The Muslim community has started celebrations for the holy month of Ramadan! Ramadan is one of the most sacred times for Muslims. Throughout this time, individuals will worship, reflect, read the Quran, participate in charity work and show their devotion to Allah. 

As the Islamic calendar is based around the lunar cycle, Ramadan rotates by approximately ten days each year. This year, Ramadan began on Sunday, March 10, and will end on Tuesday, April 9, depending on the sighting of the moon.

Throughout Ramadan, healthy adults will fast from dawn until dusk and abstain from drinking and eating. Individuals will gather with family, friends and their community to break their fast during iftar, which happens around sunset.

Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan and is a joyous celebration that commemorates the fast and dedication to acts of worship during the holy month. Families, friends and the community gather to enjoy a meal together prepared with delicacies. Some families exchange gifts during this time.

To wish someone well during Ramadan, you can say Ramadan Mubarak, which translates to ‘blessed Ramadan’.

Ramadan Mubarak!

If you would like to learn more about your role as a healthcare provider for Muslim patients during Ramadan, please click here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5525471/

For more information, visit:  https://www.islamicreliefcanada.org/resources/ramadan-timetables

Congratulations to the March 7th Daily Trivia Draw winners for this year’s Employee Recognition Week.

Thank you to all the Hospital and Health Research Institute staff who participated.

🏆 Roadside kits, blanket, water bottle and free Boston Pizza, (Ashley Pitton). Donated by Westland Insurance and Boston Pizza.
🏆 Roadside kits, blanket, water bottle and free Boston Pizza, (Jessica Bonde). Westland Insurance and Boston Pizza.
🏆 Roadside kits, water bottle and free Boston Pizza, (Christiana Fuchs). Westland Insurance and Boston Pizza.
🏆 $50 Goods & Co. gift card, (Trudy VanTeeffelen).
🏆 $25 Petro Canada gift card and Bluetooth speaker, (Stephanie Briand).
🏆 $25 Cheese Encounter gift card and Bluetooth speaker, (Rhiannon Ross).
🏆 $25 Cheese Encounter gift card and Bluetooth speaker, (Marissa Fazzari).
🏆 $25 Cheese Encounter gift card and Bluetooth speaker, (Francine Tees).
🏆 $25 Starbucks gift card, (Tammy Lovato). Donated by Health Hub.
🏆 $25 Starbucks gift card, (Alectyna Lysiuk). Donated by Health Hub.

The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation is very happy to announce that the 2023 Family CARE Grant letters will be sent out via internal mail next week.

This year:

• 101 applications were received, with an asking amount totaling $268,000.
• 67 applications were approved, at a total of $123,000.

Various items have been funded, including: blood warmers, suicide prevention gowns, thermometers, walkers, wheelchairs, venoscope vein finders, commodes, blood pressure units, breast pumps, and dopplers.

Thank you to the Foundation’s generous donors for their unwavering support and Hospital staff for their extremely helpful applications that will improve patient care.

For more information, please contact Laura Andricciola, Executive Coordinator, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation at laura.andricciola@tbh.net.

The iCare impact Awards program is open to all employees, professional staff, and volunteers of Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute. It provides a forum for staff to recognize outcomes brought about by other staff, peer-to-peer, for their positive impacts on our patients and their families.

As part of Employee Recognition Week, we’re thrilled to share this year’s deserving winners and nominees. Congratulations to all!

Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Award

🏅 Winner 🏅
Annette Klement

Nominees:

Annette Klement
Centralized Waitlist Management Project
Infant & Neonatal Transport Development Team
Renal Department

Professional Staff Award

🏅 Winner 🏅
Dr. Hazem Elmansy

Staff Experience Award

🏅 Winner 🏅
Pharmacy Department

Nominees:

Angelina Garofalo
Catherine DeGiacomo
Dr. Walid Shahrour
Shanni Valley
Cafeteria
Renovation Team
Pharmacy Department
Quality Huddles Initiative
Screen for Life Coach Team
Staff Advisory Committee

Patient Experience Award

🏅 Winner 🏅
Sarah A Myllyaho

Nominees:

Dr. Sam Biggs
Hilary A. Douglas
Kaitlyn Volbracht
Kyle Stroomer
Rita Tosolini
Sarah A Myllyaho
Shelby Zawacki
Tony Scopacasa
Renal Pharmacy

Vision Award

🏅 Winner 🏅
Tony Scopacasa

Volunteer Award

🏅 Winner 🏅
Jill Biggs

Research, Innovation, and Learning Award

🏅 Winner 🏅
ROSA Robotic Surgical Assistant

Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation Award

🏅 Winner 🏅
Dr. Mark Henderson

Strategy in Action Award

🏅 Winner 🏅
Remote Treatment Planning: Radiation Therapy

Sustainable Future Award

🏅 Winner 🏅
Patient Flow Dashboard Team

Nominees:

Aaron Bruno
Sarah L. Myllyaho
Best Possible Medication
History Pharmacy
Technician Team
Northwestern Ontario
Health Record Program
Patient Flow Dashboard Team
Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen PET Access- Nuclear Medicine Team
Regional Surgical Services
Remote Treatment Planning Radiation Therapy
Specialized High Skills Major Planning Team
Specialty Pharmacy Team

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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.

📅 𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟳 (📸)

1) The Angioplasty Program was introduced and the first patients received stents at TBRHSC.

2) TBRRI (now the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute), TBRHSC’s research arm, was incorporated.

