Miramichi Blog

Miramichi in Top 25!

Calling all Miramichiers circling the globe! Miramichi needs your support! Tell your friends! Get your family involved! Together, we can win this thing!

The Miramichi Gopits made it to the final 25 communities in the Kraft Hockeyville competition on CBC by being voted in as the viewers choice for Atlantic Canada. Miramichi now competes with four other communities in Atlantic Region - Plaster Rock NB, Salmon River NS, Charlottetown and O'Leary PEI.

The next show airs June 6 at 8PM on CBC. Voting will be from 9pm June 06 to June 7th at midnight. Vote as many times as you can! You can vote one time for every telephone number and email address you have. You can also text message to "VOTE" 111222. For more information on voting or to watch the Miramichi video visit www.cbchockeyville.ca.

The top pick in each region will win $10,000.00 in hockey equipment for young people. The overall winning community will host an exibition NHL game and receive $50,000.00 in renovations for their hockey arena.

So c'mon Miramichi! Vote as many times as you can and lets show the rest of country where Hockeyville is!

Mango’s New Initiative Partners With Area Eating Establishments

Making healthy choices when you dine out at a restaurant is sometimes difficult. The Miramichi Regional Health Authority’s Mango program is now making it easier with its new restaurant program, Eat Well! Mangez Bien!

Beginning April 25, when you dine at participating area restaurants and take-outs in and around Miramichi, look for the Eat Well! Mangez Bien! symbol on their menu. This will help customers find the healthier options.

The symbol beside selections on the menu will tell customers that it is a healthy meal choice. Restaurants who are members of the program were required to meet certain nutritional criteria for each menu selection. For example, Mango dieticians worked with the restaurants determining reasonable serving sizes, low-fat cooking methods, amount of whole-grains offered, and if options included foods from the vegetable and fruit groups.

“It is a benefit to the community as it identifies healthy choices at participating restaurants. As well, the healthy menu options are highlighted easily for customers to recognize,” says Mango dietician Renée Frenette.

All restaurants in the region were invited to join the program. Thirty-six restaurants have taken advantage of the partnership. By joining this program, these restaurants will be recognized as a healthy place to eat and will meet the demands of their customers who are challenging eating establishments to give them the healthy food they need to lead a healthy lifestyle, she adds.

The launch date of the program is April 25 and the Eat Well! Mangez Bien! Restaurant Program will be kicked off at the Goodie Shop at 11am. Mango welcomes all restaurants who are partnering to help them attain their goal of making the population of Region 7 healthier.

Congratulations to Angler’s Reel, Blackville Trio Pizza, Brookside (Neguac), Burke’s Diner (Blackville), Burger King, Captain Sub/ Greco (Neguac), Chez Bauer Sub Shop (Rogersville), Chez Doris (Rogersville), Chuckwag’n (Chatham), Chuckwag’n (Newcastle), Darlene’s Tea House (Blackville), Decker Boy (Rogersville), Ed’s Subs (Chatham), Ed’s Sub (Newcastle), Goodie Shop, Jungle Jim’s, KD’s Pick of the Vine, Le Gallant (Rogersville), Lucy’s Truck Stop (Neguac) McDonalds, Pizza Delight (Chatham), Pizza Delight (Newcastle), Pizza Shack (Chatham), Pizza Shack (Newcastle), Pizza Twice (Douglastown), Saddler’s Café, Subway (all five locations), Super Deckerboy (Baie Ste. Anne), The Tide, The Wharf Restaurant and View Point Dining Room.

Any restaurants looking for more information, can call 623-3555.

Miramichi Regional Health Authority preparing for Accreditation

The Miramichi Regional Health Authority is preparing for accreditation. Surveyors from the Canadian Council of Health Services Accreditation (CCHSA) were at the Miramichi Regional Health Authority from April 9-12, 2006. During this time they visited with various departments and quality care and support teams to discuss initiatives adopted in striving to achieve improvement measurements (AIM).

"“We are excited about having our accreditation visit,"” says Gary Foley, president and CEO of the Miramichi Regional Health Authority. "“It is a great opportunity to share our patient care and service accomplishments in our region, and be evaluated against national standards of care and service."”

