Guysborough Antigonish Strait Health Authority
The Guysborough Antigonish Strait Health Authority (GASHA) is proud to be recognized as one of Nova Scotia’s Top 10 Employers for 2009.
“We would not be able to make that claim if we didn’t have a staff supporting the mission of the organization and believing in what we do,” says David MacKenzie, VP Operations. “A large part of our success is their belief in what we do and how we do it.”
As MacKenzie explains, the district health authority’s core values are equity, respect, collaboration, accountability and excellence. “Those are the core values that all our decisions are based on,” he says. “If our staff did not have those same values we would not be able to provide the quality care that we do.”
GASHA employees number roughly 1,000 – with 800 in hospital settings and some 200 working in program areas including addictions, public health and mental health.
The district health authority serves more than 45,000 residents in Antigonish Town and County, Guysborough and Richmond Counties and the southern part of Inverness County. Acute and community-based services are offered through the district’s five hospitals and three programs within GASHA.
“We have a strong commitment to the health of our residents and communities and we value our partnerships with the communities we serve,” MacKenzie says.
Collaboration and resourcefulness are key. The authority enjoys a strong, vital relationship with its three community health boards – Guysborough, Strait Richmond, and Antigonish Town and County.
“Every year they supply their operational plan to us, we incorporate that into our business plan that goes to the Department of Health, and we lobby on their behalf for changes within their community,” MacKenzie says. “They are our eyes and our ears on the ground in the community.”
For example, the community health boards advocated for an at-home rehabilitation program, which GASHA has implemented throughout the district. “They wanted to have in-home physiotherapy and occupational therapy assessments so that residents could stay in their homes longer,” MacKenzie says.
GASHA has also been working on initiatives identified through the Provincial Health Services Operational Review. One of these is a Collaborative Care Model, which the authority is applying to the Progressive Care Unit at St. Martha’s Regional Hospital, the largest hospital in the district.
“For a patient receiving care in a hospital it provides for the most appropriate person to provide the service at the most appropriate time,” MacKenzie says.
MacKenzie says the province’s Collaborative Care Model will have a considerable impact on health care. “It will redefine the delivery of in-patient care in hospitals in Nova Scotia and it will take into consideration the shortages that we have in certain areas, especially in the nursing area. They will have more support so they can get the job done and don’t feel overstretched.”
Another initiative aimed at addressing the needs of patients is the Trauma Centre located at St. Martha’s Regional Hospital. GASHA is home to the first rural accredited District Trauma Centre in Nova Scotia, and has developed a regional trauma expertise integrated with Emergency Health Services (EHS) and the referral centres in Halifax. Special training and teamwork within the hospital and community ensure that trauma patients receive rapid, safe medical treatment locally – and if necessary, a seamless transfer to Halifax.
“We are very proud of this designation and we know for a fact that, because of this series of collaborative partnerships, we have saved lives,” says MacKenzie.
Since GASHA began in 2001, its volunteer board has played an important role. “They’re very dedicated, they’re very passionate,” MacKenzie says. “They strongly believe that we have to put our communities first, and that creating an environment where communities become healthier is good for healthy outcomes.”
This belief supports MacKenzie’s perspective that health is “more than receiving medical care in a hospital or receiving medical care at a physician’s office. It’s about lifestyle. Health is more about wellness, and it’s about people being vibrant in their community.”
It’s a message that resonates internally and externally. “Our human resource team has a wellness committee, which has more staff than managers on it, and they have been very, very active over the last number of years putting on wellness fairs and implementing other health policy changes that would encourage our staff to become more physically active and more healthy.”
Externally, MacKenzie says the biggest impact GASHA could make is to encourage residents to be more engaged with their own health. While there may not be quick solutions to reductions in obesity levels or management of chronic diseases, teamwork is essential.
“We are just one player. If we don’t have support from our communities, support at the Department of Health and at Health Promotion and Protection, we’re not going to be able to make a difference,” MacKenzie says. “So we need them and they need us to all be on the same page so that we can move forward with initiatives that will be accepted in communities and that work.”
MacKenzie also values teamwork in his time away from the office. He coaches and is on the executive of Antigonish Minor Hockey Association, and supports his children’s extracurricular activities.
“There’s a lot of pride and satisfaction in watching your kid on stage or on the court or on the pitch or at the rink. It’s a social outing and a network for the parents as well.”
Born and raised in Antigonish, MacKenzie graduated from St. Francis Xavier University. He has worked at St. Martha’s Regional Hospital for more than 20 years. When asked about the advantages of living and working in Nova Scotia, he replies. “You can achieve a work/life balance. You’re not spending hours commuting back and forth from work, which I did when I lived in Toronto, and you can get involved and engaged in your community and feel that you are making a difference.”
Feature story written by Marie Weeren
