New name for Grace Hospital waiting room
The packaging company, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, donated $100,000 in support of the annual Grace Hospital Day fundraising campaign. This year's event is on Friday.
'We are truly overwhelmed by Winpak's generosity to our hospital,' Jeffrey Coleman, chairman of the Grace Hospital Foundation's board of directors, said in a news release Thursday.
'Winpak is a dear friend and neighbour, and they have been a long-term supporter in our efforts to provide the best care possible to our patients.'
A dedication ceremony for the renaming is set for Tuesday.
'Winpak has deep roots in this community, and we could think of no better way to mark our 50th anniversary than by contributing to the health and well-being of Manitobans,' Winpak CEO Olivier Muggli said in the release.
'It gives us great pride to have an area of the hospital named in honour of our outgoing chairman.'
The foundation is currently trying to raise $1.6 million to enhance minimally invasive surgery capacity at the Grace.
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Winnipeg Free Press
15 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba hepatitis C rate highest in nation
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Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Optometrists refuse to treat urgent cases over fee dispute with province
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PAT MCGRATH / FREE PRESS FILES Since March, Manitoba optometrists have been refusing to handle all non-routine eye care cases out of frustration with the provincial government, which hasn't signed a deal with them in years. 'Patients are who the system is intended to serve and they are the most vulnerable,' said Winnipegger Mike Ellery, who learned about the labour dispute. The optometry services contract expired on March 31, 2019, during the third year of the Pallister government. Ellery admits he was confused when, back in May, his optometrist sent him to the Misericordia Eye Clinic for an issue when he had been treated for the same condition by that specialist a few years earlier. Ellery said there were so many patients waiting when he went in to the clinic one morning that, after he was not seen by the afternoon, he had to leave. He returned the next day and was treated. He said he wasn't the only one who left without being seen by an optometrist. 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Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Home-care scheduling chaos worsening, overwhelmed staff say
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The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said Tuesday that 727 visits were cancelled on Saturday, while another 782 were shelved Sunday — significantly lower than figures from late last week. Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said Tuesday that the lower total of missed visits came after the WRHA was told last week to remedy the situation. Asagwara said they are also working quickly to bring more 'expertise' to look at the system and recommend changes. 'A fresh set of eyes,' Asagwara said, adding those people could be installed within days. Some of the experts will include front-line workers, including nurses and health-care aides, who Asagwara called 'rock stars' in wanting to provide the best possible care for clients. They will work closely with WRHA leadership and the province, the minister said. However, Progressive Conservative health critic Kathleen Cook said Tuesday it's safe to say that enough time has passed to indicate the switch to a centralized scheduling office hasn't worked. 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The WRHA centralized its home-care scheduling system in March, in an effort to improve communication, workload and client support. The overhaul has been harshly criticized by workers, who have complained of long wait times in contacting the central office. 'The critic has a short memory, and would do well to understand where this rollout came from,' Asagwara said. 'I think it's incredibly disingenuous of the health critic to comment on a system that is a direct result of the PCs' failings.' On Tuesday, two employees told the Free Press that leadership pushed staff, including resource co-ordinators, to work additional hours. While staff were previously only permitted to take on full shifts, management reportedly said they could now pick up partial hours to help manage the growing backlog. 'Their desperation was showing,' one employee said. Added another: 'They wanted them to ensure that visits were covered until the following Wednesday, which is hard to do when you're already trying to cover thousands of visits that are for the same day and next day.' While leadership was physically present at the office over the weekend, employees said they didn't check in to offer help or support. 'Their presence is being received as an intimidation factor; that we must be on our best behaviour while they are here,' an employee who worked the weekend said. 'Our breaks were also scheduled for the first time since moving here, which makes us feel like children who have to be constantly micromanaged.' Looking ahead to the upcoming weekend, internal data shows 8,152 home-care visits — affecting 2,860 clients — remain unfilled for Saturday and Sunday. The WRHA, which oversees about 16,500 home visits daily, has said those numbers are fluid and often fluctuate up to the day of service. Their latest seven-day average for cancelled visits, they said last week, was 3.7 per cent. Meanwhile, a new voicemail system meant to prioritize urgent calls has been rolled out haphazardly, employees say. 'Nurses and health-care aides are leaving messages on the wrong line, and they are also scheduling people to only answer phone calls for the entirety of their shift,' one said. 'It seems their general response to the health minister's questions is to offer as much overtime as people want and put increased pressure and blame on the schedulers who are already burned out from working as hard as we can with the limited number of staff we have. 'This is not sustainable. The mood in the office is toxic, people are struggling with their mental and physical health, and we are tired of coming into work each day feeling like things will continue to get worse.' 'The pressures are high,' another employee said. 'The expectations are high. The support is low, and the wild thing is that they tell us that we should be 'fully staffed' now, but then post over 50 available shifts for the weekend… if we had enough staff, we would not be needing to post that many available shifts for office staff.' Scott BilleckReporter Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade's worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024. Read more about Scott. Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
