Health Stories

MHC Volunteer Quirino Becomes Deacon

For Quirino, volunteering at Misericordia Health Centre is about much more than bringing Holy Communion to residents; it’s about building meaningful connections. By spending time listening to residents’ stories, praying with them, and simply being present, he has learned that compassion and companionship can be just as powerful as words.

These experiences have been instrumental in preparing Quirino for his role as a deacon, teaching him patience, humility, and the importance of serving others with an open heart. He says that while he comes to minister to residents, he often leaves inspired by their faith, resilience, and hope.

Quirino felt called by God to serve the sick, the homeless, the poor, and those who are marginalized. Through his volunteer ministry at Misericordia, he continues to live out that calling, offering comfort and encouragement to everyone he meets.

Dr. Hannah receives Order of Military Merit – Congratulations!

Dr. Richard Hannah, a member of MHC’s Clinical Resource Team, was recently in Ottawa with his family to be awarded the Order of Military Merit (Officer) by Her Excellency the Right Honorable Mary Simon Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada.  

Lieutenant-Colonel Hannah was nominated for the award by a nurse, a long-time colleague and friend, in large part for his role in the development of aeromedical evacuation capabilities in the Canadian Forces.  

His initial involvement in long distance aeromedical evacuation began in 2007. At that time, he was deployed to Landstuhl Germany where he cared for and coordinated the safe movement of hundreds of soldiers, wounded in Afghanistan, safely home to Canada. 

Later in his career he was asked to develop a novel forward aeromedical evacuation capability that involved putting critical care emergency medicine on board large military helicopters to enable patient resuscitation between the point of injury and advanced surgical care.  This new Canadian capability was then deployed to Mali in 2018 – 2019 in order to support a UN security mission. This type of critical care capability continues to evolve and provides care both internationally and domestically.

Additionally, Dr. Hannah and his team designed and procured an isolation system for the transportation by air of people with infectious diseases that are a severe threat to public health. This capability, eventually called the Aeromedical Bio-containment Evacuation System (ABES), looks like a sea container that functions like a “negative pressure hospital room and is placed in large military transport aircraft.” It has the capacity for up to 3 ICU patients, or multiple lower acuity patients.” The ABES keeps the airplane clean and alleviates any fear of pilots or other aircrew of becoming infected. 

The ABES was initially conceived as a contingency to transport Canadian public health workers who were treating people and doing research on Ebola virus in Africa. However, during the COVID epidemic, this capability was used to move Canadian patients from areas of Canada with overwhelmed  ICUs to other areas that had ICU capacity and to move critically ill Canadian COVID patients’ home from foreign postings. The capability remains on standby in case it is needed for any future significant infectious disease.

The military brought Dr. Hannah to Winnipeg in 2013, where he was employed as the medical director for search and rescue, aeromedical evacuation, aeromedical standards and advisor to the Commander of the Operational Airforce and the Canadian NORAD region.  He has now eased out of that role and continues his work in the miliary while keeping patient care skills fresh working at Misericordia.

He humbly dismissed congratulations on his award and was quick to point out his mother, Kathryn Hannah, is a recipient of the Order of Canada due to her nursing work advancing electronic health records.

Order of Miliary Merit

Founded on July 1, 1972, the Order of Military Merit recognizes distinctive merit and exceptional service displayed by members of the Canadian Armed Forces, both Regular and Reserve. Many have demonstrated dedication and devotion beyond the call of duty, and the Order honours them for their commitment to Canada. His Majesty King Charles III is the Order’s Sovereign, the governor general is its Chancellor and a Commander, and the chief of the Defence Staff is its Principal Commander.

Officer

The Officer of Military Merit recognizes outstanding meritorious service in duties of responsibility.

NEW MENTORSHIP POSITION AT HEALTH LINKS – INFO SANTÉ

We’re excited to announce that Chynae Dyck has stepped into a new mentorship role at Health Links – Info Santé. As the first and only clinical nurse mentor of this kind at Misericordia, Chynae will act as a guide, role model and advisor who shares practical day-to-day knowledge with other nurses.

Many nurses joining Health Links – Info Santé come without prior virtual care experience. Chynae plays a crucial role in mentoring these professionals through onboarding, sharing best practices, and providing ongoing education tailored to the virtual health-care environment.

Because virtual health care spans all age groups—from newborns to the elderly—the role requires a broad and flexible approach. Chynae helps foster a culture of continuous learning and empowers our nursing team to deliver exceptional care within HL-IS’s unique setting.

We’re proud to support this initiative as we continue to advance health care in new and meaningful ways.

Eye care centre welcomes Lebanese ophthalmologist

MHC’s Eye Care Centre of Excellence is proud to welcome Dr. Charbel Wahab who recently started a one-year fellowship with the Retina Fellowship Program.

Dr. Wahab, who was born and raised in Lebanon, moved to Winnipeg from Toronto where he completed his medical retina fellowship at the University of Toronto.

