Professional Calendar – December 2024
Please note that the COVID-19 vaccine clinic in OHS has many openings on its last date of November 29. The Pfizer KP.2 vaccine is offered to all staff, professional staff, learners and volunteers of TBRHSC.
Please call OHS at 684-6212 to book your appointment.
Staff must bring a piece of government issued identification in order to obtain the vaccine. Your health card is preferred.

On November 27, Canadians celebrate National Physician Assistant Day, which recognizes the physician assistant (PA) profession and its contributions to health care in Canada. Working alongside physicians and other health professionals, PAs are having a positive impact on many aspects of health care from emergency room wait times, access to primary care, the quality of seniors care and access to health care in rural communities.
Join us in celebrating these health care heroes today. Learn more about the profession by visiting the Canadian Association of Physician Assistants website.
Eight local physicians swapped their scrubs for sequins to raise funds for the hospital’s laboratory services.
“This is a group of really unsung heroes who work night and day to provide data to all the doctors that really guides patient care. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to provide effective care in my opinion,” said co-organizer Joseph Del Paggio.
Dancing with the Docs, a local fundraiser inspired by Dancing with the Stars, was held at the Superior Inn on Saturday evening. This year, they raised over $120,000, the finally tally is still being calculated.
“We had an incredible amount of community support this time around, but we also have our doctors and dancers who are fundraising. We’re doing very well,” said Patricia Del Paggio.
The siblings combined their passions and created the event together, in honour of their mother who passed away from cancer in 2019.
Joseph is chief of the oncology department at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and Patricia is a drama teacher.
The inaugural event was held in 2020, and with great success of the second in 2022, Patricia and Joseph brought the event back for the third time this year.
Joseph said the event raised $200,000 back in 2022.
“That went toward funding of the PET scanner for the hospital that’s now being utilized by numerous patients, many of whom have cancer and many of whom benefit greatly from this,” Joseph said.
It was very successful and we thought it would be a great way to focus the spotlight on another really important department of the hospital, the department of laboratory medicine.” said Joseph.
“We were kind of the catalyst in getting that pet scanner to our community. Our focus every year is going to be on cancer care because that is something our mother went through and we want to help that within our community,” said Patricia.
There were 500 tickets available. They all were sold by the dancers and the doctors, before getting out to the public.
Patricia said the plan is to continue holding the event every two years.
Shared on behalf of Dr. Miranda Lesperance, Vice President, Indigenous Collaboration, Equity & Inclusion
I am pleased to announce Rae-Anne Robinson as our new Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Coordinator, effective December 2, 2024.
Rae-Anne started her career at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre in 2015 as a Ward Clerk. She then went on to obtain her Honours Bachelor of Social Work from Lakehead University in 2018 and in 2019, transitioned into the role of Social Worker at TBRHSC, working in both in-patient and out-patient settings, most recently at the Regional Bariatric Care Centre.
Rae-Anne is passionate about improving access to health care services for members of equity-deserving groups, and therefore joined the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Steering Committee at TBRHSC in 2023. She was also recently appointed to the City of Thunder Bay’s Anti-Racism and Equity Advisory committee as a citizen member. Rae-Anne has completed French studies throughout her academic career and continues to advance her French skills at the Novo Centre. Rae-Anne has taken courses in American Sign Language through Canadian Hearing Services, and has completed a multitude of other valuable trainings for Indigenous and Equity-deserving populations.
Rae-Anne looks forward to collaborating with community organizations and developing partnerships that will help to build a strong culture of inclusion at TBRHSC and improve safe, equitable access to healthcare services in Thunder Bay.
As the EDI Coordinator, Rae-Anne will report to the Director of Indigenous Collaboration, Equity and Inclusion and will collaborate and provide support to the Equity and Inclusion portfolio as well as EDI programs and initiatives for patients, families, staff, professional staff, learners and volunteers at TBRHSC. She will collaborate with external partners to support EDI programs and initiatives.
Rae-Anne can be found on Level 1, Room 1479. She can be reached via email at Rae-Anne.Robinson@tbh.net.
Please join me in congratulating Rae-Anne on her new role within the organization.
Shared on behalf of Adam Vinet, Vice President, Patient Experience & Chief Nursing Executive and Regional Vice President, Regional Cancer Care; and Justin Garofalo, Interim Vice President, Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer
We are excited to hear your feedback on the UKG Pro Workforce Management (UKG Pro) scheduling system we launched earlier this year!
Your experience with this tool is incredibly important to us, and we want to ensure that it truly meets your needs and supports your day-to-day work. Whether the system has helped streamline your scheduling, provided more flexibility, or offered other benefits, we want to know how it is working for you.
Please take a few minutes to complete the UKG Pro Scheduling System All Staff Feedback Survey. The survey will be open until December 20, 2024. Your input will help us make meaningful improvements for everyone.
We would also like to take a moment to recognize and thank everyone who contributed to the successful transition to UKG Pro. Your collaboration and dedication have been key to making this change smooth for the whole organization.
We depend on each other every day and it is nice to know we can continue to depend on each other even as we make changes to how we do our work.
Thank you to all staff for your ongoing support for improvements and for being an integral part of this change.
Click Here for Survey Link.
The Centre for Applied Health Research (CAHR) at St. Joseph’s Care Group (SJCG) is pleased to host the 2025 Showcase of Health Research on Friday, February 7, 2025. The Showcase has become the premier peer-reviewed annual venue for the dissemination of research relevant to the health of Northwestern Ontarians. The conference features podium and poster presentations by health professionals, students, and scientists.
We cordially invite you to participate in this event by submitting an abstract. We are interested in podium and poster presentations of health research ranging from prevention to service delivery and from basic to applied research. Please click the link above for further details. The deadline for abstract submission is 11:59 PM on Friday, November 22, 2024.

We’re celebrating 20 years of Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC). Throughout the year, we’ll be taking a trip down memory lane to revisit some of our most significant milestones.
Thank you to our dedicated staff, donors to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation, community members and partners in health who have played a vital role in building exceptional healthcare for patients and families in Northwestern Ontario.
This week, we’re remembering 📅 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬 (📸)

1) TBRHSC offers prostate brachytherapy as a local treatment option for prostate cancer patients.
2) Dr. Rhonda Crocker Ellacott was appointed as the President and Chief Executive Officer of TBRHSC and Chief Executive Officer of Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute.
3) Northwestern Ontario’s first COVID-19 vaccines were administered at TBRHSC.
4) TBRHSC was recognized by the Ontario Renal Network (ORN) for being among the most improved Regional Renal programs in Ontario.
Visit www.tbrhsc.net/20years for more milestones.