In our ongoing commitment to supporting the entire continuum of care, we are pleased to spotlight HealthPRO Canada Member, Victorian Order of Nurses (VON), Nova Scotia’s largest home and community care organization. Through our national reach, VON has access to necessary medical products at competitive prices which is vital for their not-for-profit organization. 

Mahmoud Shehab, Supply Chain Manager with the Victorian Order of Nurses shares insights into the benefits delivered by HealthPRO Canada, the provincewide Wound Care Formulary and how the recent natural disasters affected the community, and the work of VON.    

Can you tell us a bit about the Victorian Order of Nurses?  

We provide clients with in-home nursing and home support, as well as community services. Our goal is to help clients live safely and independently in their own homes - where they want to be - and to ease the burden on their families and caregivers. 

Can you talk to some of the benefits delivered by HealthPRO Canada within your daily operations?  

We provide a wide range of critical nursing services in our communities, such as wound care and palliative care. HealthPRO Canada provides us with many benefits, such as the ability to acquire necessary medical products at a competitive price and access to new suppliers which makes switching in the event of supply chain disruption much easier, saving us valuable time.    

What types of clinical products are most common in your daily operations?   

To provide essential wound care for our clients, we rely on products including foam dressings, gloves, saline, and dressing trays. 

Given the provincewide Wound Care Formulary in Nova Scotia and the standardized list of products for wound care, could you explain how HealthPRO Canada's services support and enhance your work? 

The resources that HealthPRO Canada offers save us time in setting up the procurement process; they also act as an advisor, helping to source products and select the right suppliers. 

In what ways does the Wound Care Formulary streamline and enhance the wound care services provided by Victorian Order of Nurses (VON)? 

The Wound Care Formulary assists us in selecting the most appropriate dressings and bandages for patients to improve clinical outcomes and decrease product waste. They also evaluate and recommend equivalent products in the event of availability issues. 

As Nova Scotia has experienced multiple recent natural disasters, how have these events affected your community, and the work of the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) in Nova Scotia? How has the organization dealt with these challenges? 

Recent events have been quite challenging for all Nova Scotians, and our clients, volunteers and staff have certainly been impacted. We are fortunate to have a strong group of staff and volunteers in this province, working together to ensure that clients have access to essential care even in difficult circumstances. For example, Hurricane Fiona took the roof right off of VON’s Cape Breton site. Team members dealt with their own home and property damage, while rallying together to set up a temporary office and to ensure continued care for our vulnerable and isolated clients. The team spirit is alive and well at VON and our staff and volunteers are people who truly want to make a difference in our clients’ lives.