Steve is a licenced electrician at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. In his role, Steve maintains and repairs our Hospital’s electrical systems, ensuring the safety and functionality of equipment and lighting, and following protocols for patient and staff safety. From the smallest switches to the enormous generators, Steve is ready to tackle it all.
“My priority is always the patients,” says Steve. “Fixing beds, overbed lighting, the things that impact the patient’s care directly always comes first.”
Steve and the Maintenance team facilitates our Hospital’s strategic priorities of Patient Experience and Staff Experience by carefully planning their projects, and often coming in early or staying late. This is to support a positive experience for patients and ensure staff can work with minimal interruption. They collaborate internally and with contractors to ensure essential Hospital equipment is ready to go.
Check out these photos to see Steve in action.
In our Hospital, the clocks are all connected to a master time clock, to ensure accuracy and synchronicity. Steve is responsible for maintaining the universal clocks – a system that is crucial for accurate timekeeping, which is vital for coordinating patient care, administering medications, and recording medical events, ultimately minimizing errors and improving efficiency.
Steve often gets calls to fix hospital beds. He tries to fix them on the unit if he can; if not, he will bring the bed to his shop to fix. The Hospital has 10 different types of hospital beds, and Steve can fix them all!
Our Hospital has an extensive fire alarm system, which Steve inspects daily. He ensures the system is in working order, handles any alarms, and troubleshoots any issues. When there is construction work being done in rooms, he is responsible for disabling the associated smoke detectors, to mitigate any false alarms.
A pneumatic tube system is used for sending materials throughout Hospital. This system allows for efficient and safe transport of materials, reducing contamination risk, saving staff time, and improving workflow, ultimately enhancing patient care. Steve handles the electrical components (including power and control systems), performs routine maintenance and resolves any issues to ensure the tube system is functioning safely and efficiently.
When accessing the industrial-sized power grid at our Hospital, safety is first! Steve is wearing a suit that protects against arc flashes, and must work in a pair. Here he is collaborating with a contractor, preparing to “rack” out a main breakers for routine maintenance.