3) TBRHSC’s Palliative Care e-health was the first in Ontario, allowing oncologists to respond to cancer symptom and pain management and other psychosocial issues.

4) TBHRSC’s first artificial disc implant surgery was performed.

Visit www.tbrhsc.net/20years for more milestones.

Meet Kristine Kopechanski, Registered Dietitian at the Maternity Centre at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC).

Kristine is available to assist pregnant and postpartum clients by offering individualized consultations to review their current nutrition needs, including:

• healthy eating recommendations during pregnancy;
• food safety and foods to avoid during pregnancy;
• strategies for managing nausea, vomiting, heartburn, and constipation in pregnancy;
• meeting increased needs for vitamins and minerals;
• postpartum nutrition to support lactation; and
• education on introducing solid foods to your baby.

“Nutrition plays an important role in pregnancy and postpartum,” says Kopechanski. “A lot of people are worried about what they’re eating in pregnancy, and I love that I am able to help by providing some guidance and reassurance and meet them where they’re at to create attainable nutrition goals both during pregnancy and postpartum.”

Call the Maternity Centre today for an appointment with the Kristine at 807-684-6452.

No referrals are necessary to access care at the Maternity Centre.

For more information on the programs and services available visit our website at bit.ly/TBRHSC-Maternity-Centre.

Familiarize yourself with the key features of Outlook.

• Learn about the aspects of your GroupWise mailbox that will be transitioned to Outlook.
• Discover written instructions and video tutorials on how to complete your daily tasks in Outlook.
• Join us for scheduled training available from March to June! Training is available both in person and virtually

Training resources and dates can be found at https://outlookhub.tbh.net

Contact Help.Desk@tbh.net for more information.

The Foundations of Culturally-Informed Clinical and Counselling Practice: An Introduction, workshop is open to all professionals, students and members of the community. The workshop will cover foundational knowledge, concepts, and issues related to culture, diversity, and clinical practice. Including:
Approaching cultural training from a personal growth and professional growth perspective and a social justice framework.
Prompting reflection of critical cultural diversity issues within mental health counselling and therapeutic interventions.
Discussion of concepts such as multicultural competence, cultural humility, intersectional identity, implicit bias and the ways in which these can be used to promote culturally-informed clinical interventions.

WHEN: Thursday, March 21,2024, 12 -1:30 p.m. EST (11am-12:30pm Saskatchewan time)
WHERE: Please register on Eventbrite for the Zoom link (please note the Zoom session will not be recorded).

This workshop will be facilitated by Dr. Ben Kuo and Alanna Chu. Dr. Ben Kuo, is a Full Professor and the Director of Clinical Training for the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA)-Accredited Clinical Psychology Program at the University of Windsor, and a registered and practicing psychologist in Ontario. His research focuses on the intersection between culture and psychology, particularly in the areas of multicultural counselling and training and cross-cultural psychology. Dr. Kuo is an experienced and active clinical supervisor who teaches and supervises clinical psychology graduate students in multicultural psychotherapy courses and practicum with diverse clients, including refugees and immigrants.

Alanna Chu will moderate the event. Alanna is a Clinical Psychology PhD candidate at the University of Ottawa in the Interdisciplinary Psychosocial Oncology Study and Research Laboratory with Dr. Sophie Lebel. She received her Master of Public Health from the University of Toronto in 2019. Alanna’s research focuses on the psychological experiences and supportive care needs of patients with advanced and metastatic lung cancer receiving immunotherapy or targeted therapy.

Cost: Free! Thanks to the event’s sponsors.

You may have heard about a labour activity at GreenShield Canada, one of our benefit providers. GreenShield remains optimistic that a settlement can be reached, in the meantime, meeting your needs, as a GreenShield member is their priority.

They’ve activated their contingency plan to ensure essential services continue to be provided to valued members like you, and the vulnerable communities they support, during the strike. 

Please note, the call centre is closed, however, online services, where almost 95% of claims are typically submitted, will continue to be available and will not be impacted by the strike.

We encourage you to use these services where possible, as they work to mitigate any service impacts. More information can be found at: https://www.greenshield.ca/en-ca/resources/service-update

Congratulations to the March 6th Daily Trivia Draw winners for this year’s Employee Recognition Week.

Hospital and Health Research Institute staff are encouraged to keep an eye on the Daily Informed Newsletter for more chances to win!

🏆 $100 Cheese Encounter gift card, (Rebecca T.). Donated by the Cheese Encounter.
🏆 $100 Cheese Encounter gift card, (Michelle McKercher). Donated by the Cheese Encounter.
🏆 Free yoga class or sound healing session, water bottle and speaker, (Brenda Voth). Donated by Karen Ebhardt and Allstate.
🏆 Be Natural Pottery garlic plate, and Robin’s gift card, (Nicole L.).
🏆 Be Natural Pottery garlic plate, and Robin’s gift card, (Lorna M.).
🏆 Travel Essentials, Free Boston Pizza, and Robin’s gift card, (Sarah M.). Donated by Boston Pizza and CAA.
🏆 $25 Pizza Hut gift card and Bluetooth speaker, (Laurel Norris).
🏆 $25 Pizza Hut gift card and Bluetooth speaker, (Michelle Richardson).
🏆 $25 Pizza Hut gift card and Bluetooth speaker, (Kirsten B.).
🏆 $25 Cheese Encounter gift card and Bluetooth speaker, (Tannis Blais).
🏆 6 months of free parking at TBRHSC, (Irene P.).