Meet our newest Renew Sinai program champion
Redevelopment has begun to bring a completely redesigned and expanded Perioperative Services department to a hospital near you. By 2021, we will have 18 state-of-the-art operating rooms sharing a brand new floor with Surgical Admissions, Pre- and Post-Anaesthesia Care Unit, Elective Outpatient Surgery and Endoscopy.
Making all of this happen will be a monumental amount of work, touching many different departments across the hospital and that’s where Ann Avard, our newest Renew Sinai Program Champion comes in.
As a nurse who was most recently our Clinical Systems and Flow Facilitator in Perioperative Services, Ann is energized for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. We recently sat down with her and learned what excites her most about the future and more.
What does being a champion mean to you?
Listening is one of the most important parts of my role, and this is how I will bring forward my colleagues’ voices for planning and decision making. In turn, I will also be liaising with the Redevelopment Project Office and Operational Readiness teams and others to build consensus. Working effectively with everyone involved, I will aim to be as precise as our surgeons in mitigating any risks arising throughout this journey.
What’s the most interesting job you have ever had?
This one obviously! What also comes to mind is my work overseas with Doctors Without Borders – I have been on the front line in countries like Iraq, South Sudan, Libya, Burundi. While challenging, I have found this work to be so rewarding, and it has prepared me to work well under pressure and respond quickly to unknowns likely to arise with construction.
Tell me more about the unknowns. What’s coming up for the department?
Every day in Perioperative Services is an unknown. Sometimes our surgeons and staff will need to be in the Operating Room for 22 hours, and that’s when we will really feel the challenges of construction happening around us. I am working with the Redevelopment Project Office, Operational Readiness, EllisDon and others to ensure there are clear and understood environmental and safety factors that need to be maintained at all times to ensure the safety of our patients and people. This is my top priority.
What excites you most about the future of the department?
It’s truly a testament to my talented colleagues that we have been able to continue providing the latest innovations in surgical care in a space originally constructed more than half a century ago.
From my point of view and in talking with my colleagues, I think we are most excited for leading-edge technology, ergonomic design, and having the entire department all on one floor with natural light shining throughout the department. We believe this will pave the way to the best possible patient care, while also allowing us to work more efficiently.
Renew Sinai Phase 3A is the most challenging and ambitious redevelopment project we have ever undertaken. Learn more about it at RenewSinai.ca.
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