Throughout Interior Health, the clinical educators and coordinators in each of the facilities are working together to establish consistent policies, practice guidelines and education contributing to interdisciplinary collaboration, development of working relationships and opportunities to share resources.
Interior Health offers specialty nursing education opportunities as part of our ongoing shared responsibility to professional development and safe, competent, ethical care. Sponsorship (which includes tuition and/or wage replacement) is offered to all IH employees pending funding availability, as well as organizational and patient care needs.
Regional and hospital-based orientation is provided for all new staff. Based on an individual assessment of each nurse, a combination of educator-led shifts and mentorship shifts with an experienced RN will be provided in both the NICU and perinatal units.
The inpatient unit provides antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum, newborn and gynecological services. The Labour & Delivery area consists of five birthing rooms, one operating room and one post-procedure recovery room. Registered nurses, registered midwives, general practitioners, obstetricians and pediatricians are the primary care providers. The C-Section Program is evolving, and perinatal nurses are being trained in the circulate, scrub and recovery role. There are 22 antepartum/postpartum and well newborn/gynecology surgery beds, adjacent to the Labour & Delivery and NICU areas.
Design and development of an 8-bed NICU and 14-bed observation/transition care Nursery (Level I care) is currently underway, with an anticipated opening of spring 2007. Ventilator support and TPN will be provided in the NICU.
The Maternal/Child Program at Kelowna General Hospital is supported by an Administrative Director and a Nurse Manager who also have responsibilities for more than one clinical area. The NICU and the Perinatal Unit are further supported by a Patient Care Coordinator/Educator for Labour & Delivery, a Patient Care Coordinator for the postpartum area and NICU, and a Clinical Nurse Educator for the NICU.
Nurses with permanent positions in both NICU and the perinatal area work 11-hour shifts with master rotations comprising blocks of 4 shifts - usually 2 days followed by 2 night shifts - with 5 days scheduled off between blocks. All perinatal staff rotate through labour and delivery, antepartum, postpartum and gynecological surgery. NICU staff rotate through the nursery and postpartum/well newborn area.
The Labour and Delivery area consists of 6 available birthing suites with access to operating and recovery room services at any time. The postpartum area has 14 obstetrical beds, 10 of which are private primary care rooming in rooms to assist in providing family-centred care. 14 gynecology beds are also available to this area. All maternal newborn services are provided on the same floor in RIH, which makes transfer to any of the areas quick and efficient.
In addition, RIH supports the Baby Friendly Initiative through services provided by a Lactation Consultant. LC services are provided in all areas of Maternal Child, including the initiation of breast-feeding in the post- anesthetic recovery area.
Nurses in all three areas provide an 11-hour rotating master schedule consisting of blocks of four 2 day / 2 night sets, with some 8-hour rotations. All labour and delivery and NICU staff are NRP trained, and many are also in the process of completing training in the ACORN program which provides follow-up to NRP, for post resuscitation care to the at-risk newborn infant. The Maternal/Child care program at Royal Inland Hospital is supported by a Site Manager and a Nurse Manager who are responsible to more than one clinical area. The areas are further supported by Patient Care Coordinators and Clinical Educators or Clinical Resource Coordinators.
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