He said he decided to look into the surgical retina program in Winnipeg after hearing really great feedback about MHC.
“I had a colleague in Toronto who told me about the surgical department here and the high load of patients needing surgery,” Wahab said.

“I was also told that people in Winnipeg are very nice and that it’s a great multicultural city which really appealed to me.”

Dr. Wahab completed his studies and ophthalmology residency from 2017 to 2021 at the University of Balamand in Lebanon. He also pursued his education and training at the American University of Beirut before moving to Toronto.

“I only lived in Toronto for one year; it’s a very big city,” Wahab said.

“While I liked it there, I knew it wasn’t for the long term.

“So, when the opportunity to come here came up, I knew it was the right timing. Plus, I really like seeing lots of green with the trees instead of tall buildings.”

Dr. Wahab said he loves the Wolseley area and adds the people at MHC have been very welcoming.

He said he would consider staying in Winnipeg once his fellowship year is complete.

“If there’s an opportunity to work at MHC I would need to discuss with my family and wife who is a physician and lives in Lebanon right now,” he said.

“But I would love to stay, we’ll see.”

When Dr. Wahab is not at work he loves to cook, read books and watch Formula 1 racing!

Easy Street supporting Manitobans on the long COVID front line

The worst of the pandemic may be over, but for many long COVID patients seeking care at MHC, the struggles seem endless. 

Occupational therapist Tessa Bruce says 50 per cent of clients at Easy Street rehabilitation are now dealing with severe anxiety, brain fog, and fatigue.

“It is quite debilitating,” Bruce said. “From not being able to get dressed in the morning to not being able to shower.”

Bruce said treating long COVID patients is a complex and lengthy process.

“It is impacting their daily life activities like going outside for a walk, doing things they enjoy, or going to work.”

She said many of her clients are forced to take a leave of absence from work as they learn how to cope with their new reality.

“It’s very anxiety provoking because they lose their sense of identity,” Bruce said. “For many it’s a complete overhaul of your life.”

Easy Street, which specializes in cognitive rehabilitation, recently launched new six-week group sessions to help those on their long COVID journey, specifically those who are combatting brain fog and anxiety.

“I’m really excited about that because it offers peer support,” said Sarah Snider, another occupational therapist at Easy Street.

“I think there’s so much to be had in those learned experiences, so many people come to this program and say ‘wow, I never met anyone else with long COVID,’ so it’s all about that connection and shared experiences,” said Snider.

The concept of treating people with long COVID is also something that’s fairly new for practitioners at Easy Street which traditionally sees those with brain injury or stroke.

But Snider said there are a lot of parallels in the treatment for improving cognitive function.

The department recently held a long COVID event alongside experts from the University of Manitoba at the Manitoba Lung Association where they heard multiple stories from patients still living with long COVID symptoms. The event was for educational and research purposes.

Bruce said the whole team at Easy Street takes great pride in knowing they are helping so many people get their lives back.   

“Everyone we see has different goals and milestones they want to reach, so this is very much a goal-based program, and the focus is all about our clients.”

A report from the Office of the Chief Science Advisor of Canada said that more than 1.4 million people in Canada, or about 15 per cent of adults who had contracted COVID-19 as of August 2022, say they experienced symptoms more than three months after being infected.

New Operating Room Assistants join surgical team

MHC is thrilled to welcome two new Operating Room Assistants (ORA’s) who will soon be assisting our surgical care team.

Tara Soares and Norm Gibbons are no strangers to the Misericordia family. Both are long-time employees who started working on site as health-care aides.

“I actually started at Misericordia as a housekeeper and then transitioned into a health-care aide,” said Gibbons.

He said after 15 years working as a health-care aide he was moved into a new role as an OR Supply Assistant where he was able to learn a new set of skills.

“As a health-care aide you’re pretty much maxed out what you can do and learn, so when another new opportunity came up, I applied and just went for it.

“So far it’s been very interesting,” he said.

To qualify, Soares and Gibbons had to have at least five years of experience working as health-care aides in the OR. They also had to complete a 12-week online course through Mohawk College in Ontario which included stringent onsite testing in Manitoba.

“Some of the classes were challenging,” said Soares. “We learned everything from human anatomy to surgical anatomy to microbiology.”

The two new positions are part of a larger provincial plan to add 70 new operating room assistants across Manitoba. The aim is to reduce waitlists for diagnostic and surgical procedures as mandated by the province’s Diagnostic and Surgical Recovery Task Force.

Responsibilities will range from decontaminating rooms and disinfecting surgery equipment, to transferring and preparing patients safely for surgery.

Soares said she has learned so much working closely with patients over the years and is very excited to take on this new role.

“I’m really happy to be starting this next adventure,” Soares said.

“I like that I will be able to assist more, be with patients inside the surgery room and be involved in the surgeries.

“I’m feeling great, and I’m ready.”