Orangeville, ON – Headwaters Health Care Centre announces new Chief of Department Emergency Medicine Craig Donaldson, M.D. He joined Headwaters in 2006 after completing his CCFP-EM Emergency Medicine Fellowship through the University of Toronto. “I was drawn to Headwaters by the family atmosphere of the hospital and the Headwaters area as a whole,” says Donaldson.

Donaldson has worked in Headwaters Emergency Department (ED) for two years. “I accepted the Chief role because I enjoy the challenge of trying to maintain and improve the efficiency of our Emergency while maintaining our excellent patient care standards”.

As Chief of Emergency, Donaldson is focusing on building relationships within the hospital to provide patients with a seamless medical care experience. “Headwaters ED sees over 35,000 patients annually. Our challenge is to improve patient accessibility and reduce waiting time,” says Donaldson.

Headwaters Health Care Centre has hired Clinical Coordinator LeeAnn Daponte to work with physicians and ED staff to develop teamwork and maximize efficiency and staff continuing education. “Our challenge is to continually make the level of health care we provide even better,” notes Cholly Boland, President and CEO, Headwaters Health Care Centre. 

Over the last year Headwaters has hired several new Emergency physicians, some of whom have done a portion of their residency training in Orangeville. “Word of mouth about the community and our reputation is attracting qualified professionals and physicians who want to live and practice in Orangeville,” adds Boland.

Facing rising health care costs and a changing economic climate, Headwaters is charged with balancing improved patient service and reducing costs. “Recently we implemented LEAN working principles to reduce the amount of time it takes to first see a patient and if necessary, admit them to hospital without too long a wait in the ED,” says Boland. Many hospitals across North America are using LEAN to improve patient flow in their Emergency Departments, borrowing some tools and ideas from companies such as Toyota Motor Corporation.

“Using LEAN we set up the ‘Green Zone’, a fast-track assessment area, in our Emergency Department to improve the speed of treatment for CTAS 3, 4 and 5 patients,” says Donaldson. Using the Canadian Triage Acuity Guidelines Headwaters’ assesses patients based on the acuity of their condition. The ‘Green Zone’, fast tracks patients with minor injuries and conditions. Patients move between the waiting area and the stretcher enabling physicians to treat more patients. 

“Since implementing the ‘Green Zone’ we’ve seen a decrease in wait times,” says Lori Miller, Program Director Emergency and Critical Care Services at Headwaters. “It’s all about managing the entire hospital flow – from Emergency to the operating room to the Medical units to discharge”.

“Our Wait Times for cataract and general surgery are some of the lowest in the province. We are looking at other areas of the hospital where we can improve our waiting times for patients,” says Boland. “We are working to continuously improve the patient experience and improve patient flow.

“It is important for members of the public to share with us their experiences, both positive and negative, in Headwaters Emergency Department and in other parts of the hospital to help us identify opportunities for improvement,” adds Miller.

The public is invited to provide comments and suggestions about hospital services. Please contact Cholly Boland, President and CEO, Headwaters Health Care Centre at 519-941-2702 ext. 2200.

About Headwaters
Headwaters Health Care Centre serves more than 110,000 residents in Caledon, Orangeville, Shelburne and Dufferin County. The hospital operates two sites – Headwaters Orangeville, a 108 bed acute care hospital and Headwaters Shelburne, a 33 bed chronic care hospital. Visit www.headwatershealth.ca.

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