Shared on behalf of Peter Myllymaa, Vice President, Operations, Clinical and Support Services and CFO
In follow-up to the June 24, 2024 memo announcing Katherine (Kati) Tuomi as the Interim Manager of Diagnostic Imaging, please note that we have also recruited additional interim support. We are pleased to announce that Mike Sharma has been contracted to provide interim strategic and director oversight for Diagnostic Imaging effective July 4, 2024.
Mike brings a wealth of experience to support this interim role, having been in healthcare for over thirty (30) years and having held such prominent positions as Director of Diagnostic Imaging at Guelph General Hospital, Director of Clinical Diagnostics at North York General Hospital, and Director of Diagnostics at Niagara Health.
As of July 4, 2024, interim leadership for Diagnostic Imaging will be conducted in partnership with Kati and Mike, with Mike reporting directly to me.
Please join me in welcoming Mike to our organization and supporting both Kati and Mike as we work towards fulfilling the leadership positions for Diagnostic Imaging. The recruitment process for the management positions in Diagnostic Imaging is in progress and an announcement will be made once completed.
Shared on behalf of Infection Prevention and Control
An outbreak of C-Difficile has been declared on 2A as of Tuesday July 2, 2024. All restrictions are in place.
Please share this information with the appropriate staff.
As always, our number one priority is the safety of patients and their families, staff and visitors. All patients identified as having an exposure to this outbreak will require isolation with appropriate additional precautions.
The department of Infection Prevention and Control encourages everyone to keep applying the routine practices of hand hygiene, proper use of PPE, equipment cleaning, and the appropriate admission screening of all patients. Please set an example for staff and students and assist us by maintaining compliance and due diligence.
For more information, contact Infection Prevention and Control at ext. 6094
Shared on behalf of Nicole Moffett and the Security and Parking Team
Please be advised that the Turtle (I) Lot will be closed on Sunday, July 7 for a Thunder Bay Auto Sport event in support of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation.
Security will close Turtle (I) Lot entry at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 6 to allow the lot to empty overnight. The Auto Sport event will run from 8:00 a.m. until approximately 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 7, during which time the lot will be closed for parking.
Staff that park in Turtle (I) Lot are encouraged to use their secondary lot (if applicable).
Moose (B2) and GH will also be made available to staff that typically park in Turtle (I) Lot.
Staff are reminded to avoid Turtle (I) Lot for safety reasons, unless attending the event.
As we approach Canada Day and the summer months, I wanted to reach out with a quick update on some progress we have been making as we wrap up the 2023-24 fiscal year.
First, we recently reported to both staff and community partners on the progress with the Year Two implementation of Strategic Plan 2026. If you missed it live, you can watch the All-Staff Session here or read about Year Two in the Annual Report.
On the staffing front, I am happy to report that over the past few weeks we have onboarded many new staff and Professional Staff. To all our new staff, I truly appreciate your decision to start your career or continue your career with us. We wholeheartedly welcome you and look forward to working with you and learning as a team on how we can better the care we provide. Thank you for choosing us and I trust your experience to date has been positive. My door is always open if you’d like to chat.
As mentioned in my May Blog, an environmental refresh is underway in our Hospital. The initial renovations have begun within the in-patient rooms of the 3C – Surgery and Neurosurgery Unit. The work will continue throughout the summer with little disruption to the units. You will likely observe contractors coming and going as they work to revitalize the care spaces with new paint, fixtures, floor polishing, minor repairs, and decorative accents to revitalize each room. The work will progress to other areas as project timelines are followed with the next units 3B and 3A In-Patient Surgery Units. The upgrades will contribute to a more positive workspace and patient experience.
Now, while summer is here, as a tertiary care academic health sciences centre, we know patient needs don’t stop just because of the season. People need care and we need to be ready to provide patients and families the care that is culturally appropriate and responsive to their needs. As you likely know, the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) pillar of our Strategic Plan 2026 was a major focus throughout the year and we continue to work on embedding EDI in everything we do for staff, professional staff, volunteers, patients and families. In case you missed it, see what we have done and where we are going with this pillar – EDI VIDEO. Thank you for all your hard work in bringing us closer to our vision Exceptional care for every patient, every time. Your incredible work is making a difference.
To that end, to celebrate you and thank you for all your hard work through the year, we hope you had a chance to make it to the Staff Appreciation BBQ for some incredible food and comradery. I was thrilled to take part in this event and see so many of you that I don’t often get to see.
