Congratulations to the following winners of the 2025 Canadian Patient Safety Week activities:

• Day 1 Trivia – Stefanie Armour (Regional Cancer Program)
• Day 2 Trivia – Josephine Tucci (Surgical Day Care)
• Day 3 Trivia – Patricia Madigan (Infection Prevention & Control)
• Day 4 Trivia – Haley Koopman (Medical and Academic Affairs)
• Day 5 Trivia – Tammy Ezowske (Cancer Care – Outpatient Supportive Care)
• Word Search – Ashley Hindman (Security & Parking)
• Crossword – Martina Agostino (Clinical Trials)
• Room of Errors Challenge – Toria Baranyk (3C)

Each winner has received a gift certificate to enjoy a local business.

Thank you to all who participated!

Click HERE to complete today’s Treaties Recognition Week 2025 trivia question. 

Each submission will be entered into a draw to win prizes! Winners will be announced next week in Your Daily Informed Newsletter.

Originally published in Health System News

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Stroke care in Northwestern Ontario faces unique challenges, including vast geographic distances, limited stroke specialist access, and variable transport infrastructure. Addressing these barriers demands breakthrough innovations that harness technology and data to improve patient outcomes and system efficiency.

The Northwestern Ontario (NWO) Navigate Stroke application is a cutting-edge technological innovation developed to assist health care providers in Northwestern Ontario with efficient navigation of stroke patients to the most appropriate levels of care. This interactive digital tool integrates geomapping technology and machine learning algorithms to provide real-time decision support in navigating patients through the complex, geographically dispersed stroke care network of Northwestern Ontario.

“This app is tailored specifically to the unique challenges of our region,” said Dr. Ayman Hassan, Neurologist at Thunder Bay Regional Health Science Centre (TBRHSC) and one of the co-developers of the app.  “By using continuous and varied data inputs, health care providers are able to make informed decisions for their patients that can lead to better patient outcomes, better care coordination, and enhanced system efficiency.” 

The application consolidates critical information including patient location, stroke-specific timelines such as the last known well time, availability of diagnostic imaging at different health care facilities, and estimated travel times based on historical and current data. By combining these data points, the app offers health care providers the fastest routing options and the most appropriate access to stroke treatment sites, helping to reduce delays and improve patient outcomes for stroke patients across Northwestern Ontario. The system leverages machine learning decision mode​ls to accurately predict transport time intervals and coordinate stroke management pathways, ensuring alignment with evidence-based stroke care protocols.

This app was designed through a collaborative effort involving data scientists, clinicians, and emergency medical services operating within Northwestern Ontario: Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, Northwestern Ontario Regional Stroke Network, Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute, Lakehead University (Computer Engineering department) and Ornge, with funding through Northern Ontario Academic Medicine Association (NOAMA). 

The NWO Navigate Stroke app exemplifies how artificial intelligence and data-driven innovations are transforming health care delivery, especially in rural and remote settings. 

The app is freely available on Android, iOS, and web platforms, empowering clinicians working both locally and remotely to make timely, informed decisions regarding acute stroke care. This innovation not only advances patient care but also represents a significant step forward in using AI and data insights to address the logistical and clinical challenges of stroke systems in complex health care environments.

The NWO Navigate Stroke app showcases the value of regional collaboration in developing AI-based tools, the importance of customizing technological solutions to local contexts, and the critical role of data integration for real-time clinical decision-making. It is a beacon of innovation offering insight into how AI-driven navigation systems can shape the future of stroke care in Ontario and beyond.

You are invited to join an inspiring virtual presentation with Dr. Lynda Redwood-Campbell, exploring the challenges, lessons, and humility found in humanitarian medicine.

Drawing on decades of experience in disaster and conflict zones, Dr. Redwood-Campbell explores the gap between intention and impact in humanitarian medicine. Through personal stories and hard-won lessons, we’ll reflect on what it means to practice with humility, navigate moral complexity, and stay grounded when systems — and people — are under extreme strain.

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Between Hope & Hard Truths: Reflections on the Humbling Realities of Humanitarian Medicine

Presented by: Dr. Lynda Redwood-Campbell
Professor, Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University
Senior Medical Officer, Canadian Red Cross International Emergency Response Team

Date: Tuesday, November 25, 2025

Time: 8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. (EST)

Join via Microsoft Teams: LINK

In recognition of Medical Radiation Sciences Week, check out this trivia.

