World Stroke Day is held on October 29th each year.

The annual event was started in 2006 by the World Stroke Organization (WSO). In 2010, the WSO declared stroke a public health emergency. World Stroke Day is an opportunity to raise awareness of the serious nature and high rates of stroke, talk about prevention and treatment and ensure better care and support for survivors.

The campaign objective is to raise awareness that stroke is the leading cause of disability worldwide and each year over 12 million people have strokes. In Canada, we will see one stroke every five minutes.

One in four of us will have a stroke in our lifetime. Ninety percent of those strokes could be prevented by addressing a small number of risk factors including high blood pressure (hypertension), irregular heartbeat (atrial fibrillation), smoking, diet and exercise.

This year we are mobilizing the global stroke community to raise awareness and drive action on stroke prevention.

Click these links to learn more about stroke and the following preventable risk factors:

Hypertension
Smoking
Diet
Exercise

Visit www.nwostroke.ca for more information

Shared on behalf of Ryan Sears, Director, Capital and Facility Services

---

As part of site planning for the new development Cardiovascular Surgery Project, EnGlobe Engineering has been retained to complete a geotechnical review of the site. During the week of October 30, 2023, they will be on site to core drill 4-5 bore holes to gather the data required. This drilling will occur on the west side of the facility at the water fountain area, adjacent to DI, the walkway to Parking Lot I and close to Parking Lot B1. This will involve some light construction equipment that will generate some noise.

Barriers and signs will be placed around these areas for the everyone’s safety. Patients, Staff and Visitors are asked to be aware and mindful of these areas. Stay safe!

This is an exciting step toward realizing the new construction of the CVS Program.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Ryan Sears, Director, Capital and Facility Services at Ryan.Sears@tbh.net.

Shared on behalf of Human Resources

Complimentary women’s mental health support now available

We’re offering two hours of free virtual therapy for women that can be accessed anytime, anywhere.

Canadians are reporting mental health challenges more than ever, with racialized Canadians and the 2SLGBTQIA+ community being disproportionately affected by barriers to care, according to our recent report, GreenShield Cares About Women’s Mental Health Report.

BOOK YOUR FREE THERAPY TODAY

GreenShield Cares’ women’s mental health program offers two free hours of virtual therapy to Canadian residents who identify as women aged 18 and older. These sessions can be accessed anytime, anywhere.

This offer is open to your employees, friends, and family. If you know a woman who would benefit from our complimentary women’s mental health program, we encourage you to share this opportunity with them. They don’t need to be a GreenShield plan member to access this offer.

The program provides the following support:

• Two hours of free, private virtual therapy with a certified mental health professional who respects and understands unique cultural and lived experiences.
• A complimentary one-year subscription to online coach-guided cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) to assist in reducing and managing symptoms of mild to moderate anxiety and/or depression.
• Access to an online wellness hub with resources that support mental health.
  Learn more about the GreenShield Cares women’s mental health program.

Crisis support

If you or someone you know is in crisis and requires immediate support, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.

Alternately, please contact the Canada Suicide Prevention Service at 1-833-456-4566 (24/7). For residents of Québec, call 1 866 APPELLE (1-866-277-3553). Please know you are not alone. Support is available.

Shared on behalf of Quality and Risk Management

---

As part of our ongoing commitment to enhance the quality of care at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, we are in the process of creating a master list to identify individuals who have undergone Quality Improvement (QI) training.

If you have completed any form of QI training (formal or informal), please take a moment to complete the attached form and send it to TBRHSC.QualityandRiskManagement@tbh.net by Friday, November 10th.

Managers, please post a hard copy in your areas for staff who may not have access to a computer/email. Completed forms can be sent via interdepartmental mail to the Quality and Risk Management Department by November 10th.

Thank you for your participation and assistance with this request. This will enable us to utilize the valuable knowledge, training, and skills within the organization to enhance the quality of care and patient safety.

DAY AT A GLANCE

• 10:30 am – 11:30 am: Virtual Discussion with Dr. Christopher Mushquash
• Welcome by Ms. Alison Evans, Research Canada’s President and CEO with Special Remarks from Dr. Tarik Möröy, Research Canada’s Chair.
• Join Dr. Brendan Hanley, MP Yukon and PHRC Chair and the Caucus Leadership , Dr. Stephen Ellis, MP (Cumberland-Colchester), Ms. Carol Hughes, MP (Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing) and Hon. Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia, Senator (Newfoundland and Labrador) who will host a frank and inspiring discussion with Dr. Christopher Mushquash about his groundbreaking research in Indigenous mental health. Dr. Mushquash is a Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Mental Health and Addiction, and Professor in the Department of Psychology at Lakehead University and the Division of Human Sciences at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University. He is also Vice President Research at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and Chief Scientist at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute.

This event is by invitation only. Click HERE to register.