Accreditation is a process by which health care organizations assess their services and programs with national standards of excellence. They then have a survey with peer surveyors from the CCHSA, the major national accrediting body for organizations across all health sectors in Canada. Accreditation is voluntary and is recognized by provincial and federal funders of health services. It takes place every three years.

Effective January 2006 a new component has been added to all accreditation visits. This component focuses on patient safety standards. "“We are looking forward to be evaluated on these new standards,"” says Foley. He says patient safety has been and continues to be a priority for the organization and is reflected in the MRHA'’s mission statement and health and business plan.

"There are always opportunities to improve and we look forward to any recommendations that the Accreditation surveyors may have for our organization regarding this new national and recurring components."

Once the accreditation survey is completed, the CCHSA will compile its report and make recommendations to the surveyed organization. This process can take up to six weeks to complete.

Miramichi Regional Health Authority launches Patient Registry

As a means to determine the number of individuals in the region that do not have a family doctor, the Miramichi Regional Health Authority has launched a patient phone registry. Patients that do not have a family doctor are asked to call 623-3300 and leave their name, phone number and mailing address.

“The information will help us determine the number of people who do not have a family doctor,” says Gary Foley, President and CEO. He says the health authority currently estimates that approximately 5,400 individuals are without a family physician in the region. “This number is an estimate based on the number of patients who were left without a family physician from doctors retiring or ending their practice to work in other areas of the health care system such as the emergency department.”

Foley says the information will be used to assist in the organization’s recruitment of family doctors. “Once we have established the number of patients without a family doctor, we can plan medical resources according to the needs of the population.” He says as new family doctors are recruited to the region, names from this list will be made available to them. “Our ultimate goal is to provide primary care to individuals in our region.”

The patient phone registry will be available for a six month period from April to September 2006. Once individuals register, it is not necessary for them to register again.

Community answers call for healthy goals

Families in Miramichi answered Mango’s call to set healthy goals during the latest Mango Mania challenge.

Mango issued the challenge at the first of the New Year encouraging children to set healthy goals with their families. Families were then encouraged to inform Mango what healthy goal was set in their home and if it was attained. Winners have been chosen and will be rewarded for their efforts.

Classroom winners for this challenge were Grade 5B at Nelson Rural School. Classrooms in District 16 are rewarded based on the percentage of classroom participation. The class will be rewarded with a nutritious fruit tray.

Two families are also being rewarded for their part in Mango’s latest challenge. Grade seven Harkins Junior High School student Garrett Briggs told Mango that his family’s goal was to eat four servings of fruit each day for the duration of the Mango Mania challenge. They worked together reminding each other to eat the required amount of fruit. They attained this goal and Briggs says his family will continue with the daily fruit intake.

Carlee Matheson’s family were also winners of the challenge. The Grade one student at Carrefour Beausoliel told Mango that her family’s goal was to be active three times during the Mania week. They achieved their goal by completing homework early, eating supper and doing their dishes upon their return from their family activity.

Mango Mania is a promotional campaign brought to you by Mango. The goal of Mango Mania is to have the community participate in a monthly challenge encouraging healthy eating and physical activity. For more information on how you can participate in the Mango Mania challenge, please contact the Mango office at 623-3555.

It's down to three New Brunswick communities representing the Atlantic Region in the Kraft Hockeyville competition on CBC Television and Miramichi is one of them! Miramichi competes with Hampton and St. Stephen for the top spot in the Atlantic region and the ultimate title of Hockeyville. And the final decision is in your hands. C'mon Miramichiers far and wide! Lets show the world what we already know, that Miramichi is Hockeyville! Visit the website and vote for Miramichi today. http://www.cbchockeyville.ca/vote/ Voting closes Friday, April 14, 2006 at 11:59 p.m. (EDT).

We are Hockeyville !

On a beautiful Saturday morning, with Matilda Murdoch playing "Silver Blades" which she composed for the event, and our mascot, Gopit raising the Stanley Cup replica, set the tone for a great day for all those in attendance.

Independant MLA Tanker Malley shows his willingness to work with both the red and the blue.

King Fisher Multimedia Productions shooting a 2 minute video from the City Fire Department Ladder truck.