As part of our year-long 20th anniversary celebration, we asked the leaders in our Hospital to share their stories and highlight the growth and evolution of their team, program and the services they provide.
This week’s feature: Critical Care Services
Summitted by: Edie Hart, Manager – Critical Care and Respiratory Services
1. Briefly describe your program/service.
Critical Care (ICU) is a 24 bed level 3 unit that provides care to people from Thunder Bay and throughout Northwestern Ontario that are ages four months and up, with various critical illnesses that require life-sustaining therapies and interventions.
2. How has your program/service grown or evolved over the past 20 years?
When the ICU opened in 2004, it was a 22 bed department with eight beds dedicated to Internal Medicine. The other 12 beds were managed by an intensivist (specially trained critical care physician) in a closed unit. Within a few years the eight beds became part of the ICU. The unit did not initially have a dedicated charge nurse 24/7. This role was added within a year of moving in. Since that time, the ICU has added the roles of coordinator, physiotherapist, and social worker.
3. What is your most cherished accomplishment, milestone or memory?
In 2007, the Medical Emergency Team (MET) was developed with the support of Critical Care Services Ontario. MET is a special team of nurses, respiratory therapists, and intensivists that are available 24/7 and will assess and treat patients with critical changes and are located anywhere in the Hospital outside of the ICU and Emergency Department.
In 2015, the Regional Critical Care Response (RCCR) program was established. This is another team of specially trained nurses, respiratory therapists, and intensivists that are available 24/7 and will assess and treat patients with critical changes and are located anywhere in Northwestern Ontario via video and the support of the Ontario Telemedicine Network and ORNGE. RCCR is linked with all 12 small and rural hospitals, and 17 remote communities. Another five remote communities will be supported in the fall of 2024 once infrastructure improvements are complete.
The RCCR and MET provide exceptional critical care services to all patients. In addition, both teams provide critical care education to local and regional staff.
(L-R) Lakehead’s Dr. Christopher Mushquash, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Mental Health and Addiction, Professor in the Department of Psychology, Vice President Research at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and Chief Scientist, Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute, and McGill’s Dr. Srividya Iyer, Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Youth, Mental Health, and Learning Health Systems and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry.
A national initiative, the ACCESS Open Minds Indigenous Youth Mental Health and Wellness Network, to enhance Indigenous youth mental health services, co-led by researchers from Lakehead University and McGill University, has received $1.45 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
Lakehead’s Dr. Christopher Mushquash, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Mental Health and Addiction, Professor in the Department of Psychology, Vice President Research at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and Chief Scientist, Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute, and McGill’s Dr. Srividya Iyer, Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Youth, Mental Health, and Learning Health Systems and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, are leading the five-year project. This initiative will strengthen capacity amongst Indigenous communities and integrated youth services (IYS) to provide culturally affirming, high quality and responsive mental health services for Indigenous youth.
It brings together youth, Elders, family members, researchers, communities and leading Indigenous organizations, including the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation under the leadership of Dr. Carol Hopkins and the First Peoples Wellness Circle under the leadership of Dr. Brenda Restoule. Dilico Anishinabek Family Care is also a partner on the project.
“By centering Indigenous knowledge and practices, we aim to create a sustainable and culturally relevant mental health support system for Indigenous youth. This project is a testament to the power of collaboration and the wisdom of Indigenous communities, and youth, in addressing mental health challenges,” Mushquash says.
Indigenous youth in Canada have experienced significant population growth, accompanied by growing concerns about their mental health and wellbeing. Adverse childhood experiences, influenced by historical and systemic factors such as intergenerational trauma, cultural disconnection, poverty and socioeconomic disadvantage, disproportionately affect Indigenous youth. Limited access to health services, culturally inappropriate care and geographical barriers further exacerbate these challenges.
“We have an opportunity to listen to Indigenous youth and work with them to address mental health inequities by advancing practices that centre Indigenous knowledge, values and traditions in mental health and wellness services,” Iyer emphasizes.
Over the next five years, the interdisciplinary research team will focus on relationship building and the development of service practices, tools, interventions and training programs to shape a learning health system that will inform mental health and wellness service delivery for Indigenous youth across Canada. It will also help build capacity for future leaders in Indigenous communities.
“By enabling primary care providers, communities, families and youth with the tools and knowledge on how to navigate the health system, we will strengthen the capacity within Indigenous communities to ensure that youth-focused mental health resources are available to them,” Mushquash explains.
