Laundry and Linen Appreciation Week occurs during the last full week of April and is an opportunity to recognize an important group of behind-the-scenes champions at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. Join us in thanking everyone in our Laundry and Linen Department for their hard work, tireless effort and vital contribution to the patient care experience. ๐๐ฝ๐๐ฝ๐๐ฝ
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โ Our Laundry team processes over 3.4 million pounds of laundry per year. โ The team works seven days a week, from 5:00 am to 9:00 pm. โ The team is comprised of 12 full time employees which provide the backbone of the workforce by maintaining consistency and expertise in daily operations. โ The team also relies on 14 part time and five casual employees who supplement the workforce during peak periods and ensure smooth operations, even during fluctuations in demand. โ The Laundry and Linen department operates four 250Ib washing machines and two 85Ib washing machines, which are industrial grade and were strategically chosen to handle the immense laundry volume. โ The Laundry and Linen department has two small piece folders which are designed to efficiently fold towels, gowns, soaker pads, pillowcases and other small items. โ The Laundry and Linen department also uses one blanket folder, which is designed to efficiently fold large / oversized items such as blankets, spreads and draws sheets. โ The workflow within the facility is finely tuned to optimize efficiency and productivity. โ From sorting, loading, washing, drying, and folding, each stage of the laundry process is meticulously coordinated to minimize turnaround times and maximize productivity.
Allan Korol, Manager Facilities & Biomedical Services
I am pleased to announce that Darryl Galloway has accepted the position of Coordinator Electrical, Controls and Systems effective April 22, 2024.
Darryl will be replacing James Arril (retired February 2024). Darryl brings a vast amount of knowledge with over 20 years of private and public sector experience including Electrical and Control Systems Supervision, Project Management, energy & cost efficiency, training, system installation / operation / maintenance, on call support.
Prior to joining TBRHSC, Darrylโs employment included Honda of Canada Manufacturing in Electrical & Controls Projects & Maintenance, Coordinator, Team & Project Leadership roles and with Johnson Controls Canada providing building automation services to Lakehead University.
Darrylโs training includes Red Seal Industrial Electrician at Humber College, Toronto and Magna Technical Training Centre, Brampton.
Please join me in congratulating Darryl and wishing him well in his new role.
Weโre celebrating 20 years of Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC). Throughout the year, weโll 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.
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1) The Patient and Family Centred Care model was formally adopted.
2) A state-of-the-art PET-CT scanner was installed, enabling advanced clinical imaging and research.
3) The Regional Joint Assessment Centre opened to reduce wait times for patients seeing an orthopedic surgeon.
4) Perioperative Services began the Operating Room Telementoring Project, providing remote teaching and telementoring.
Shared on behalf of Phil Thompson, Director, Support Services
I am pleased to announce that Ashley Dell has accepted the permanent position of Manager, Housekeeping, Laundry/Linen and Portering.
Ashley has been in the position as interim leader since August 31, 2024. Ashley will officially assume this role April 22nd, 2024 in a permanent capacity. Ashley Started at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre in 2008 as the Housekeeping Secretary. In 2014, Ashley stepped into a nine month temporary roll of Housekeeping Supervisor. In 2019, she transitioned into a full-time Supervisor and in 2022, she accepted the Housekeeping Coordinator position.
At the end of August of last year, Ashley stepped in as Acting Manager, Housekeeping, Laundry/Linen, and Portering.
Ashley has a Bachelor of Psychology and is a certified Teacher.
Please join me in congratulating Ashley in her new role.
Did you miss the Virtual All Staff Town Hall on April 17? A recording is now available for viewingย here.
The informative session featured:
Patient Story โ told by Amy Carr Repairing the Sacred Circle Training: An Indigenous Cultural Awareness and Education Primer โ Annette Klement Policy Update: Code Brown โ Phil Thompson GroupWise to Outlook Transition Update โ Steve Spirka UKG Pro Workforce Management Update โ Dawna Maria Perry, Rita Grenier Buchan, and Michael Iorianni
If you have questions you would like answered, please send them to TBRHSC.GroupNews@tbh.net and we will do our best to address them at a future Virtual All Staff Town Hall.
If youโd like to access a recording or presentation from a previous Virtual All Staff Town Hall, visit the archive.
Thank you for your commitment to staying informed and engaged.
Cindy Fedell, Regional Chief Information Officer, North Western Ontario Hospitals Regional CIO and Informatics.
Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Center now relies on videos as part of its virtual care program to educate patients. One of many benefits: It has reduced inbound patient questions โ for every 15 questions nurses used to get, now they get only one.
THE PROBLEM
Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Center (TBRHSC) staff know that with limited health resources throughout Northwestern Ontario, it’s very important they work together across all hospitals that provide surgical services to improve access to care for remote and rural patients.
PROPOSAL
“Asynchronous video technology is important to improving patient care, supporting equitable access to care, and to our hospital moving forward our strategic enabler, called ‘Sustainable Future โ Advance Digital Health to Improve Patient and Staff Experiences,'” said Cindy Fedell, CIO at TBRHSC. “Providing tools to empower our patients is foundational to our vision.
“We began implementing asynchronous video technology for surgery across the four hospitals of TBRHSC’s Regional Surgical Services program,” she continued. “The overarching goal was to optimize clinical staff time while also improving patient compliance, experience and outcomes.”
The major challenges the provider organization was facing, Fedell outlined, were:
Optimization of clinical staff time because of limited resources
Lengthy pre-anesthetic appointments causing a bottleneck to getting patients into available operating rooms
No standardization of pre-surgical teaching, which can reduce quality assurance
Poor patient compliance in pre-surgical teaching resulting in no-shows to the pre-anesthetic appointment, surgery cancellations due to non-compliance, patients not understanding the importance of ambulation and same day discharge, and much more
“In surgical care, there is a lot of information that needs to be conveyed to patients and caregivers before surgery,” Fedell explained. “It is vital the patient not only understands the information but also retains it and then takes appropriate action.
