Shared on behalf of Adam Vinet, Vice President, Patient Experience & Chief Nursing Executive and Regional Vice President, Regional Cancer Care and Justin Garofalo, Acting Chief Financial Officer

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The UKG Dimensions Implementation Team is excited to provide an update on our new staff scheduling system. Senior Leaders recently had the opportunity to view a demo of what has been developed for you, and we are thrilled to announce that the UKG Dimensions system build is almost complete!

Over the next couple of months, our implementation team will be conducting parallel payroll testing runs in various departments of the hospital. This is a crucial and required step to ensure that the system is operating correctly before we officially roll it out hospital-wide.

Your department may be asked to participate in a two-week parallel test in the coming weeks. This means that some of you will have the opportunity to get a sneak peek at the system in its test environment. During this time, staff on the units involved in the parallel runs will receive basic training on how to navigate the system. Please rest assured that full training for all staff will be provided before we officially go live.

We are incredibly thrilled to share this glimpse of what has been developed for you. Please stay tuned for more information as we prepare for the official launch in the new year.

Thank you for your cooperation and support throughout this process. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Your feedback is valuable to us.

UKG Dimensions Implementation Team:

• Dino Armenti – Co-Project Sponsor
• Dawna Maria Perry – Co-Project Sponsor
• Rita Grenier Buchan – Project Lead – Scheduling
• Michael Iorianni – Project Lead – Payroll
• Carrol Wenzell – Payroll Subject Matter Expert
• Monique Trudeau – HR Subject Matter Expert
• Cora Rouillard – Integration Subject Matter Expert
• Julio Gomes – Integration Subject Matter Expert
• Laura Macgowan – HR Subject Matter Expert – Leaves
• Sharen Howarth – HR Subject Matter Expert – Leaves
• Angela Kutok – PI Consultant

For current information and updates visit the iNtranet page.

Meet the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) Lactation Consultants, Denise Ham (right) and Drynda Wark (left).

The lactation consultants at our Maternity Centre are available to assist pregnant and postpartum clients with education and assistance with breastfeeding. You can book an appointment during pregnancy with a lactation consultant to become better prepared to breastfeed your baby and postpartum clients can get help with common breastfeeding issues like milk supply, and making sure baby has a proper latch and position. Call the Maternity Centre today for an appointment with a lactation consultant at (807) 684-6228.

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

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

Password Managers – Only One Password to Remember

Using a unique password for each account and remembering them all is unlikely.  Keeping track of all of account passwords is a chore.  A password manager can store all your passwords securely with only remembering one password. 

The password manager uses the highest level of encryption to keep your passwords safe from outside threats.  This includes hackers and malware infections looking to swipe your personal details without your knowledge. With phishing attacks, data breaches, and identity theft on the rise, you’ll want to guard yourself against all potential online threats and vulnerabilities.

Make your password manager work for you

Choose the right password manager. Not all password managers are equal. Make sure the password manager you choose has security features like:

• multi-factor authentication
• prompts to change old passwords
• notifications about weak or reused passwords
• integration with your other devices

Consider securing your accounts with one of these top password managers.

Keep your primary password safe

The password to your password manager is the key to every account you have, so you need to be extra careful keeping it safe.

Enable multi-factor authentication

Protecting your passwords with just another password isn’t enough. Enable your password manager’s multi-factor authentication to create a secure system only you can access.

Coming to the Emergency Department (ED) can be a stressful experience. At Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC), we have a team of physicians, nurses, physician assistants, Indigenous Patient Navigators, medical learners, social workers, clerks and support workers dedicated to providing you and your family with safe, quality care while in our Hospital. In this series of videos, we want to introduce you to some team members you may encounter when you come into our ED.

Meet Mona, an Indigenous Patient Navigator, and find out why she chooses to work in the ED at TBRHSC.

To meet other members of the ED team at TBRHSC, click here.

Did you miss the Virtual All Staff Town Hall on October 18th? A recording is now available for viewing here.

