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We regret that for now the monthly Family Support Meetings have been cancelled because so few people have been able to attend.  We are working on some new ideas for bringing our families together.  Your suggestions would be most welcome.  In fact we need a number of people to keep Circle of Hearts thriving, such as: Events Coordinator Treasurer Newsletter Editor Please let us know if you are interested in any of these positions, or if you're wanting to get involved in other ways.  We could really use your help! We are planning a Family Movie Night during Spring Break     Watch for more details!

 

 

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Southern Manitoba Family Support Group

The Southern Manitoba Family Support Group held their first meeting on March 18^th. It was a very small gathering of Lisa & Alex Smiley, the Leoppky's and one other family. Lisa admitted that it was a little awkward at first but noted that kids are great icebreakers!! Since then, the Southern Group had a second support meeting that was held Friday, May 6th at 6:30 pm with several more families attending.

The Southern Manitoba meetings are held at the Altona Family Resource Centre located at 238 5th Ave. N.E., next to the hospital. All children are welcome to attend with their parents and since the meetings take place in the playroom, there is plenty for the children to do.

Lisa wrote "It took us a long time but I think we are finally organized. So now we can hold a few meetings to see if there is any interest. One family who came to the meeting had said they had always wanted to go to the meetings in Winnipeg but because of other obligations and the distance, they had never been able to attend. Maybe there are more in our area who have the same obstacles."

For more information contact Lisa Smiley at crazedby3kids@msn.com or Lea Legge at 787-2410.

 

 

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Western Canada Children's Heart Network

 

The Western Canadian Children's Heart Network (WCCHN) was created in the year 2000 to better link expertise between five pediatric cardiac care centres. We work with children's heart care providers to share knowledge, research and work practices to improve care for your child. The five children's equal partners in our network include: B.C. Children's Hospital (Vancouver); Stollery Children's Hospital (Edmonton); Alberta Children's Hospital (Calgary); Royal University Hospital (Saskatoon); and the Winnipeg Children's Hospital.

We are here to help our patients and their families with information and resources about children's heart disease and care. We provide care for the whole family. Our goal is to support children with heart disease and their families. We also work to improve the services offered to children with heart disease across the four western provinces. We are now working with patients and families from all centers to help us develop our website and educational materials.* We need their valuable input so we can include information that meets their needs.

The Network office, based in Edmonton, works to organize all Network activities as well as focus on improving the quality of patient care. We are very excited about our Network and look forward to hearing from you if you have any questions or would like to provide us with some feedback.

Sincerely, 

 

Denise Clarke, RN, MN WCCHN  4D4.24 Walter Mackenzie Center Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2B7 Office: (780)407-1522 Fax: (780) 407-1521

Diana Locher Administrative Assistant 4C2.27 Walter Mackenzie Center Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2B7 Office: (780) 407-1519 Fax: (780) 407-1521

Or e-mail us at:  wcchn@cha.ab.ca

*Manitoba (combined with Nunavut and northwestern Ontario) has two appointed

"Family Representatives" who are active Committee Members for the WCCHN. They are Krista Moody and Joni Meilleur.

 

Denise Clarke, Coordinator of the Western Canadian Children's Heart Network (WCCHN), will be commencing her one-year maternity leave October 14, 2005.  The WCCHN is pleased to announce that Sharon Chow will be assuming Denise's role, effective November 2005.  Sharon comes to us from the Health Quality Council of Saskatoon.  She has vast pediatric clinical experience, along with several years experience with the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association and the College of Nursing at the University of Saskatchewan.

The following is Sharon's contact information:

Sharon Chow

Coordinator

4D4.24 Walter C. Mackenzie Centre

8440 - 112 Street

Edmonton, AB  T6G 2B7

Office:  (780) 407-1522

Fax:  (780) 407-1521

Pager:  (780) 445-5866

E-mail:  sharonchow@cha.ab.ca

Please join us in welcoming Sharon to her new role!

Over the past several months, the WCCHN has been working with our Family Advisory Committee in the development of the families' section of our website:  www.westernchildrensheartnetwork.ca.

There are two portions of our families' section we would like to draw your attention to - these include the 'Q & A' (Questions and Answer) section as well as the portion dedicated to 'Family Stories'. To date, we have collected and posted several questions along with incredible family stories. We invite you to submit your own experiences and/or questions. We are always looking for more amazing information - questions and family experiences - to share with others via our website.

Kudos to the Family Advisory Committee for an excellent job guiding us in the development of this section of the website. Without your help, this would not have been possible. Please visit our website and give us your feedback, share your story, or forward questions. You may do so by contacting Diana Locher, our Administrative Assistant and creative guru of the website at:

Diana Locher

Administrative Assistant

4C2.27 Walter C. Mackenzie Centre

8440 - 112 Street

Edmonton, AB  T6G 2B7

Office:  (780) 407-1519

Fax:  (780) 407-1521

E-mail:  dianalocher@cha.ab.ca 

 

 

 

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If you would like to join "The Circle of Hearts" Family Support Network please fill out 

the "Membership Form", and submit to the address located at the bottom of the form.

Please send comments, questions and / or suggestions
directly to Members of our Family Support Network by
e-mailing:  circle_of_hearts_vchc@hotmail.com

Family Support Network Members
log in to MSN Hotmail

 

No part of this website may be reproduced without the consent of Variety Children's Heart Centre.