Category: Informed

Passing of Lori-Anne Byerley

Obituary via Arbor Memorial

Ms. Lori-Anne Byerley, 57, passed away peacefully on Friday, February 6, 2026, in her home on Surprise Lake, after a long-fought battle with kidney disease.

Born in Thunder Bay at the Port Arthur General Hospital, Lori was a very well-educated young woman who enjoyed her many years spent in university, graduating University of Manitoba with Bachelors in English and Arts as well as graduating Lakehead University with Masters in Social Work. Lori started her career of social work in Manitouwadge then moved her life back to Thunder Bay and cherished her career as a social worker at TBRHSC in the Renal Department. She loved and was loved by her patients and will be missed by everyone who knew her.

Lori loved to travel the world, bringing her family to see France, Ukraine, Poland, Portugal, Mexico, Peru, Cuba and even walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain. She was very active in her life with boxing, swimming, driving, and was even a yoga instructor. She enjoyed camping, fishing, canning and spending her time with family, especially being outdoors. Lori was an avid reader and loved to write. She also enjoyed gardening and cooking for loved ones. Lori was happiest being surrounded by her friends and family at the dinner table for holidays. Lori was a great Mom above all and was very proud of her children.

Lori will forever be missed and lovingly remembered by her two sons Jesse and Chase Halka (John); her mother Mary Byerley; her two sisters Lisa & Michell; her cousin James; uncle Don and two special aunties Kathy and Carol.

She was Predeceased by her father Wayne Byerley and her grandparents Mush, Vi, and grandma Anne whom she missed dearly.

Lori’s family would like to thank the Thunder Bay Regional for all their support during Lori-Anne’s long fight against chronic kidney disease.

Funeral service for Lori-Anne will take place on Wednesday, March 11 in the R. Leino Memorial Chapel of Harbourview Funeral Centre beginning at 11:00 am with visitation at 10:00 am.

The family requests in lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Kidney Foundation of Canada.

Clinical Lead, Chief of Staff’s Office

Shared on behalf of Michelle Addison, Director, Chief of Staff’s Office  

We are pleased to announce that Kristin Spafford has accepted the Clinical Lead position in the Chief of Staff’s Office, effective March 9, 2026. She brings extensive clinical expertise, educational leadership and a passion for advancing quality collaborative care. 

Kristin graduated as a Medical Radiation Technologist (MRT) from Confederation College in 2015 and completed an Honours Bachelor of Allied Health Sciences from Ontario Tech University in 2025. She has worked at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre as a Medical Radiation Technologist for the past nine years, and prior to that worked as an MRT in the private sector. In 2017 Kristin became a Professor in the Medical Radiation Technology program at Confederation College, involved in teaching, developing curriculum and contributing to accreditation processes. 

In her free time, Kristin enjoys watching sporting events with her husband, reading, walking her dog, gardening, and attending concerts. Please join us in welcoming Kristin to the role. 

Turtle (I) Lot Additional Parking Capacity

Shared on behalf of Capital & Facility Services

Effective March 10, 2026, Turtle (I) Lot will have an additional 36 temporary parking spaces available for staff use until further notice. These additional spaces are accessible through the Turtle (I) Lot and located near the pedestrian path accessing the Hospital (G staff entrance). Drivers will enter via single-lane entrance and cross the designated pedestrian path. 

As a reminder, drivers and pedestrians are to exercise diligence, caution, practice situational awareness, and abide by posted signage. 

These temporary parking spaces are available for use over the next few months as site options are explored. Availability is subject to change upon future communication. 

Thank you for your continued understanding as we transform our campus to enhance our exceptional services for NW Ontario!

Memo-Additional-Parking-Capacity-in-Turtle-I-LotDownload

SCOPE (Surgical Care Optimization & Primary Care Education) on May 4, 2026

Registration is now open for SCOPE (Surgical Care Optimization & Primary Care Education), hosted by the Regional Surgical Services team at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.

Who should attend?

MDs, NPs, PAs, medical students, nurses, physiotherapists, and chiropractors.

What can participants expect?

Participants will get up to date practice guidance on various medical/surgical conditions, master orthopedic physical assessments, and learn new clinical skill sets in cortisone injection practice. Participants will have the opportunity to network with our Central Intake team to better incorporate electronic referral platforms and pathways into their primary care practice and various community programs and services to optimize patient care.

Participating Specialties

Hematology, General Surgery, Orthopedics, Gynecology, Otolaryngology, and Surgical Oncology.

When and where is this happening?

Date: May 4, 2026
Time: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Location: Valhalla Inn, Thunder Bay, ON

To register, visit https://event.fourwaves.com/scope

Early Bird Registration closes on March 13, 2026.

Registration closes on April 20, 2026.

For more information, please contact Katie Cardy, NP-PHC at (807) 684-7103 or Katie.Cardy@tbh.net.

*This program has been certified for up to 7.5 Mainpro+® credits and up to 7.5 MoC Section 1 learning hours.

Lunch and Learn with Elder Melissa Ahmoo (March 12)

Join Annette Klement, Traditional Wellness Lead, for a special Lunch and Learn event with Elder Melissa Ahmoo. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to learn and deepen your understanding of what an Elder is, their importance and how they can provide guidance.

Where: ICP Main, Room 2178 (2nd floor)

Date: Thursday, March 12, 2026

Time: 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. 

Bring your appetites as pizza will be provided. To register, please email Annette Klement, Traditional Wellness Lead at Annette.Klement@net.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Updated Policy: QM-60 Incident Learning System (ILS)

Shared on behalf of Quality and Risk Management

Please be advised, we have revised the Hospital’s policy QM-60 Incident Learning System (ILS) Reporting, Investigation and Trending of Incidents and Near Misses. 

Actions Required        

Managers – Review this memo and the attached poster with your staff during Safety/Quality Huddles and post in your department. The updated policy will be circulated once approved. 

Key Policy Changes         

Purpose Change: Detail added to principles of a ‘Just Culture’.         

Policy Statement Change: Clarification that incidents involve patients and visitors.    

Scope Change: Categories updated.      

New Definitions Added:

  • After hours: 1600 – 0800 hours Monday to Friday; 24 hours on weekends and recognized holidays.
  • Incident Triage Team (ITT): A group of leadership who will meet within 48-72 hours of a critical incident to determine if a Quality of Care (QOC) Review is required, and if so, what type of review.       

Procedural Updates:

  • Procedure 5.2 updated: To clarify who staff should contact when incident occurs.
  • Procedure 5.3 updated: To add references to new appendices and to ILS downtime procedure.
  • Procedure 5.6: Explanation of incident classifications.
  • Procedure 7: References updated.

Key Process Reminders      

Please see the attached poster (below).

To report incidents causing harm to employees, please refer to OHS-os-207 Accident/Incident Reporting and Investigation – Employee.

Please also refer to the Incident Reporting Pathways Flowchart on the iNtranet.

If you have any questions, please email TBRHSC.QualityandRiskManagement@tbh.net.

Memo-Incident-Learning-System-March-2026-FinalDownload
QM-60-Poster-March-2026-FinalDownload

Thank You for an Amazing Employee Recognition Week

Last week, we celebrated Employee Recognition Week, a special time to honour the dedication and compassion demonstrated every day by the staff at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute. Your commitment to our patients and their families is what sets us apart and enables us to deliver exceptional care across Northwestern Ontario.

Thank you for the dedication you show throughout the year. We hope you enjoyed the week’s activities and the opportunity to spend time with colleagues. Please know how much each and every one of you is appreciated, not only during this special week, but every day.

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