“While we had invested in an app to deliver this information to patients in written form, most of the pre-surgical information was delivered verbally by doctors, nurses and staff, in addition to a paper packet,” she continued. “The verbal repetition was incredibly time-consuming for our clinical staff. On average, it would take an hour in the pre-anesthetic appointment to convey the redundant information.”
These lengthy appointments acted as a bottleneck to getting patients into the OR. Additionally, patients would often forget the information they heard and call in with questions, and staff would repeat the information.
“Staff were on repeat, relaying pre-surgical information and then answering the same questions when they inevitably came in,” Fedell said. “If we put it all on async video, then they don’t have to be regurgitating the same information constantly.
“And the message is scripted and standardized, which is fantastic from a quality assurance standpoint,” she added. “Patients can re-watch the videos as often as they need, at home with their caregivers and family, in the language they speak at home.”
The technology’s capabilities also were compelling to Fedell because the videos are interactive and have built-in surveys and analytics.
“So, we could encourage patients to take action, such as downloading our digital patient engagement and monitoring tool from SeamlessMD,” she remarked. “And with the surveys, we could do digital teach-backs to ensure the patient understood what they just listened to. We also could get experience data back from the patients.
“Then with the video analytics we can actually see the data to make sure our patients are in fact watching and engaging with the video content,” she continued. “And HCT are healthcare operations experts. They understand us and what we are trying to do.”
MEETING THE CHALLENGE
TBRHSC automated the pre-op messaging for all surgeries across Northwestern Ontario surgical hospitals. It started with 10 videos that address many topics, including scheduling and consenting for surgery, downloading the app, what to expect in the pre-anesthetic appointment, general pre-op instructions, what to expect for OP and IP surgery, common misconceptions, what to expect after surgery and how to prepare the patient’s home.
The videos are embedded in the organization’s website and in the SeamlessMD app.
“HCT helped us build out our clinical workflows, use QR codes to promote the videos, and communicate internally to all our clinicians and staff about the launch,” Fedell recalled. “Now that we are live with the videos, we regularly meet and review analytics reports where we get to see the impact we are having on our patients.
“The vendor’s project management and guidance has been really impactful to our leadership team,” she added.
RESULTS
To date, patients have watched more than 250 hours of video.
“That’s incredible when you think about how much time we are saving for our clinical staff,” Fedell said. “But further, it is time spent enhancing the surgical experience for our patients and their families.”
There have been more than 9,500 video views, which means TBRHSC has standardized the pre-op messaging for thousands of surgeries. That’s a big quality assurance gain.
“Another stat we know because of the analytics is that 99% of patients found the videos helpful and felt more prepared for surgery after they watched the videos,” Fedell reported. “That’s an A+ in patient experience. Through the analytics we can see patient comments about how the videos were educational and informative, answered their questions, calmed their anxiety and clarified expectations.
“A really incredible statistic: We have reduced inbound patient questions by a factor of 15 to 1,” she continued. “For every 15 questions the nurses used to get from patients calling or writing in pre-op, now they get one. That means we are proactively answering patients’ questions with the video technology and making better use of our nurse and staff time.”
ADVICE FOR OTHERS
This is the future of care delivery, Fedell contended.
“Patients already are using video in their daily lives and oftentimes watching YouTube videos when trying to navigate care,” she said. “We want patients to get the information from us, their trusted provider, in the best format for learning and retention. And async video technology is a way you can reach patients in the format they prefer that enhances the care we deliver. It’s a win-win-win.
“Our administrators love it because it’s helping them achieve their business and operational goals,” Fedell concluded. “Our clinicians and staff love it because they don’t want to be on verbal repeat 24/7 and they want their patients to be better prepared and engaged. And I want to thank Caroline Fanti, our director of regional surgical services, for leading the charge on these efforts at our organization.”
The YHS e-Learning Spring Series begins on May 1! Over the course of two months, you will be provided with access to three self-directed courses and weekly live skill-building sessions focused on boosting mental health literacy, and strategies to manage the effects of workplace stress. To register click here!
Shared on behalf of Phil Thompson, Director, Support Services
We are excited to announce that Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) has transition to PRIMED Medical Productsโ Sustain gloves.
These Sustain gloves meet industry standards for testing and offer the same protection, safety, comfort, and performance as the gloves currently used, ensuring that patient care is not compromised. The new Sustain glove is the same colour, look and feel as our current nitrile glove and meets the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standards for tensile strength. The glove exceeds ASTM standards for shelf life and has a similar lifespan as our current glove. Additionally, it meets all ASTM standards for chemotherapy and medical applications. It has also been tested and approved for safe food handling and viral penetration standards. Trials have taken place across five departments at TBRHSC and have been successful.
TBRHSC is committed to environmental stewardship. Annually, we consume 11,000,000 nitrile gloves. The Sustain glove is a biodegradable alternative to the traditional nitrile exam gloves. The switch to a biodegradable glove is a small change that will reduce our environmental impact and demonstrate our commitment to a cleaner environment.
Ordinary nitrile gloves, used for their durability and protection, pose environmental challenges due to their long decomposition time. The Sustain gloves decompose 81% faster than the 0.5% decomposition rate of standard gloves. When these biodegradable gloves degrade in landfills, they break down into biogas, water, and harmless compounds, potentially generating renewable energy.
This change will ensure that while our patients receive exceptional care, we also do our part to reduce our environmental impact.
If you have any questions or concerns please contact Phil Thompson at phil.thompson@tbh.net.
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