It was a day of celebration for the Lions Vision Care Centre at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre as a new ophthalmology microscope was announced. The microscope is an essential piece of equipment which is used to perform 2200 cataract procedures each year. It is also used for glaucoma surgery and repair of traumatic eye injuries. Without it, surgery could not be done.

The microscope comes at a cost of $310,000, which was funded thanks to donors, including a significant $275,941 donation from Lions Clubs and Lions International. The Lions have always been very supportive of ophthalmology needs at the Health Sciences Centre, having given over $938,700 since 1998.

“One of our proudest projects is the Lions Vision Care Centre here at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre,” said Lion Angela Sharbot, Past District Governor and Advisory Board Chair, Lions Vision Care Centre. “Through strategic planning and a lot of fundraising, the Lions have added and replaced equipment including a Retinal Imaging Camera, Lumenis Vision One Multi-Colour Laser System and now the ophthalmology microscope.”

The previous microscope was 15 years old and at risk for breaking down without replacement parts, so there was a real risk of interruption in service. “The optics of microscopes have improved greatly,” says Ophthalmologist Dr. Chris Francis. “The enhanced 3D eye view is really enhanced making surgeries easier and, more importantly, safer for complicated or challenging cases.”

“Having access to cutting edge medical equipment is a critical component in delivering exceptional patient care. Without it, health care providers like Dr. Francis and the ophthalmology team cannot effectively meet the needs of our patients”, said Dr. Rhonda Crocker Ellacott, President and CEO of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and CEO of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute. “Not only that, but having this vital piece of equipment right here at our Hospital allows us to better serve patients in Thunder Bay and across Northwestern Ontario by providing closer to home care. They can get the surgery they need faster, with less travel, and be closer to their friends, family and primary health teams.”

“The commitment and passion our donors have is remarkable and I would like to especially thanks the Lions Clubs for their ongoing drive in equipping the Lions Vision Care Centre with essential tools for our ophthalmology team,” said Glenn Craig, President and CEO of the Health Sciences Foundation. “We are very grateful to all the donors that made this microscope a reality for our community.”

Chair, Board of Directors, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre

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I would like to begin my Board Chair report by acknowledging all the frontline staff, physicians, volunteers and senior leadership who had a very busy summer at TBRHSC while many of us enjoyed time with friends and family. Patient volumes at the Hospital were busy and that kept teams working hard around the clock.

On the positive side, throughout the summer, we were able to keep our momentum with the ongoing planning and steps being taken to bring access to high quality cardiovascular care closer to home. The Cardiovascular Surgery Project continues to achieve project milestones and if all goes according to plan we can anticipate construction to begin in late Fall/Winter of 2024. We are so happy with all the community support and excited to have this partnership between our Hospital and Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at University Health Network.

Leading up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30^th, our Hospital’s Indigenous Collaboration, Equity and Inclusion portfolio organized various events to honour the survivors and recognize the importance of Truth and Reconciliation. Events for staff included beading, drumming, and educational opportunities, with an Indigenous Craft and Food Vendor Market open for staff and the public. As part of our commitment to truth and reconciliation, and the seven calls to action under health, we are continually working towards creating an environment of inclusion, equity and compassion at our Hospital.

I am also delighted to welcome both new and returning faces to our Board of Directors. Before the summer break, our Hospital celebrated another year of success at the Annual Meeting of the Corporation on June 22^nd. Joining the Board as new Directors are Charles Campbell, Kimberly Ferris, Michael Pelletier and James Peotto. Returning to the Board of Directors for three-year terms are myself, Dr. Andrew Dean, Pat Lang and Joy Wakefield. Continuing their terms of office on the Board are Christine Bates, Douglas Judson, Matt Simeoni and John Hatton. Four Directors have ended their roles and were recognized for their service on the Board: John Friday, Glen Currie, Monique Rocheleau, and Dr. Pamela Wakewich. Thank you all again for your dedication to the role and for advancing health care in our region.

Returning as Standing Committee Community Members are Pauline Mickelson with the Patient Safety and Quality of Care Committee and Christina Brassard with the Resource Planning and Audit Committee. Darlene Furlong was appointed as the new Community Member on the Governance and Nominating Committee.

The Board also includes ex-officio Directors: Dr. Rhonda Crocker Ellacott, President and CEO, Adam Vinet, Chief Nursing Executive, Dr. Bradley Jacobson, Chief of Staff, Dr. Sarita Verma, Dean, President and CEO, NOSM University, and Dr. Salima Oukachbi, President, Professional Staff Association.

At the Inaugural meeting of the Board of Directors, held immediately following the Annual Meeting, the Officers of the Corporation were elected as follows, including myself continuing as Chair, Pat Lang as First Vice Chair, Matt Simeoni as Second Vice Chair, and John Hatton as Board Treasurer. Joy Wakefield was elected as Chair of the Patient Safety and Quality of Care Committee. Christine Bates was elected as Chair of the Health Human Resources Committee.

We have an incredibly dedicated group and I look forward to a productive and meaningful year serving the people of Northwestern Ontario.

Our second year into our Strategic Plan 2026 has started off strong, with a continued focus on our strategic priorities of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, Patient Experience, Staff Experience and Research, Innovation & Learning. As always, these priorities are underscored by our commitment to patient and family-centred care. 

Speaking of which, this year we will be celebrating 14 years of Sharing and Caring Together, a week-long event that highlights our commitment to patient and family-centred care, culminating in an exhibition displaying some of the initiatives that have been developed to improve the patient experience. The main exhibition will take place October 27^th and will be open to the public. Please join us!