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Today we are highlighting the Radiation Therapist, as a key member of the cancer treatment team. They are directly responsible for the administration of a prescribed dose of radiation. The Radiation Therapist must have the knowledge to interpret the radiation treatment prescription, determine its appropriateness, counsel the patient regarding side effects and monitor the patient’s physical and psychological wellbeing during the entire course of treatment. 

Thank you to our Hospital’s Radiation Therapists for your hard work and dedication to the science of medical imaging!

Today’s Ethics Spotlight – Faces of Ethics: Privacy Office

What does the Privacy Office do?

The Privacy Office ensures that information is collected, used, and disclosed appropriately, supporting staff with privacy-related questions, and helping to build a culture where respect for confidentiality is part of everyday practice.

The Privacy Officer’s role is to promote confidentiality and privacy, provide guidance on privacy policies, procedures and legislation, orient new staff and provide privacy training to all staff, conduct privacy audits and breach investigations and advise staff on matters of privacy, confidentiality and consent.

What ethical issues come up in your area?

Privacy often comes down to questions of trust — who needs to know what, and when? We think through situations like how much information can be shared to support patient care, how to balance openness with confidentiality, and what to do to ensure that technology maintains the security required for personal information and personal health information. It’s about ensuring that decisions around information are both legally sound and ethically thoughtful.

Ethics is everywhere. Thank you to our Privacy Office for helping keep ethics at the centre of care at TBRHSC.

Ethics Affects Us All. If you’re facing an ethical dilemma or have questions, reach out to the Bioethicist, or a member of the ethics committee for support.

Bioethicist: Michelle Allain – michelle.allain@tbh.net | 807-684-6538

Click HERE to complete today’s Treaties Recognition Week 2025 trivia question. 

Each submission will be entered into a draw to win prizes! Winners will be announced next week in Your Daily Informed Newsletter.

Shared on behalf of Jeannine Verdenik, Vice President, People & Culture

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Remembrance Day is on Tuesday, November 11, 2025. The following ONA Departments will be CLOSED:

The following Departments will be CLOSED on Tuesday, November 11:

–          Ambulatory Care (all clinics closed aside from the infusion rooms)

–          Cath Lab

–          Centre for Complex Diabetes Care (CCDC) In-Patient Service (new referrals)

–          Diagnostic Assessment Program Navigator

–          Endoscopy

–          Gyne Laser Clinic

–          Multi-Care Kidney Clinic

–          Nurse Led Outreach Team (NLOT)

–          Ophthalmology Laser Clinic

–          Patient Flow Coordinators

–          Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC) Line Service

–          Cardiovascular Rehabilitation

–          Screen For Life Coach

–          Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Treatment Centre (Acute Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence care continues to be provided 24/7 in the Emergency Department)

–          Surgical Day Care

–          Wound Care

The following ONA Departments will remain OPEN: 

–          Adult and Forensic Mental Health Out-Patient Programs

–          Regional Bariatric Care Centre

–          Cancer Centre

–          Centre for Complex Diabetes Care (CCDC) (non ONA staff working)

–          Clinical Trials

–          Complex Malignant Hematology (CMH) Clinic

–          Consultation Liaison Service (Psychiatry staff only – no Nursing staff)

–          Diagnostic Imaging  (exception: interventional procedures requiring Nursing support)

–          Fracture Clinic

–          Infection Prevention and Control

–          Lab Out-Patient Clinic

–          Maternity Centre (non ONA staff working)

–          Medical Transitions Clinic

–          Operating Room – urgent cases only (one emergency room)

–          Paediatric Out-Patient Clinic (non ONA staff working)

–          Paediatric Healthy Living Clinic (non ONA staff working)

–          Post Anesthesia Care Unit

–          Preadmission Clinic

–          Recovery Room – urgent cases only

–          Renal Services

–          Stroke Prevention Clinic (non ONA staff working)

–          Surgical /Endo Central Intake (non ONA staff working)

–          Surgical Transitions Remote Patient Monitoring

–          Telemedicine (non ONA staff working)