Working with hospitals: scope of practice, collaboration and integration

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Association of Ontario Midwives 59078-1 EXCELLENT_11x17.indd 1 10/23/08 9:07:39 AM AOM News & Updates EPERTS IN NORMAL PREGNANCY, BIRTH & NEWBORN CARE New materials promote Ontario Midwives New Support Services for members Two new telephone services provide 24/7 access to risk management resources, stress reduction Watch for two new communication tools coming to practices this fall. The AOM is producing a brochure and a set of posters with basic information about midwifery aimed at consumers and health care professionals. The items will be launched at the Toronto OHA Health Achieve show in November in order to raise the profile of midwifery with hospital administrators and health care colleagues. Posters will be available in two sizes: 16x24 and 11x17. Practices will receive the posters and brochures in November. The brochure has a blank area on the back to allow each practice to customize it with clinic information. Poster distribution will extend to all Ontario hospitals where midwives have privileges. Posters will also be sent to family doctors along with a letter and a locator sheet indicating which midwifery clinics are nearby. Thanks to members of the Policy Committee and to midwives Connie Fetterly and Julie Piggott who helped to develop these materials. The AOM is very pleased to announce the launch of two new membership resource programs to be made available free of charge to midwife members as of October 15, 2008. Both services operate all day, every day. “We all know emergencies don’t just happen during office hours,” says Bobbi Soderstrom, R.M., AOM Director of Insurance and Risk Management. “The AOM recognizes that members want and need access to risk management resources in a timely fashion at all hours, every day. The new PLEASE service provides that.” PLEASE (Professional Liability Emergency Assistance ServicE) is a new after-hours phone line for AOM midwife members to access support for urgent risk management concerns such as adverse outcomes and legal emergencies. During regular business hours, members can continue to access support for risk management concerns by contacting the AOM office. When a member calls the PLEASE line, she will be connected to a personal answering service who will contact Bobbi Soderstrom or another member of the Insurance and Risk Management Program. A committee member will call back within a few minutes to discuss the emergency. Calls are confidential. “Members have also asked for help dealing with stressful work and life issues,” says Soderstrom. “Midwifery is a demanding profession with unpredictable and unusual working hours. Midwives may want external support. The new LifeWorks service gives members confidential access to counselors who can help on the phone, or direct our members to services in their community for help.” LifeWorks is a program offered to AOM midwife members and immediate family to assist with a variety of different work/ life issues. The service is completely confidential and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The program is operated by Ceridian, a well established service provider of this kind of support program. “LifeWorks can help with a wide range of everyday issues including health and wellness, emotional well-being and work issues,” says Diana MacNab, Program Manager at the AOM. “The service includes access to short-term, in-person counselling, as well as assistance over the phone.” Information has been distributed to each member in a personal letter. Watch the IRMP Bulletin for more details. Members can attend the LifeWorks webinars scheduled for November 7 and 28. To register, contact programs@aom. on.ca. 04 ontario midwife • Fall 2008
Some of the midwives of CMK: MEP student Rachel Sutter, Heather Brechin R.M., Karen McKinley R.M., Jane Somerville R.M., Terri Clark R.M. The rewards of expanding your clinic space As the number of midwives in Ontario continues to grow, midwives are finding creative solutions to space needs. Two practices that grew their physical space are Kensington Midwives in Toronto, and Community Midwives of Kingston. Both practices needed more room to keep up with additional partners, students and clients, and they each found a different solution. “Before this, we were constantly running out of space,” says Lindsay the new space.” MacDougall of Kensington Midwives. “We had an opportunity to expand into the office space next door and we took it. It was a long time and a lot of work, but ultimately it was worth it. We have more space and better morale.” Kensington applied for a Major Leasehold Improvement Grant from the Ontario Midwifery Program and worked closely with an architect. The process took about two years from starting to plan until renovation completion. “We had a renovation committee in our practice who learned all about bids and contractors,” says MacDougall. “We found a balance between wanting the reno done quickly and assessing our immediate and future needs. Explaining to the architect what we actually do in the space as midwives took some time to get right.” Practices planning on using the Major “There’s a real opportunity to make it what you want. Our clients really love Lindsay MacDougall, Kensington Midwives Leasehold Improvement Grant process to renovate and expand can learn from those who have been through the process by getting in touch with Kensington Midwives or calling the AOM office. “Of course there were some complications. The reno was supposed to be eight weeks but it ended up being twelve. At one point we had no phones for a week. And we had to have our clinic on one side of the office, then move everything to the other side because you can’t have clinic in a construction zone. But when the wall came down between the two sides to open it up into one space, it was wonderful. There’s a real opportunity to make it what you want and improve not just the clinic rooms but the flow of the entire space,” says MacDougall. “Our clients really love the new space.” Community Midwives of Kingston chose to create a new company (Gaia Group) and purchase a building. “I don’t know if we would have made this move if we had not come across a perfect space for a midwifery clinic,” says Jane Somerville. “It used to be a doctor’s office so it was already divided up well. We now have a total of 6000 square feet available to us versus 1800. We have an additional clinic room, administrative office, designated student space and room to renovate.” Purchasing the new space involved market research, accounting, legal work and lots of practice consultations. In the end, four out of five midwifery partners formed an additional partnership as the building owners and managers. “We drafted a budget of the new building partnership to determine if we could rent to the midwives at a competitive rental cost. To our delight, we discovered that we could rent to ourselves (Community Midwives of Kingston) well below market value. We worked with a lawyer to create a new building ownership partnership and a lease,” says Somerville. Building ownership comes with its own set of responsibilities. “During our first week of ownership we had a flood. We realized very quickly we were responsible for the building. Luckily the Gaia group had its own insurance,” says Somerville. “And it was a bit hectic practicing midwifery, organizing renovations and a move at the same time. Before the move, we worked with a company specializing in minor improvements and design. They were invaluable. We felt it was important that we not expect admin staff to add to their already busy lives and responsibilities.” Somerville sees other personal advantage besides a better space for the practice. “As a partner who has worked for eight years, it feels good to invest in a building that may contribute to my eventual retirement.” “We are in the early days but so far it has been well worth it,” she says. The practice moved to the space in July. “It feels advantageous that the owners of the building (us) have a vested interest in midwifery services.” www.aom.on.ca 05
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Working with hospitals: scope of practice, collaboration and integration

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