May 1 is National Physicians’ Day, an ideal time to celebrate physicians whose skills, compassion and contributions to quality care make a difference in the lives of Manitobans every day.

One of these dedicated physicians is Dr. Manish Garg, who works in Pinawa. Click here to read Dr. Garg's story.

IERHA staff recently celebrated Friendly Manitoba Day during Spring Spirit week.

Thanks to Wave readers for all the fun photo submissions!

We'll share more Spirit Week photos in upcoming editions of the Wave.

The team at Sunnywood Manor Personal Care Home in Pine falls dressed up for Manitoba Day during Spirt Week: Emily, recreation; Angelina, MHS; April, IPC; Ashely HCA; Sumeet, agency nurse; Stephanie, HCA; Eden, HCA; Jean, HCA; Daisy, agency HCA; and Almy, agency nurse. Thank you to Angelina Hartwell, manager of health services, for this fun photo.

Staff even got into the spirit of Friendly Manitoba Day virtually.

Top : Kristol McDonald, resource coordinator specialist; Lisa Smith, home care education coordinator; Krista Kozyra, manager – health services. Middle: Lynn Hoplock, case coordinator; Shantel Anderson, scheduling supervisor. Bottom: Vanessa Gerbrandt,case coordinator; Cindy Skulsky, case coordinator; Matthew McKelvey, case coordinator; Tricia Tyerman, director – health services – home care. Thank you to Tricia Tyerman for this submission! Tricia even shared this fun Friendly Manitoba Trivia. Here are the answers.

The Nurse Practitioner Career Fair was held last week in the Helen Glass Building, College of Nursing, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. Participants included all nurse practitioner (NP) students in their final year of studies.

It was well attended and nine future grads expressed interest in working in Interlake-Eastern region. 

Connie Nixon, director health services - primary care, attended with Kaitlyn Klassen, Selkirk Quick Care NP. Thank you to Connie Nixon for sharing these photos.

Back row, left to right: Bev Atkin, manager health services, primary care-east; Tisha Grocholski, regional coordinator-west; Celina McLeod, regional coordinator-east; Maxine Zasitko, manager health services, primary care-west. Front row, left to right: Lisa Nagorski, manager health services, primary care-central; Connie Nixon, director health services primary care; Stacey Lockhart, administrative assistant, primary care and Indigenous health.

Connie Nixon shared this photo taken on April 22 in the springtime sun. The leadership team spent the day developing a primary care action plan in alignment with IERHA's strategic goals.

"I am very proud of our accomplishments over the past year," Connie said.

Pictured left to right are Pat Moldowan, Stonewall Kinettes president; Kim Minnis, manager of health services; Joanne Hubard, Stonewall Kinettes; Averill Stephenson, executive director of Interlake Eastern Health Foundation.

At their April meeting, the Stonewall Kinettes presented a generous donation of $1,596 that will directly impact patients at Stonewall & District Health Centre.

The funds will be utilized to procure two wheelchair cushions, two Spanco bed cushions and a tub sling for the hospital.

Thank you Kinettes for supporting care and community!

Find out more.

The staff at East Gate Lodge would like to wish Dr. Nicholas Jansen van Rensburg a happy 70^th birthday!

Thank you to recreation coordinator Cheryl Laferriere for sharing this festive photo.

Staff at East Gate Lodge showed their team spirit: Amber Pawlyshyn, Brenda Omichinski, Erin Gmiterek, Holly Komadowski, Quinten Baerbig, Mary Somerville, Meghan Quinn, Lisa Carmichael, Brittany Carmichael, Shaye Brown, Karen Berry, Lynne Anderson, Gail Pickering, Amber Zalusky, April Obirek, Marilyn Bonkowski. Thanks to recreation coordinator Cheryl Laferriere for sharing these photos!

Shaye Brown and Lynne Anderson were cheering for the Jets at East Gate Lodge Personal Care Home in Beausejour!

Kin Place rallied together to cheer on our Winnipeg Jets by wearing white or Jets Gear Friday, April 26. They even had the salmon-coloured T-shirt in the crowd! Thank you to regional recreation manager Lori Martin for this submission.

The Selkirk Regional Health Centre's surgical team donned their Jets jerseys: Janine Fidler, LPN; Jody Hucul, CRN; Victoria Wilgosh, CTM; Crystal Vanderveer, RN; Tesslah Schaefer, RN. Thank you to Victoria Wilgosh, manager of health services, for this submission.

