JBH Annual Report 2021 | Page 11

Research and Education
Improving Health Outcomes with Virtual Care
Burlington Ontario Health Team
INNOVATION

Research and Education

Joseph Brant Hospital made significant gains in our focus on research and education .

JBH became a member of Clinical Trials Ontario in 2020 , which enables the hospital to participate in a variety of ongoing provincial-level research projects . Over the past year , there were 12 research publications made by JBH staff and physicians , based on research done in the hospital . The number grows every year – congratulations to those whose work was published .
JBH continues to host the Family Medicine Residency Program affiliated with McMaster University . In addition , residents from across the province have done rotations and electives at JBH in Emergency Medicine , Surgery , Obstetrics , Anesthesia , Inpatient Psychiatry and Critical Care . This year , JBH welcomed over 150 medical students , 75 residents and 16 Family Medicine Residents .
JBH ’ s Simulation program continues to evolve and expand as it led by our award-winning Simulation Director , Dr . Alim Nagji . Simulation learning was an important component of our COVID-19 preparedness and our Quality Improvement Process .
with a mental health professional in 30 minutes or less versus waiting several days for an appointment , ensuring that individuals who require urgent intervention can receive support when they need it . By providing a ‘ port ’ in the storm , patients using the service during the pandemic experienced positive outcomes and the hospital has saw a reduction in mental health related emergency room visits .

Improving Health Outcomes with Virtual Care

Recognizing the opportunity to harness new technologies to improve care and the patient experience , JBH has been integrating virtual care to support patient care in some programs and services . When the need to broaden virtual care options grew in 2020 , JBH accelerated its work to ensure our patients could continue to access our healthcare teams safely and easily .

Through leadership and innovation , our teams collaborated to create optimal access through virtual care . We leveraged virtual care to prepare patients for surgery during preoperative appointments as well as Ambulatory Care appointments set up using online meeting technology or phone , to ensure patients continued receiving safe , quality care .
Our staff assisted patients with wearable technology to monitor a patient ’ s vital statistics remotely and in real-time , providing a convenient , and sometimes life-saving , solution . Shifting to alternative appointment formats provided an added layer of safety by minimizing the number of onsite visits .
As COVID-19 has re-imagined healthcare across the spectrum , we will continue to leverage virtual care technology as much as possible into the foreseeable future .

Burlington Ontario Health Team

In 2020 , the newly-formed Burlington Ontario Health Team

( BOHT ) made significant gains in the planning , design and early implementation of services and supports for community , with JBH playing a key role in these initiatives .
A collaboration between 11 Burlington health and social service organizations , including JBH , the BOHT ’ s vision is to co-create a person and family-centred delivery model that wraps health and social services around patients , families and caregivers . At the centre of the model is the relationship between the patient and family , and primary care .
BOHT began to advance its shared digital health strategy and data architecture plan . They also introduced new integrated models of care , including a Community Remote Patient Monitoring Program for COVID-19 patients and those living with chronic disease , as well as the Program of All-Inclusive Care for Elders ( PACE ): Community Wellness Hub .
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