Family members and friends of patients at any of the hospitals or residents of long-term care facilities in the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region will now be able to send messages to loved ones thanks to the expanded capacity of the region's Well Wishes program.
"In the past year we have seen the value of this program at the Victoria Hospital, as we have delivered about 100 messages since it launched in December 2010," said Sonya Jahn, director of Volunteer Services, which oversees the delivery of the program.
"The Well Wishes program gives people an opportunity to send messages of support to their family members and friends from any computer with Internet access."
The Well Wishes Program, modeled after programs operated at several other facilities in Saskatchewan, enables the sending of e-mails to inpatients at the region's inpatient facilities. Individuals who want to send well wishes to a loved one or a friend who is a hospital patient or long-term care resident simply can do the following:
Go to: www.princealbertparklandhealth.com;
Click on "Well Wishes to a Patient" button (on the left-hand side of the screen) and follow the instructions, including selection of the facility;
Include the patient's first and last name, room number (if known), comments and your full name.
When received, your e-mail is sent to the appropriate facility for printing and delivery to your love one.
E-mail is checked at 1 p.m. every weekday and hand delivered to patients after 2 p.m. Any e-mail that is received after 1 p.m. or on weekends will be delivered the next business day.
There may be a delay in delivery for e-mail received during holidays. E-mail received after the intended recipient has been discharged will not be delivered. All messages received are handled confidentially.
Upon receipt, the e-mail is printed and placed in a sealed envelope and delivered to the patient's room. The e-mail system is set up to receive e-mail only. The region cannot send outgoing replies or confirm that a patient or resident is registered.
The Volunteers Services department will be monitoring the incoming e-mails and be responsible for delivering the messages at the Victoria Hospital, Herb Bassett Home and Mental Health Inpatient Unit.
The remaining messages are forwarded to the appropriate facility, with each facility ensuring delivery.
While the region makes every effort to ensure all messages are delivered, privacy laws and policies mean the region cannot contact the sender of the message to confirm if an individual is in care at a Prince Albert Parkland hospital or long-term care facility.
