Nova Scotia Health Care Year 2000 Homepage

Provincial health care organizations launched a Nova Scotia Health Care Year 2000 Homepage today as part of the Health Year 2000 Communication Strategy. The homepage is located at www.gov.ns.ca/health/year2000 .

The Provincial Health Care Year 2000 Co-ordination Office, under the direction of the Health Information Management Steering Committee, has been working since June 1997 to co-ordinate a provincewide response to the Year 2000 challenge. Member organizations include the Department of Health, the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, the Cape Breton Healthcare Complex, the Nova Scotia Hospital, IWK-Grace Health Centre, and the Eastern, Western, Central and Northern Regional Health Boards.

"The provincial health care organizations have made the Y2K issue a top priority and have committed considerable resources to ensure there will be minimal disruption to patient care," says Amanda Whitewood, chair of the management steering committee and vice-president of corporate services at the Nova Scotia Hospital. "We have also made a strong commitment to providing ongoing public information about our progress."

As part of their co-ordination efforts, public relations representatives have joined forces to develop a homepage to raise public awareness of the Year 2000 work being carried out by each member organization. The homepage focuses on how member health care organizations in Nova Scotia are addressing the Year 2000 challenge, including project progress and cost information. Media articles and press releases will also be posted on this site. A frequently asked question section has been added so members of the public can forward questions that will be answered.

The Provincial Health Care Year 2000 Co-ordination Office represents all the health care organizations that are governed by Nova Scotia's four regional health boards and all non-designated health facilities in the province. The group is responsible for public health, drug dependency, and the long-term care facilities under regional board jurisdictions. Key partners outside the scope of the project include the following: medical society physicians, home care, emergency health services, and long-term care facilities that fall outside the regional health boards.