Hi Everyone

As we head towards the fall, I wanted to thank all of you for your incredible work this summer to launch another academic year!  I know that there was a lot happening at the hospital, the university, and elsewhere over this summer, which meant that the pace did not slow down for many of you.

Huge thanks for coming together to support the admission surge we are seeing. The GIM CTUs have been experiencing much higher inpatient volumes than is typical for August and your assistance to help offload them has been fantastic and much appreciated. For example, the incredible collegiality in relaxing admission criteria to GI, respirology and neurology facilitated patient care and learner experience.  One of the residents remarked to me today that they were so amazed and grateful to see this happen, as they hadn’t had a similar experiences elsewhere.

Thanks for role modeling this and for your continued commitment to collegiality!

Sharon

Please see below for the following updates:

1. N95 Respirator fit testing at St. Michael’s
2. Angels Den 2023 – 2 Free Tickets Remain

Workplace Health, Safety and Wellness (WHSW) is coordinating its biennial N95 Respirator Fit Testing at St. Michael’s. This is in accordance with the applicable legislation, standards, guidelines and the Unity Health Policy, Respiratory Protection Policy. 

Fit testing is mandatory for staff members who may be required to wear an N95 respirator when entering a room, performing diagnostic or laboratory testing, transporting or caring for a patient under airborne or airborne/contact precautions. An N95 respirator may also be worn for droplet or droplet/contact precautions or when it is determined by the health care provider during their point of care risk assessment. In the event a staff member does not complete testing during this initiative, they must be excluded from performing work requiring this level of respiratory protection under the types of isolation listed above. 

Who does require fit testing?

• Those who were fit tested prior to January 1, 2023.
• This includes staff who were fit tested during the 1870+ conversion exercise. 

Who does not need fit testing?

• Those who successfully completed the fit testing process from January 1, 2023 to present. Those who have provided WHSW with proper documentation supporting a medical exemption.
• Those who have provided WHSW with proper documentation supporting a religious exemption.

WHSW will accept fit testing documentation from another organization as long as testing was completed between January 1, 2023 to present and they have passed on one of the following 3M disposable respirator models:

Please see here for the schedule and hours for mask fitting and here for how to access reports. If staff have met these criteria, please advise them to provide supporting documentation directly to WHSW in person, or by email to [email protected].

The Department of Medicine had 10 tickets to give away to this year’s Angels Den event – 2 remain!  The event takes place on Wednesday, October 11 at 5 pm at Meridian Hall, 1 Front Street East.

If you would like 2 tickets to attend this event, please reply to Julia Stratta.