 deaths of 2012.

According to Dr. Biron, General San-tos City is noted to be one of the lead-ing ranking cities who have the highest dengue incidents. A ratio of 16 cases

Written By: Erick Von Fredeluces

SEHI joins ASEAN Dengue Day

Warning Signs

of Dengue Fever

Source: CDC

ment units and different institutions including St. Elizabeth Hospital. A can-dle lighting rite and a pledge of commit-ment were facilitated by the barangay officials. A ceremonial distribution of curtains and mosquito net treated with mosquito repellents was initiated by former Kagawad Orlando Acharon, City Health Officer Dr. Edgardo R. Sandig, and the regional directors spreading it to selected day care centers. SEHI rep-resentatives were also invited to repre-sent local hospitals during the press conference conducted after the sympo-sium.

TEAM-SPIRIT. SEHI staff shows support in the fight against the dreaded mosquito-borne disease.

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AJA retains SEHI’s ISO status

March 25, 2013 – The day of reckoning has come. AJA Reg-istrars has announced that St. Elizabeth Hospital, Inc. has passed the first year of surveillance audit as part of its compli-ance to the Quality Management System standards set by ISO 9001:2008.

Passing the audit means that the hospital’s customers can be confident that they will receive a service which has been carefully analysed, assessed, and continually improved. This is evidenced by surveillance results of quality management im-plementation one year since the granting of the certificate of accration.

The previous year was a turning point in the history of SEHI when it became the 1st ISO 9001:2008 accredited health care provider in the region. From thereon, the hospital has been continually enhancing its services to suit evolving customer needs while complying with requirements set by ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and Philip-pine regulatory bodies.

The hospital has performed internal audits to ensure opti-mal working practices which enable SEHI to accomplish its business objectives while enhancing customer service simul-taneously.

“The administration would like to thank everyone in SEHI who contributed to our success throughout the year by doing well in their respective jobs. Change is hard but it is worth it, and I am truly glad that the employees understand that,” Mr. Marcelino E. Dospueblos, Hospital Administrator says.

“This is a good start for all of us,” he adds.

With the re-certification awarded to the organization, the

hospital is proven to have lived up to the standards and is

encouraged to maintain adherence to positive practices

geared towards continuous quality improvement.

Written By: Levien Gail Ledesma

SEHI spreads

rabies awareness Written By: Desiree Joya Go

SEHI Chief Resident Physician Julius Cada, M.D. relates to SEHI employees rabies prevention and control through responsible pet ownership.

Volume III, Issue 1 5

M ay 24, 2013 - St. Eliza-beth Hospital, Inc. has initially shifted their

nursing care modality from functional (team nursing) to primary nursing. The modification on the modality of care has been precipitated by the hospital’s first institutional research entitled “The Nursing Care Delivery and Shift Endorsement of St. Elizabeth Hospital, Inc.”

The study revealed that the nursing shift handover, including the single line authority of functional nursing, prompted delays and inefficiency in terms of nursing care delivery.

Single line authority refers to a line-ar table of organization existing in one nursing unit. On this modality, the responsibility to coordinate and carry out all doctors’ orders for the entire population relies on the charge nurse. After the orders have been duly car-ried out, all medication concerns will be passed on to the medicating nurse whose concentration is to purely medi-cate the whole census. The bedside nurse is prompted when a special or routine procedures was modified or ordered. Monitoring of vital signs will be the bedside nurse’s responsibility including direct patient care. Further-more, the bedside nurse and the charge nurse don’t usually medicate the patient.

On the general sense, there have been multiple carers for one patient with different specified functions to fulfill. First-hand patient care is not

o EVENTS UPDATE

Written By: Erick Von Fredeluces

Nursing service shifts

to ‘primary’ modality

assumed by some members of the team except the bedside nurse. There-fore, a holistic approach is often di-gressed and potential errors and delays are at stake.

With the planning and approval of the Corporate Planning Officer Antonio G. Veneracion and Chief of Clinics Dr. Ma.Helena Veneracion-Garcia, togeth-er with the key coordinators from the corporate planning office, the new modality was implemented to all nurs-ing units working to hit the goal of de-creased caseloads among nurses and augment the service provision of quali-ty care.

The organizational line was restruc-tured providing a nurse case manager to supervise the distributed primary nurses. It has been noted that with the proper and equal allocation of nurse-patient ratio caused the remarkable decrease of errors and delays. Through the conducted time and motion study, it measured the time required to per-form a given task in accordance with a specified method. Delays due to inter-ruption were cited as the culprit of long endorsement of patients especially on maximum census.

