Shared on behalf of Dr. Rhonda Crocker Ellacott, President & CEO, TBRHSC and CEO, TBRHRI
Hello, Boozhou, Bonjour.
As this is my first blog since the summer months, on behalf of the entire senior leadership team, please allow me to welcome back everyone who took time off to be with friends and family – and to sincerely thank those of you who worked hard during the summer as it was a very busy couple of months.
As you know, September traditionally signifies a new year for academics, and we welcome all those who are beginning a 2023 fall semester and are part of our Hospital and health research community. We are glad you are here, and we are hopeful you will onboard with us once you graduate.
This past month also provided many opportunities to celebrate differences through a lens of equity, diversity and inclusion. It was nice to see many of you attend the numerous activities.
Throughout the month within our Hospital, we appreciated the occasions that allowed us to reflect in honour of Truth and Reconciliation. The activities helped us gain knowledge to advance reconciliation and recognize the significance of Orange Shirt Day. This third “National Day for Truth and Reconciliation” was recognized by a sacred fire and beautiful sunrise ceremony with our community partners. The four-day event allows us an opportunity to mark this solemn day and be more informed and dedicated to understanding the trauma of residential schools. We continue to reflect and enable our minds into this new way of being and respect the resilience of Indigenous peoples and communities.
On September 25th, we raised the flag to celebrate Franco-Ontarian Day. We were pleased to have representatives from Association des francophones du Nord-Ouest de l’Ontario (AFNOO) and Réseau du mieux-être francophone du Nord de l’Ontario (Réseau) to mark the occasion. As an identified French Language Agency, designated under the French Language Services Act, we have an obligation to work towards providing services in French in accordance with our existing capacity.
We know that providing care that is culturally sensitive can improve health outcomes and quality of care. Our community continues to grow and is becoming more culturally diverse. We strive to expand on the way we provide care in a manner that provides culturally safe experience for all patients and staff, as reflected in our Strategic Plan 2026 – We all belong.
In case you are not aware, the grants for Family CARE (Care Advancement Recommended by Employees) are back and bigger than ever. Thanks to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation, any program or health care provider is free to apply to have an idea or patient/family suggestion considered for funding. Family CARE grants are an opportunity to improve the care we provide in a small way with big impact. They improve care and also bring us joy in the way we provide care. Application details can be found here or by contacting the Foundation to find out more. Thank you for all who have previously submitted – it is through your extra effort that we will get closer to achieving our Vision.
Finally, as we look ahead, I wanted to take an opportunity to get you excited for our upcoming “Sharing and Caring” Event in October – our first since before the pandemic back in 2019. It is an opportunity to celebrate and continue to grow and embed our Patient and Family Centred Care (PFCC) philosophy. The week-long event (October 23-27) is sure to be well attended by many within our Hospital, community partners, patients and families. It is a week of events that includes educational lunch and learns, coffee rounds – Patient Family Advisors and staff sharing experience stories, education sessions, and many exhibitions that highlight how our Hospital is living our PFCC philosophy. There will be more details on this throughout October. I hope to see you there.
Thanks for taking the time to read this month’s blog. Please feel free to reach out to me with comments or for any other matter. You can reach me at: rhonda.ellacott@tbh.net.
