Ontario Regional Blood Coordinating Network Structure

Ontario Regional Blood Coordinating Network (ORBCoN) reports to the Blood Programs Coordinating Office (BPCO) which is a unit of the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.

The BPCO oversees and funds a number of activities, including a new initiative (launched in 2006), ORBCoN. The network has been developed based on the model used by the quality management programs instituted in Hamilton-Niagara and Ottawa under the Blood Conservation and Bloodless Medicine program.

The regional networks are based on existing CBS geographic service areas. Three sites, one in each region, will provide a leadership and sponsorship role for regional activities:

 

	ORBCoN Region	Host Organization	Project Sponsor
Central Ontario		Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto	Dr. Jeannie Callum
Northern and Eastern Ontario		The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa	Dr. Antonio Giulivi
Southwest Ontario		McMaster University, Hamilton	Nancy Heddle

At the inception of the network, the role of the provincial blood office is to provide overall direction and priority setting for the network and provide funding for blood utilization initiatives. The regional network staff will review utilization and surveillance data and facilitate implementation of best practices. An advisory board - Ontario Blood Advisory Committee (OBAC) has been newly created to provide feedback and guidance to the network.

Personnel in the offices are listed in the following chart.

 

	Region	Personnel
Central Ontario		Deborah Lauzon, Regional Blood Coordinator
		Troy Thompson, Regional Field Officer
		Carmen Ho, Jr. Regional Field Officer
Northern and Eastern Ontario		Wendy Owens, Regional Blood Coordinator
		Tracy Cameron, Regional Field Officer
		Heather Nesrallah Website Administrator
Southwest Ontario		Kate Gagliardi, Regional Blood Coordinator
		Sheena Andersen, Regional Field Officer
		Laurie Young, Regional Field Officer