The new modality reaped positive feedback especially to big nursing sta-tions due to a significant reduction on time spent during endorsement. Alt-hough some notable criticisms were garnered in terms of structural strate-gies and adaptation to the modality, it has been reassured by the Nursing Service Department to continually seek

for an approach in improving the new system of care delivery.

“This is the time nurses will be able to exemplify excellent leadership and man-agement skills most especially the case managers assigned per unit”. Janet M. Alcala, Chief Nursing Officer, said.

The new mode of care will be continu-

ously monitored by the internal quality

auditors and the research coordinator to

safeguard compliance in rendering quality

service with zero error and delays.

Charge Nurse

Medication Nurse

Bedside Nurse

Case Manager

Primary Nurse A Primary Nurse B

A. Primary Nursing

B. Functional Nursing

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MSO: A Leap Towards An Exemplary Professional Care

To mainly provide the clients of the hospital a high level of appropriate professional care, St. Elizabeth Hospital, Inc. paves way to the founding of the first Medical Service Office (MSO) in General Santos City. The group is composed of active medical practitioners of different fields accredited to deliver health care services to patients admitted to or treated in any of the facilities, departments or services of the hospital. These practitioners are governed by the organizational principles that foster quality and proficient care to clients, of which clinical per-formance is greatly conformed to the ethical standards of working in partnership with the health care team.

The MSO headed by the Medical Director is organized into eleven (11) clinical departments that coordinate departmental policies and activities to staff and hospital goals to assure effective quality patient care by profession-ally trained and specialized practitioners. Each department is appointed with a chairperson to serve for a term of 3 years who is responsible for the overall supervision of the clinical work within the department. Concerns within the department are addressed to and decisions are made by the chairperson in order to maintain consistency between patient care, and rules and by-laws of the hospital for the benefits of the patients.

Furthermore, the organization has standing and special committees appointed by the Chief of Clinics to oper-ate in accordance with the duties and responsibilities of the particular committees. These groups are established to regulate the activities and procedures by the medical staff and the rest of the health care team within the hospital appropriate to the ethical conduct and professional rectitude of the healing arts. Since the offset of the Medical Service Office in 2011, requirements on the medical staff for Philhealth Ac-creditation and Department of Health Licensure are satisfactorily met. It paved way to the hospital’s compliance on professional and credentialing obligations by the medical practitioners accord to the guidelines set by the institu-tion’s regulatory commissions and ISO accreditation. It shall be the hospital’s continuous drive to sustain the effectiveness of the MSO. The utmost cooperation of the Medical team greatly uplifts the institution’s standard of care to a high level of effective, professional and quality health service delivery to all levels of clientele.

o news.feature

Written By: Gwendoliza L. Escalon

SEHI: A Mother-Baby

Friendly Hospital

— on full throttle

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Volume III, Issue 1 9

SEHI: A Mother-Baby

Friendly Hospital

From 30.77%

(rooming-in)

compliance on

the commencing

month of 2012,

the hospital

doubles the rate

to 62.1% for the

month of May.

REPUBLIC ACT. 7600

“THE ROOMING – IN AND BREASTFEEDING ACT OF 1992”

All Private and Government health Institution must adapt and practice

ROOMING-IN AND BREASTFEEDING OF 1992.

TO INFANTS

Provides nutritional complete

food for young infant.

Strengthens the infant’s immune

system preventing many in-

fections.

Safely rehydrates and provides

essential nutrients to a sick child,

especially to those suffering from

diarrhea diseases.

TO MOTHERS

Reduces the Infant’s exposure to

infection.

Reduces a woman’s risk of

excessive blood loss after birth.

Provides natural method of de-

laying pregnancies.

TO FAMILY AND COMMUNITY Conserves funs that otherwise

would be spent on breast milk

substitute, supplies and fuel to

prepare them.

Saves medical costs to families

and governments by preventing

illness and by providing immedi-

ate post-partum contraception.

(Above) Practice of skin-to-skin contact in the first hour after birth.

(Right) A NICU nurse feeds milk to an infant in compliance with the no feeding bottles/artificial teats policy of the hospital.

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Medical Services Office

A Leap Towards

An Exemplary Professional Care Written By: Gwendoliza L. Escalon

MEDICAL TRENDS

Volume III, Issue 1 10