The Government of Canada recently invested $59 million in the Integrated Youth Services Network of Networks (IYS-Net) to strengthen and expand IYS across Canada. An innovative approach to youth-focused mental health, IYS provides youth with equitable access to a range of services and supports that contribute to health. This includes mental health and substance use services, alongside primary care, peer support, work and study supports, and more. Associate Professor Dr. Aislin Mushquash, Adjunct Professor Dr. Elaine Toombs, and postdoctoral fellow Dr. Carolyn Melro from Lakehead University are also members of this network.
Mushquash concludes, “Through the larger IYS-Net initiative, we have the opportunity to address mental health inequities, not just in Indigenous communities, but for youth across Canada.”
In 2023/24, Lakehead University received almost $2.5 million in assistance from the Research Support Fund to support the indirect costs of research, which includes costs for supporting the management of intellectual property, research and administration, ethics and regulatory compliance, research resources, research facilities, and research security.
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 📅 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟱 (📸)
1) TBRHSC and the Northwestern Ontario Regional Stroke Network announced the launch of a new Regional Stroke Unit.
2) The cyclotron and radiopharmacy is officially unveiled.
3) TBRHSC celebrated its new Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant, designed to reduce the Hospital’s average annual electricity bills by a half million dollars.
4) The $3.5 million, 28-tonne cyclotron arrives in Thunder Bay.
Drs. Barb Zelek (📸 right) and Brianne Wood (📸 left) at the NOSM University Research Toward Health Hub (NORTHH) are supporting a new national initiative, the PREPARED project. It is led by Dr. Andrew Pinto at Unity Health Toronto, with support from researchers and research and industry partners in six provinces. The project has received $18.9 million from the Canada Biomedical Research Fund to protect Canada against future pandemics.
Pandemics such as SARS, COVID-19, H1N1, and the mpox outbreak have shown that Canada needs to improve its preparedness for future health emergencies.
The PREPARED project will use efficient methods to collect, monitor, and analyze data from patients in primary care and emergency departments presenting with acute respiratory symptoms. By partnering to routinely collect voluntary samples from patients with respiratory symptoms alongside automated electronic medical record analysis, PREPARED can warn agencies of illness patterns with pandemic potential.
Patients will also see the difference that this project makes. PREPARED will link patients to active clinical trials, which can accelerate the development of treatments, vaccines, and diagnostic tests.
The variety of stakeholders involved means that the initiative can improve health system efficiency and accelerate the development of new diagnostics and treatments. This national project includes 29 partner institutions, 11 industry partners specializing in the development of vaccines, treatments, and diagnostic tests, and 16 primary care practice-based research networks collectively serving more than 2.5 million patients.
“It’s important that Northern Ontario is represented in this major national project, and I’m so pleased that NORTHH is a research partner,” said Dr. Barb Zelek, Physician Lead, NORTHH. “This project will give health-care solutions back to communities—a goal that’s very dear to NOSM University’s heart and is at the core of our social accountability mandate.”
Come join us for a fun day of cheering on the Border Cats and participate in the Diamond Dig sponsored by Vince Mirabelli!
Indulge in delicious snacks catered by Salt & Pepper on the Tiki Bar Rooftop Deck! This will be an exciting event that you won’t want to miss – grab your tickets now!
All money raised from Women in Action goes to funding Emergency Department improvements.
For more information, please contact Kristen Pouru at kristen.pouru@tbh.net.
According to Ontario Public Health between January and March 2024 there have been 70 whooping cough cases reported across the province. Cases have been steadily climbing over the past three years from 16 in 2021 to 333 in 2023.
In order to ensure staff are protected, the Occupational Health and Safety Department is reviewing all staff immunization records on file. Letters/emails will be sent out to all workers of TBRHSC outlining if you require an updated Pertussis vaccine.
Should you receive such a letter/email, we ask that you promptly attend to the necessary action outlined.
If you have any questions feel free to email the OHS department at TBRHSC.OccupationalHealthandSafety@tbh.net.
Shared on behalf of Infection Prevention and Control
An outbreak of COVID-19 has been declared at the Transitional Care Unit as of Monday, July 15, 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 Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre 684-6094
Shared on behalf of Infection Prevention and Control
Please be advised that the COVID-19 outbreak has been declared over on 1A Medical at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Center as of Monday, July 15, 2024. All restrictions have been lifted.
Please share this information with the appropriate staff.
For more information, contact Infection Prevention and Control at ext. 6094.
Looking for something fun to do for a good cause? The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation is looking for volunteers for upcoming events in August.
August 1: Darryl Penasi Fox Golf Tournament – Working holes (2 per hole), lunch provided. High school students welcome. One volunteer opening left.
August 5: Festa Italiana – Three volunteers per shift as raffle ticket sellers. Time slots open are from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 – 9:30 p.m.. Must be 18 years or older.
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.