The informative session featured a patient story told by Dr. Miranda Lesperance, VP, Indigenous Collaboration, Equity & Inclusion, an update on respiratory illness season from John Ross, Director of Patient Flow and Partnerships, information about leadership development from Jeanine Verdenik, VP, People & Culture, tips and awareness about cyber security from Jennifer Pugliese, Director, Information Technology, and information about Family CARE Grants from Sarah Miniaci, Executive Coordinator with the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation.

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 you’d 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.

Please note that pay days printed in the 2023 Health and Wellness Calendar for November and December are incorrect.

Correct pay days are as follows:

• November 9, 2023

• November 23, 2023

• December 7, 2023

• December 21, 2023

Thank you to those who brought this error to light.

Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute employees with children in grade nine are invited to enroll them in this year’s edition of Take Our Kids to Work Day, taking place on Wednesday, November 1, 2023. There are a limited number of spots available, so book yours today. Spots will be filled on a first-come basis.

For more information or to submit your enrollment forms, contact Sam Spenrath in our Human Resources department at Samantha.Spenrath@tbh.net or by calling (807) 684-6532.

Registration deadline is Thursday, October 26, 2023.

Influenza, commonly known as “the flu”, is a respiratory infection caused by the influenza virus. It’s contagious and spreads rapidly from person to person. Fortunately, the influenza vaccine is safe and effective and can benefit people of all ages. Even if you’re healthy, getting immunized against influenza is a great way to protect those around you. For more information on the flu, please see the Influenza Fact Sheet attached below.

Our Hospital’s Occupational Health & Safety team is offering influenza vaccine for staff, physicians and volunteers in a variety of ways (see poster below).

Staff who attend are asked to wear short sleeves.

There is still half of Healthy Workplace Month left! Make sure to check out this week’s lineup for events and consider watching any of the recordings from this month.

Are you interested in learning more? There are events scheduled every week for the month of October and there are prize draws. See poster for event details or scan the QR code off any of the Healthy Workplace Month posters located throughout our Hospital.

Waste Reduction Week (October 16-22) is an opportunity to celebrate our environmental efforts and achievements to date, and encourage new ideas and solutions to reduce our waste. Reducing the amount of waste you create is an easy way that you can help make a difference.

Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre’s Green Team is committed to reducing our environmental footprint and supporting these efforts through our extensive recycling programs, including:

• All plastics #1 – #7
• Cardboard and paper
• Cans and scrap metal
• Batteries
• Electronic waste

We have started to set up Green Suites within select departments in the Hospital, for those areas looking to champion their department’s recycling initiatives. These Green Suites are a centralized area for managing and sorting recycle materials with the goal of minimizing the amount of waste that ends up in the landfill.

Nutrition and Food Services

• Nutrition and Food Services uses cutlery and food containers in retail that are certified and legislation compliant. Patient meals have also made the switch to sustainable cutlery.
• The Lean Path Program tracks food waste and allows us to identify other strategies to reduce waste.
• The ORCA Food Digestive System, introduced in May 2023, has successfully diverted 29,600 lbs of food waste from going to the landfill.
• The Nutrition and Food Services team is currently looking at other reusable merchandise like cups and lids in retail.
• We are also working on introducing two new recycling programs onsite:

PPE Recycling:

• Includes recycling of uncontaminated masks/gloves/gowns/booties/etc.
• The uncontaminated PPE is shipped to LifeCycle Revive in southern Ontario.
• The contents are sterilized and processed into pellets, which are then used to create recycling bins, bedpans, and other items.

Keurig K-Cup Recycling:

• Intended for areas with kitchenettes, where Keurig coffee brewing equipment is in use.
• The pods are collected and sent to Emterra for processing.
• The pod components are separated – grounds become compost and the plastic is recycled.

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If you are interested in becoming a recycling champion for your department to help support and expand our onsite initiatives, please reach out to TBRHSC.Housekeeping@tbh.net.

We also encourage you to visit the Green Team page on the intranet, and the EcoSuperior website to learn about more ways you can get involved and support the local sustainability efforts.