Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation

Clinical Nurse Educator Shane Heavener at the CK Hui Heart Centre.

Though innovation and cutting-edge technology have long been trademarks of the cardiology team at the Royal Alexandra Hospital it is excellence in patient care that is really at the heart of the CK Hui.

New and better ways to improve patient comfort and safety at the CK Hui Heart Centre recently led to a prestigious award for a member of the CK Hui team.

In January, Clinical Nurse Educator Shane Heavener received a Centennial Award from the College and Association of Registered Nurses in Alberta (CARNA). To celebrate their 100^th anniversary in 2016, CARNA launched the Centennial Award to celebrate the achievements of registered nurses in Alberta over the past 100 years.

“I might have won the award, but it’s certainly a team effort here,” says Shane. “Working together, our team has put in a lot of effort to improve the already excellent care we offer our patients.”

Shane strongly believes in evidence-based practice, and makes sure that the CK Hui Heart Centre stays on the cusp of best practices, new technology, and continuing education. His endeavours have included a best practice group which looked at preventing hospital-acquired infections for cardiac patients.  Shane also improved radiation safety for cardiology staff that work in the catheter lab.

Although infections due to a catheter procedure are very rare Shane works to ensure that staff follow strict protocols that will continue to improve patient safety by ensuring that they have an almost zero chance of a hospital-acquired infection.

In addition to infection prevention there is the need to regularly x-ray the heart during catheter procedures, both patients and staff need to be protected from radiation with shields and protective garments. New protocols that Shane was involved in developing will ensure that radiation safety is top of mind in the Centre’s busy catheter lab.

Shane and his team also worked to set up a cardiac recovery room at the CK Hui Heart Centre. The room was designed to look after patients both during arrival for and departure from a cardiac procedure.  The recovery room was an important step forward in patient care for cardiac patients.

“Previously, the CK Hui Heart Centre shared a recovery and preparation room with Diagnostic Imaging at the Royal Alex,” explains Shane. “There was a lot of logistics involved, since our two departments were quite intertwined. The opening of the cardiac recovery room at the CK Hui Heart Centre has allowed us to offer our patients consolidated care under one roof. The recovery room has been in use for just over a year now, and has made things much easier, more efficient, and safer for our patients.”

“Shane is most deserving of the CARNA award,” says Dr. Randall Williams, Chief of Cardiology at the CK Hui Heart Centre. “Shane and his team have been instrumental in improving the quality of care and implementing important new protocols here, especially in the cardiac catheter lab. He’s improved the safety of both patients and cardiac staff with these innovative ideas.”