Dr. Christopher Mushquash, PH.D., C.PSYCH

Professor, Department of Psychology, Lakehead University; Psychologist, Dilico Anishinabek Family Care; Vice President Research, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre; Chief Scientist, Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute

Awarded “For Indigenous-led mental health and substance use research that leads to culturally and contextually appropriate services for Indigenous children, adolescents, and adults.”

The Work: Dr. Christopher Mushquash brings together his clinical experience as a psychologist and his community-based participatory approach to research to meet community needs and improve systems and services that make a difference in people’s lives. His innovative work focuses on Indigenous mental health and substance use through evidence-based practices that align with First Nations values. This approach ensures his research and its outcomes are culturally and contextually appropriate for people in First Nations, as well as those in rural and northern communities. Through large team collaborations and partnerships with communities, government and academia, Dr. Mushquash addresses various aspects of mental health for Indigenous communities, such as mental health, substance use, trauma, and general mental wellness. The overarching goals of his research are rooted in the four interconnected directions and include identifying culturally and contextually appropriate targets of intervention, developing methods of measuring community outcomes; developing and testing of interventions that incorporate culture-based knowledge with scientific methods; and the sharing of knowledge among Indigenous and academic communities, clinicians, and policymakers. These themes come together to form a holistic framework to improve not only systems and services but also research involving Indigenous communities. By putting the communities at the forefront of his work, Dr. Mushquash demonstrates the importance of understanding unique contexts and issues experienced by individuals in Indigenous communities. He has effectively shifted the relationship between communities and researchers, enabling more meaningful and relevant research and advancing the understanding of mental health in Indigenous communities. Systems and services are thus better equipped to address the needs of Indigenous, rural and northern communities in a culturally- and contextually-appropriate manner.

The Impact: Dr. Mushquash champions culturally and contextually appropriate mental health and substance use services for Indigenous communities. His high-calibre work has improved the lives of many Indigenous communities and influenced national mental health and addiction understandings as he brings together western and Indigenous methodologies. His team conducted the first Canadian study of adverse childhood experiences in First Nations adults seeking residential treatment for substance use difficulties. The outcomes enhanced the understanding of the nature of developmental and intergenerational trauma in First Nations people and improved clinical care for those with substance use difficulties. His research has also upended conventional understandings of mental health in Indigenous families and established best practices for engaging Indigenous people in research. Furthermore, his research has directly influenced federal funding policy in remote First Nations communities. As a leader in his field, Dr. Mushquash has advanced mental health across Canada, garnering various awards, honours and appointments in recognition of his research and clinical expertise. His devotion to the profession and Indigenous mental health can be seen in the impact of his work in changing Canadian policy, educating professionals working with First Nations people, and, more importantly, bettering the quality of life and care of many Indigenous youth and communities.

Healthy Workplace Month continues! Be sure to check out some of the upcoming online events or watch any of the recorded sessions from the month.

Week One:

Practice Being BRITE-Through Self Regulation HWM 2023

Screen Time & Eye Health HWM 2023

Week Two:

Practice Being BRITE Through Self Awareness HWM 2023

Supporting Ourselves Through Moral Distress HWM 2023

Week Three:

Practice Being BRITE-Through Perspective

Nurturing Mindfulness: Embracing Inner Calm in Everyday Living

What is PHI?

Personal Health Information (PHI as we commonly call it) is any information, in any form, about a patient or client. It is also any information that could identify them. This information doesn’t need to be clinical and could be contextual information like referencing a car accident. Although ‘car accident’ is not necessarily clinical it could identify a person.

PHI is health information in any form, including physical records, electronic records, photos or spoken information. PHI therefore includes health records, health histories, lab test results and medical bills.

PHI can include:

• Patient’s name
• Medical record number
• Address
• Date of birth
• Health information
• Diagnosis
• Medical history
• Contextual information

Remember we live in a community and invariably our neighbours, friends and family are also our patients and clients. Non-clinical information can sometimes identify a person and result in the breach of a person’s privacy.

Do not discuss your patients and clients, or share any information about them outside of work. It is against the law to disclose personal health information.

Snooping

Snooping is when you access a person’s record (in any form) that you are not actively caring for and where you do not need to know that information to do your job. Snooping is a violation of privacy law.

For example,

If you look up a friend’s address in Meditech, that’s snooping.

If you check your grandmother’s COVID lab result, that’s snooping.

Asking your colleague how you neighbour is doing, is snooping.

You must only access information, in any form and acquired by any means that is required to do your job.

What if my mother asked me to look at her record? Unfortunately, you can not look at her record. Ask your mother to contact her health care provider ideally or in extenuating circumstances follow the procedure through the Health Records department.

Do you have a privacy or snooping questions for IT – send it to help.desk@tbh.net and we will publish your questions and answers in early November.

Click here to answer today’s trivia question for a chance to be entered into our draw for $100 Amazon Gift Card.