In Olsztyński, what it meant to be the first Angels Region in Poland all came together on the day of the celebration. Hosted by the Voivode of Warmińsko-Mazurskie in the provincial capital Olsztyn, the tone of the occasion was appropriately formal, the guest list well-considered, the expressions of gratitude heartfelt.
But there was above all the recognition of belonging to something bigger than themselves.
Being the one to set an example was certainly a proud moment for a region that wasn’t the biggest or wealthiest in Poland. It was also a reunion of sorts, for people who’d last seen each other as students or residents and were now reconnected in such favourable circumstances.
“Some were surprised at the size of the event and the people who were there,” says Angels consultant Marta Jędrzejewska who’d planned the event right down to the last thoughtful detail. “Until the celebration they hadn’t quite realized what it meant, becoming an Angels Region. It brought the realization that ‘it’s not just us, there are many of us!’
“Seeing how many people had been working towards the same goal as them gave them a sense of the bigger picture, and that they were a part of it – that all along there had been small teams building a bigger, regional team.”
Making friends
She’d been lucky, Marta says, to have this region chosen for her by her predecessor, Agnieszka Tymecka-Woszczerowicz, when she joined Angels last May. Angels was already known to nearly everyone in the medical community in Olsztyński, and, no less important, they were very friendly people who could be counted on to support her mission.
There were four stroke-ready hospitals in the region including, in Olsztyn itself, the University Clinical Hospital with a string of diamond awards to its credit, and two more diamond hospitals, the Provincial Specialized Hospital and the MSWiA Clinical Hospital, of which the latter was in temporary disarray due to the neurology department undergoing renovations.
A little to the north was John Paul II District Hospital in Bartoszyce, a new hospital that had only just established its stroke service but whose head of neurology Dr Aleksandra Wińska was no newcomer to excellence in stroke care. She knew she could count on Angels for support.
“All” Marta had to do was get to know the teams at all three hospitals, understand the unique set of conditions in each, convince them of the merits of continuous quality monitoring, encourage and support the process, stay in touch, and have them line up behind the common goal of becoming the first Angels Region in Poland.
Finding an ally
Even so, the situation regarding the EMS seemed alarming by comparison after Marta learnt that there were no fewer than 22 EMS companies in the province. It was a relief to hear that of the nine operating in Olsztyński alone, only two transported enough stroke patients to meet the participation criteria for the EMS Angels Awards.
Neither had heard of Angels before, but this was less of an obstacle than it appeared. Because at the Provincial Specialized Hospital, Marta had met Dr Jacek Zwiernik who as well as the head of neurology was also a key opinion leader and the provincial neurology consultant.
Dr Zwiernik was instantly convinced of the merits of the Angels Regions strategy, and on board to help her drive change, Marta says. “He knew the cooperation between hospitals and EMS could be better. With just four hospitals with stroke units in the region, it was crucial for the emergency services to know that suspected stroke patients should be taken to one of these hospitals.”
With Dr Zwiernik’s help, training was arranged that included the seven smaller emergency services along with the two larger ones whose performance in the awards would be decisive for Angels Region status. Following in-person training in Olsztyn and Bartoszyce and a webinar in November, both the Provincial Emergency Medical Service Station in Olsztyn and the one at John Paul II District Hospital in Bartoszyce easily met the criteria for EMS Angels Awards.
At a regional meeting in October, Dr Zwiernik announced the mission to become an Angels Region to a gathering of decision-makers that included the local director of the national health fund and the head of the department of safety and crisis management. With the support of local leaders secured, the collective effort was underway. Implementing the FAST Heroes campaign benefited from their influence, and with 958 school learners having earned their capes by November, it was soon time for Marta to start planning a celebration.
Sharing success
The ceremony commenced shortly after midday on Friday 28 March. Marta welcomed the dignitaries whose participation in the event underlined its significance. Next, she welcomed representatives of the medical community – the hospital and EMS directors and the heads of neurology who together with their teams had built Poland’s first Angels Region.
Everyone in the room had done their part and every contribution was recognized.
Marta thanked Dr Jacek Zwiernik for being an advocate of cooperation in the region and for his support in implementing the regional approach of the Angels Initiative in the Olsztyn region. She singled out Dr Wioletta Wojtyra-Michalak of the MSWiA Clinical Hospital for maintaining the quality of stroke care at diamond level throughout a major renovation of her department. Among others she acknowledged Prof. Marcin Myćko of the University Clinical Hospital for keeping his finger on the pulse throughout the year and ending each quarter with a diamond award; Dr Aleksandra Wińska of John Paul II District Hospital for leading her newly opened stroke unit to diamond status; Dr Magdalena Zakrzewska from the Provincial Emergency Medical Service Station in Olsztyn for her pivotal role in educating the paramedics, and Paramedic Łukasz Mysakowski of the Medical Emergency Department in Bartoszyce, who’d personally conducted the quality monitoring process at his station.
Applause greeted the performance of children from a local school, who sang the FAST Heroes song in superhero costumes they had fashioned in art class, and the testimony of stroke survivor Mrs Barbara Wlaźlak who used her turn at the podium to thank the paramedics who’d saved her life and the hospital staff for their kindness.
While small groups gathered for pictures that will some day tell the story of how Olsztyński became an Angels Region, the celebration wound down to a sweet note with a large and special cake which – like the responsibility, the effort and the achievement – they all shared.
