St. Francis Memorial Hospital adheres to ethical standards and conduct consistent with the Hospital's Mission, Vision and Values.
St. Francis Memorial Hospital staff will be guided in their practice by our Code of Conduct and relevant professional college standards and codes of ethics.
The Madawaska Communities Circle of Health (MCCH) Joint Ethics Advisory Committee is available to all patients, families and staff for consultation on ethical dilemmas and questions. The Committe acts as a Joint Ethics Advisory Committe for St. Francis Memorial Hospital, Valley Manor, Madawaska Valley Hospice Palliative Care and Rainbow Valley CHC.
The MCCH Joint Ethics Advisory Committee uses an ethical framework based on standard ethical principles and values. For further information, please ask any staff member.
The member organizations recognize that many ethical dilemmas arise in the health care environment. Many will be resolved at the front line or with a focused discussion involving the patient/resident/family and interprofessional care team. However, there may be other ethical dilemmas which would derive benefit from a formal consultation with the MCCH Joint Ethics Advisory Committee.
The MCCH Joint Ethics Advisory Committee will act solely in an advisory and consultative capacity. All patients/family members and staff will be advised of their right to access the Joint Ethics Advisory Committee. The Committee will not entertain submissions that would be defined as personal ethical dilemmas but will be accountable for referring such requests to other appropriate supports (e.g. pastoral care, EFAP, community resource listing).
As a rural, non-teaching hospital, SFMH is not typically involved in research. Should a decision be made by the Senior Management to partner in or lead a research initiative, an external Research Ethics Board (REB) approval of the research proposal would be required. The REB approval would then be forwarded to the Ethics Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee will then have an opportunity to review the REB comments and Research Proposal and append any Committee comments prior to forwarding to the CQI Committee. Approval by the CQI Committee must take place prior to the initiation of any research.
