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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, August 29, 2013 | 22 Health "Connected to your Community" Lab service earns accreditation Halton Healthcare Services' laboratory services have received a four-year accreditation certificate. The three HHS laboratories achieved conformance grades of more than 98 per cent from the Ontario Laboratory Accreditation, a division of the provincial regulatory agency Quality Management Program - Laboratory Services. During a five-day span, the six member accreditation team visited the three HHS laboratories in Oakville, Milton and Georgetown. It was determined that HHS has an excellent Laboratory Quality Management System in place. The system has been sustained and improved upon since the last OLA assessment three years ago. "We were delighted with our results. It is truly reflective of our program and we are extremely proud of this accomplishment. It provides our patients, families and the community at large with assurances that we are meeting national standards of quality in our laboratories," said Rosemary Prikosovich, HHS Director of Diagnostic Imaging and Laboratory Services. HHS was lauded for its knowledgeable and experienced laboratory service, excellent working relationships with management, nursing and other clinical areas and their "awesome" safety program. "Laboratory medicine is a diagnostic service that supports all areas of the hospital and forms the basis of over 85 per cent of all medical decisions," said Dr. Jennifer Walsh, HHS Clinical Laboratory Director. "Confidence in our lab results enables our healthcare professionals to make more informed decisions and, therefore, ultimately translates into better patient care," Halton Healthcare Services is a multi-site healthcare organization that operates three community hospitals which include Georgetown Hospital, Milton District Hospital and Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, serving over 300,000 residents. For more information on Halton Healthcare Services and the laboratory services, visit www.haltonhealthcare.com. HHS welcomes pediatricians Three new pediatricians have joined the Halton Healthcare Services family. Drs. Sanjay Bhatia, Kamal Eltobgy and Shaneela Shahid joined the staff at Milton District Hospital (MDH) in August. "Dr. Bhatia, Dr. Shahid and Dr. Eltobgy will support family physicians with pediatric consults, look after the new babies in the hospital's Obstetrics Department, and provide emergency on-call at both MDH and OakvilleTrafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH). They will also assist Dr. Tarek Khalefih (Milton's only current pediatrician) in expanding pediatric services in the community," explained Dr. Jane Wilkinson, Associate Chief of Staff at MDH. "We are thrilled to be able introduce these three new distinguished specialists to the Milton medical community and the HHS Department of Pediatrics," added Dr. Zeba Ansari, HHS Co-Chief of Pediatrics. "While they will also have privileges at the OTMH, their main duties and obligations are at MDH." In addition to being one of the fastestgrowing communities in Canada, Milton is also one of the youngest. More than 70 per cent of the population is under 34. Rapid development and new subdivisions attract young families to the town, which has added to the demand for pediatric services. "We are currently seeing 1,100 births and 10,000 pediatric visits per year, and this is only going to increase," said Dr. Wilkinson. "Based on these numbers, we identified a need for three additional pediatricians to serve this rapidly-expanding community and to ensure that our young families will have continued access to pediatric medical care, Janet Skupsky, Milton District Hospital (MDH) Chief Operating Officer (left) and Dr. Jane Wilkinson, associate chief of staff at MDH (right) flank Milton's three new pediatricians: (in centre, from left) Dr. Sanjay Bhatia, Dr. Shaneela Shahid and Dr. Kamal Eltobgy. | submitted photo close to home." Dr. Bhatia moved to Milton from Timmins, where he was staff pediatrician at Timmins and District Hospital. He recently completed his residency training at McMaster University after acquiring his medical training in India. Dr. Bhatia has a practice in Milton already and will be working at MDH full-time .He see cases in general pediatrics, including developmental/behavioural and psychiatric issues. Dr. Eltobgy was a pediatric specialist in the Middle East for more than15 years before moving to Canada. He is a member of the Royal College Pediatrics and Child Health and Royal College of Physicians in the United Kingdom. Dr. Eltobgy has completed one year of neonatal fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital, as well as a residency program at the Hospital for Sick Children. He has a special interest in neonatology. Dr. Shahid completed her medical training in Pakistan and finished her residency training at the University of Western Ontario in 2011. She recently completed a Fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at McMaster University. She will be working at MDH on a part-time basis. "I echo my colleagues in welcoming Dr. Bhatia, Dr. Shahid and Dr. Eltobgy to MDH and the Milton community," said Janet Skupsky, MDH Chief Operating Officer. "This is a great opportunity to grow our pediatric services as we plan for the future -- particularly with the MDH expansion on the horizon. "We are very fortunate to have these pediatricians join our healthcare team." CCAC launches physiotherapy hotline The Mississauga Halton Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) recently became the single point of access for residents in need of rehabilitation through publicly funded, one-on-one physiotherapy services in the Mississauga Halton region, according to a news release. The Mississauga Halton CCAC created a physiotherapy hotline for patients and family members looking for more information about home physiotherapy in the region. The hotline number is 310-2222, ext. 6913. No area code is required. Several changes have been made by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to the way physiotherapy and other services will be provided and funded to Ontarians, said the release. Coordinating in-home and community support services, providing information and referral and long-term care placement are among the Mississauga Halton CCAC's services. It is funded by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care through the Mississauga Halton Local Health Integration Network (MH LHIN) and serves a population of more than one-million residents in several communities including Oakville, Halton Hills and Milton. Isn't It About Time For A Hearing Test??? Come And Visit An Independent, Caring Family Hearing Aid Clinic All Services, Sales, Hearing Tests, Programming, Repairs, Batteries, Home Visits Jennifer Nolan Wendy Caswell Join us for DEMO DAY, September 10 & 11 70% OFF! Highest Quality! Must book an appointment. Lakeshore H E A R I N G Paramedical S E R V I C E S Established Since 1979 113 JONES STREET, OAKVILLE, ON · 905-827-2902