Dear Staff, Professional Staff, Learners, Volunteers, Researchers, and Board members

Greetings, Boozhoo and Bonjour,

I hope this note finds you doing well. With the current vaccine rate across our organization at over 90% for those having chosen to be vaccinated, and the sunny days and better spring weather upon us, there certainly is reason for optimism. The timing couldn’t be better as we face the challenges associated with the pandemic’s third wave and the Variants of Concern.

For this month’s blog, I would like to focus on Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) and Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute (TBRHRI) after the COVID-19 pandemic.

I know many of you joined us for the All-Staff Town Hall Meeting. For those who did not, the focus was on Strategic Plan 2026 – and your crucial role in this process. Strategic Plan 2026 will prioritize the needs of the community, and advance partnerships and health system integration. The fact is we need a plan in order to recover and thrive post-COVID.

Work began on this a couple of months ago with Phase 1. To date, the Strategic Planning Advisory Committee for TBRHSC and TBRHRI has been working hard behind the scenes on Strategic Plan 2026 – having already conducted over 70 interviews and focus groups.

Now it’s your turn – the frontline experts – as we officially launch Phase 2 of Strategic Plan 2026 today. Everyone has experiences and expectations to share that can expand the ways we enhance patient outcomes and experiences. All feedback is welcomed. We need you to engage and challenge this process. Now more than ever, it is critical we get this right. A little further down in this blog you will find links and information regarding how to engage and be heard.

To help get your ideas flowing and generate discussion, we have engaged with thought leaders in a number of sectors both nationally and globally.

These thought leaders are lending insight on future health modelling, health system redesign, post-COVID recovery, and new systems approach to care at a community and regional level.

Anyone interested in contributing to the Strategic Plan 2026 should visit www.tbrhsc.net/strategicplan2026.   

There you will find more information about the process, the thought leaders’ provoking videos, and a link to a survey. If you’d like to participate in a focus group, we’d love to have you. Please reach out to Joy Halfkenny to get on the list: halfkenj@tbh.net.   

Below you will see an overview of our four-phase plan to get this done. We are aiming to have the Strategic Plan Directions complete by June 2021, with the full actions and indicators related to each Direction to be completed over the summer for kickoff in Fall 2021! So please don’t hesitate and get involved, be heard, and have a voice.

I know you are getting tired from the challenges over our past year (and counting) of the pandemic, and that is understandable. Between work and pressures at home, you’ve been through a lot. As mentioned, although this third wave (provincially) is pushing us even harder, there is light at the end of the tunnel – and it is imperative that TBRHSC and TBRHRI are ready to hit the ground running post-COVID. This Strategic Plan 2026 will be the roadmap for that recovery, and we need your insights if you are able. Again, here is that link to get you started: www.tbrhsc.net/strategicplan2026.

Please don’t lose your focus. As you know, the vaccine gives us hope, but we cannot let our guard down. I do urge everyone to remain vigilant when it comes to physical distancing and proper PPE at work and at home. Thank you, again, for everything that you are doing and have done over these past 13 months to support our patients, families and the communities we serve. We’re almost there – with our collective courage, hope and resilience….together….we will get through this!

As always, I welcome feedback and questions, and can be reached at crockerelr@tbh.net