Three new specialists join SAH team, remote follow-up care coming for heart patients

There was some good doctor recruitment news from Ila Watson, Sault Area Hospital president and CEO at Monday’s SAH board of directors meeting.

“We have three new physicians. One is a radiation oncologist, which is our first full time local radiation oncologist. We also have an endocrinologist starting part time practice in January and an anesthesiologist joining the surgical team in the spring. Those are much needed resources and we will be very pleased to welcome them to our team,” Watson told the board.

"The Algoma District Cancer Program is a regional partner of the Northeast Cancer Centre of Health Sciences North. As a regional partner, radiation oncologists from Health Sciences North have supported our radiation therapy program since its inception in 2011. We have never had a local radiation oncologist. Beginning in July 2024, our program will be supported by a local full-time radiation oncologist practising at Sault Area Hospital," wrote Brandy Sharp Young, SAH spokesperson in an email to SooToday.

"The radiation oncologist will join our dedicated team of medical oncologists, registered nurses, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, registered dietitians, social workers, support services staff, radiation therapists, medical physicists and their associates who provide care to our patients in the Algoma District Cancer Program," Sharp Young wrote.

The board also learned that there will also be some easing of distress for patients suffering from Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

As of October, such patients can have their care supplemented through SeamlessMD.

SeamlessMD is an interactive guide to help patients prepare for surgery and recover faster afterwards. The patient or a caregiver can access the platform on any smartphone, tablet or computer. Patients are already eligible for SeamlessMD for a variety of surgeries, ranging from a hip or knee replacement to a hysterectomy, but the addition of CHF and COPD patients is a new development. 

“It’s still a pilot project. We’re still trying to work out whether it’s worthwhile though it does seem to be, but patients can register for what we call remote care monitoring,” said Dr. Andrew Webb, SAH vice president of innovation, quality and medicine.

“In other words, they can be followed up with in their homes after discharge from hospital or discharge from a procedure through Seamless MD.”

“That follow up allows them to gain advice from professionals in the hospital without coming back here. That’s in a nutshell what it is. The idea is that we will look after patients in their home (remotely) without keeping them in hospital as a result of it,” Webb said.

The follow up SeamlessMD care for CHF and COPD will involve a cooperative effort with partner organizations such as Group Health Centre and the Algoma Ontario Health Team, a report to the board stated.