It's Emergency Preparedness Week from May 5 to 11. This year's theme is "Be Prepared. Know Your Risks."

72 Hours: Is Your Family Prepared?

If a disaster/emergency happens in your community, it may take responders some time to reach you. You should be prepared to take care of yourself and your family for a minimum of 72 hours.

Learn how quick and easy it is to become better prepared to face a range of emergencies – anytime, anywhere. Use this guide to create your own emergency plan. Use the checklists to build a 72-hour emergency kit. These basic steps will help you take care of yourself and your loved ones during an emergency.

Thank you to Jay Ferens, regional manager for disaster management, for this submission.

Is your profession or department celebrating an upcoming recognition day? We'd love to share in the excitement! Please send us a brief write-up (250 words maximum) plus a few staff photos for consideration for possible publication in the Wave. Send submissions to ierhawave@ierha.ca.

The Medicine Monday program at Giigewigamig Traditional Healing Centre has restarted!

All patients, staff and members of the public are welcome to come to the Seven Sacred Laws Room at the Giigewigamig Traditional Healing Centre every Monday anytime between noon and 3 p.m. to have a cup of medicine tea, prepared by Giigewigamig Resident Elder, Warren Bird.

TODAY! WOW Wednesday on May 1 from 12:15 to 12:55 p.m. features Sarah Gillon, project lead for surgical services in Interlake-Eastern RHA. You can register here.

Sarah graduated from the University of Manitoba College of Nursing in 2018 and started working in the operating room, endoscopy and post-anesthesia care unit at Selkirk Regional Health Centre shortly thereafter. Her passion for patient advocacy drew her to the OR where she was able to gain experience and develop skills and knowledge to work in different roles within the perioperative setting.

A career in nursing has led to many exciting opportunities that she could never have imagined. She has had privilege to provide patient-centred care to patients and their families during the surgical experience, precept, work collaboratively with leadership to plan and implement at the program level, and travel internationally as a volunteer nurse with Mercy Ships and Operation Walk Manitoba.

For information about upcoming speakers and to listen to recording of previous speakers, visit the Manitoba Healthcare Providers Network website .

The New Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) in Manitoba learning module is now available in the Shared Health Learning Management System (LMS).

This online module provides information on MAiD in Canada, the MAiD process in Manitoba, health-care providers and team member roles, what to do if a patient requests

MAiD, abstaining facilities, psychosocial resources, and federal and provincial statistics.

This course is intended for new and current staff who work in health care in Manitoba. It is all online and can be completed at your own pace; it does not need to be completed in

one sitting. There are no prerequisites.

The course is hosted in the Shared Health Learning Management System (LMS), which is accessible from any Internet connection.

Instructions on how to access the LMS are available here.

Contact the Shared Health Service Desk (204-940-8500 or 1-866-999-9698) if you experience technical issues or require assistance.

The Workplace Safety and Health Committee In-Person Training is now FULL on May 7 and June 6. 

Due to demand, we have added an extra workshop as the classes are filling up!

• Selkirk Regional Health Centre – 8.30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 7 (Full)
• Stonewall & District Health Centre – 8.30 a.m. 4 p.m. on June 6 (Full)
• Beausejour Health Centre – 8.30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 12 (Spaces available)
• Lac Du Bonnet Health Centre – 8.30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 19 (Spaces available)

This course provides workplace safety and health committee members and worker safety and health representatives with an understanding of their roles, duties and responsibilities pertaining to workplace safety and health.

This course outlines the legal requirements surrounding workplace safety and health committees and worker safety and health representatives, as well as the process to address concerns and make recommendations on safety and health issues.

To register, email or call Samantha Roberts, manager occupational safety & health, at sroberts@ierha.ca or 204-485-5386 or sign up at your next WS&H Committee meeting.

IERHA has partnered with Shapes.

Learn more about IERHA's discount. And learn how to start a gym membership with Shapes.

Contact Language Interpreter Services. Refer to the Quick Reference Guide below to learn more.

Health-care providers in Interlake-Eastern RHA have access to 24-hour over-the-phone professional language interpretation services for more than 200 languages.

Quick reference guide: Access Urgent, On-Demand, Over-the-Phone Interpreter Services (24/7/365)

We're taking a break from publishing editions in weeks following statutory holidays.

There will be no issue of the Wednesday Wave published on May 22.