Thank you to the many people involved in making this a success and especially to all of you who make our Hospital and Health Research Institute community a great place to work, thrive and grow.
In addition, it was great to attend the Annual Volunteer Appreciation Celebration and Awards Dinner on June 19th. The event is an opportunity to celebrate those who make a difference by giving their time and energy to perform a vital role as they support various programs and services – all in support of our vision of Exceptional care for every patient, every time. Volunteer roles span a number of services and administrative activities that may encompass supporting patients either directly or indirectly. We value the work of volunteers and the dinner was just one way to thank them for their commitment. Thank you to all the volunteers that are such a big part of our Hospital and Health Research Institute community. We couldn’t do it without you!
Finally, I would like to thank Gord Wickham, our outgoing Hospital Board Chair for his dedication and guidance over the last three years. During his tenure, there were incredible accomplishments made and success with many challenges. Such as managing our way through the various stages of COVID-19, launching a new Strategic Plan, and obtaining accreditation with exemplary standing; to name a few. We are grateful for Gord’s leadership and guidance and we look forward to upholding the highest standards of governance and stewardship with our newly appointed Board Chair, Pat Lang. Pat is an incredible addition as Board Chair with an immense amount of leadership and community experience. She brings to the role her current experience as a Director and Chair of Operations with Ornge, and former experience as the President of Confederation College, and former Director of Cancer Care Ontario. In addition, Pat was also honoured as a member of the Order of Canada in 2017. Pat has incredible insight on health care and I look forward to working with her and the full Board moving forward.
As always, I invite you to provide me your feedback on these blogs or on any other matter. You can contact me at: rhonda.ellacott@tbh.net. I look forward to hearing from you.
We are pleased to invite all staff to take part in our new cultural safety training session titled, “Repairing the Sacred Circle: An Indigenous Cultural Awareness and Education Primer”.
The session will introduce participants to an insightful way of thinking about truth and reconciliation. It will be a reflective pathway for cross-cultural discussion and an entry point to create the necessary change for awareness and inclusiveness within TBRHSC.
Participants will be introduced to concepts such as colonization, race and racism, common stereotypes, and how these contribute to health inequities for Indigenous Peoples within the current healthcare system.
This is a free training session, there is no cost to attend. The session is 3 hours long and takes place in-person. We encourage all staff (including students, residents, volunteers, and PFAs) to participate and look forward to seeing you there. There are still spots available for the July sessions!
The weekly Staff Smudge Ceremony at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre will continue throughout the summer. All staff are invited to join Annette Klement, Cultural Safety Educator, to participate in this Ceremony. Please note that the Staff Smudge Ceremony’s summer schedule begins next week. See below for the news dates.
The final push for Active Commute Challenge (ACC) kilometres is here. There are still a few days left to log those extra active kilometers, climb the leaderboard and win some prizes.
Prizes are being drawn throughout the challenge, both internally at the Hospital and externally through the Thunder Bay District Health Unit.
Thunder Bay Regional Health Science Centre is currently leading for large employers in Thunder Bay. Congratulations and thank you to everyone who has participated so far this month.
An extra congratulations goes out to our latest random prize winner, Luke Perrier (pictured).
It was a busy month at our Hospital celebrating Pride Month. Thank you to all those who participated in the various activities forheld throughout the month.
We were honoured to host a talk by Ma-Nee Chacaby as part of our speaker series, as well as Dr. Dineen and Dr. Young who spoke on Gender-Affirming Care. In case you missed Dr. Dineen and Dr. Young’s presentation, you can view the recording here.
The Pride Market was well received this week, with our 2SLGBTQIA+ community members and allies pleased to represent and share their work.
The TBRHSC Pride Committee looks forward to carrying our work through the year through the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Steering Committee. To contact the EDI Steering Committee, please email: TBRHSC.EDISteeringCommittee@tbh.net.
The past year at Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute (TBRHRI) was marked by incredible collaborations and opportunities to build the future of research in our Health Research Institute, Hospital, and region. Read more in the 2023-2024 TBRHRI Annual Report.
This is our second year of reporting on the goals outlined in Strategic Plan 2026 and we’re proud of everything that the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) team has accomplished throughout the year. Read more in the 2023-2024 TBRHSC Annual Report.
