MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
June 18 , 2012
London, Ontario –On June 16, approximately 225 London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) staff members participated in the Fanshawe Dragon Boat Festival organized by the Rowbust Dragon Boat Racing Team.
“We are overwhelmed by the commitment of our colleagues at LHSC to participate in this community festival,” says Linda Kuska, registered nurse, Orthopaedics/Trauma, Victoria Hospital (VH).
Kuska, and Loraine Warnock, coordinator, 4 inpatient medicine unit, University Hospital (UH), are members of the Rowbust Dragon Boat Racing Team and festival co-chairs.
Out of the 47 dragon boat racing teams involved in the festival, 9 teams consisted of LHSC employees. “We wanted to focus on fun and fitness,” says Warnock. “Sometimes as health providers we can lose focus on our own fitness levels and it is inspiring to see our colleagues between the ages of 20 and 60 competing.”
The LHSC teams represent various areas of the hospital including X-Ray, the Emergency Department at UH, Acute Medicine at UH, Paediatric secretaries, two teams from Ortho/Trauma, and three teams from London Regional Cancer Program (LRCP).
A natural rivalry was born among the teams and a “Health-Care Cup” was awarded to “Better Than Oars,” a LRCP team captained by Dr. Tracy Sexton, radiation oncologist, LRCP, by Bonnie Adamson, president and chief executive officer, LHSC, for finishing the race ahead of the other LHSC teams.
"Congratulations to the LHSC dragon boat crews. Your commitment to living our vision of exceptional experiences and engaging partnerships is truly remarkable,” said Adamson.
About London Health Sciences Centre
London Health Sciences Centre has been in the forefront of medicine in Canada for 137 years and offers the broadest range of specialized clinical services in Ontario. Building on the traditions of its founding hospitals to provide compassionate care in an academic teaching setting, London Health Sciences Centre is home to Children’s Hospital, South Street Hospital, University Hospital, Victoria Hospital, two family medical centres, and two research institutes – Children’s Health Research Institute and Lawson Health Research Institute, a joint research initiative with St. Joseph’s Health Care London. As a leader in medical discovery and health research, London Health Sciences Centre has a history of over 50 international and national firsts and attracts top clinicians and researchers from around the world. As a regional referral centre, London Health Sciences Centre cares for the most medically complex patients including critically injured adults and children in southwestern Ontario and beyond. The hospital’s nearly 15,000 staff, physicians, students and volunteers provide care for more than one million patient visits a year. For more information visit www.lhsc.on.ca
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Marek Kubow
London Health Sciences Centre
Communications Consultant
Telephone: 519-685-8500 Ext. 75155
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