Finally, the back-to-school season brings more indoor activities and an increased risk of respiratory illness. To reduce your risk of infection, I encourage you to be vigilant with hand hygiene and stay up to date on vaccines. The provincial government is providing flu and COVID-19 shots at doctor and nurse practitioner offices and participating pharmacies. Let’s work together to protect ourselves, and the most vulnerable of our community and prevent respiratory illness.

$1.18 billion, province-wide investment will add $7,738,000 to the Thunder Bay-Atikokan Region.

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As part of Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario government is ensuring patients will continue to have access to high quality care in their community, by investing over $1.18 billion this year to continue funding over 3,500 hospital beds across the province, including $7,738,000 for 34 beds in Thunder Bay.

“This transformative funding allocation from our government marks a pivotal moment for Thunder Bay’s healthcare landscape. It represents a substantial leap forward, enabling a wider capacity of support and undoubtedly ushering in a new era of enhanced healthcare services, promising a brighter and healthier future for our community.” said Kevin Holland, MPP for Thunder Bay-Atikokan.

Through this ongoing and permanent investment, Ontario is ensuring patients will continue to have access to over 3,500 acute, post-acute and critical beds across the province. This is another step the government is taking to improve access, expand capacity and decrease wait times, building a health care system that better serves patients both now and into the future.

“Our government continues to make critical investments in our hospitals and health care infrastructure to connect more Ontarians to high-quality convenient care,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “This investment will ensure communities across the province have the beds they need to deliver high quality health care in their community now, and for years to come.”

The province continues to work with local hospital partners and Ontario Health to ensure communities have the hospital capacity they need to connect patients to care, close to home.

“This investment to expand our Hospital’s capacity provides us more opportunities to better serve the acute care needs of our patients and their families across Northwestern Ontario. Permanent base funding will allow us to create needed changes that will improve the care experience for patients and families we serve.” said Dr. Rhonda Crocker-Ellacott, President and CEO, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC).

QUICK FACTS

• Since 2018, the Ontario government has invested an additional $8.8 billion in the hospital sector, adding over 3,500 acute, post-acute and critical care beds across the province.
• Ontario’s investments over the next 10 years will lead to nearly $50 billion in health infrastructure across the province.
• As of the end of 2022, Ontario approved 50 hospital development projects that will build more than 3,000 new hospital beds in communities across the province over the next 10 years.

QUOTES

“These investments enable us to more effectively manage surges by creating additional capacity in the health system. It is these types of funding initiatives that allow us to maintain a responsive, stable and integrated system of care across the province.”

– Matthew Anderson, President and CEO of Ontario Health

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care

Additional News Coverage

Ontario spending $7.8M for 34 beds at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (CBC Thunder Bay)

Province unveils bed funding for regional hospital (TBNewswatch.com)

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month. It’s the perfect time to share some important information that can help you prevent a cyber attack on private and confidential information at work and at home.

Your IT department works behind the scenes to provide protection from hackers, but, everyone has a role to play in keeping our computer systems secure.

Each week, you will have a chance to enter our draw to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card by providing the correct answer to our trivia question. You can get up to 4 entries into the draw if you answer all the questions correctly. The draw will take place on November 1, 2023 and the winner will be shared in the following staff newsletter.

What is Smishing?

Smishing is type of phishing scam, it comes in the form of a text message.  Smishing is also known as SMS phishing that can arrive by iMessage, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp or any other messaging platforms. 

Smishing messages typically send a link containing malware or a spoofed website. These spoofing techniques tailor messages to look like it’s from a legitimate organization. (E.g. bank, government)  Cyber criminals now have the ability to steal your data, your money or your identity.

How to protect yourself

1.  Don’t Click or respond to suspicious texts.
2.  Pause, stop and consider the context.
3.  Investigate, do a web search of the phone number and message.
4.  Delete the message and block.

Passwords

Passwords provide the first line of defense against unauthorized access to your computer and personal information. You should never give your password to anyone! That includes your manager, people you know and trust including IT staff.

Hackers can break down your passwords by sending phishing emails, guessing common passwords and monitoring Wi-Fi traffic.

How to create and manage strong and effective passwords

Your password should be easy to remember but difficult to guess.  Use a passphrase for your password.  A passphrase is a sequence of words that can be easily memorized.

Combat this by creating complex passphrases using these rules:

1. Change passwords and upgrade to passphrases to include numbers, special characters and a minimum of 15 characters.
2. Use special characters like &%$ to separate words.
3. Work passphrases should be different from personal passphrases.
4. Use a unique password for each system, device or platform.
5. Do no reuse passphrases.
6. Do not write down your passphrases and leave near or on your computer/desk.
7. Do not use ‘remember password’ functions for systems, services or software.
8. Always enable two-factor authentication if available.

Do you have a cyber security question 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.  

On September 18th, Dr. Barry Rubin, Vascular Surgeon and Program Medical Director for the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre (PMCC) at University Health Network (UHN) visited Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. The purpose of the visit was to tour the facility and engage with leadership across programs as well as our senior leadership team about the ongoing development of the Cardiovascular Surgery Program.

Key discussions from the productive day of meetings focused on human resource strategies, quality registries and outcomes, highlighting our achievements, identifying gaps, aligning priorities and developing a series of actions.

We were also joined (virtually) by other UHN representatives:

• Dr. Fayez Quershy, Vice President – Clinical, UHN
• Sheryl Alexandre, Clinical Director, PMCC and Critical Care at UHN
• Joan Comendador, Project Manager, PMCC
• Kate Westcott Cortez, Senior Manager, Ted Rogers Computational Program, UHN

Overall, this site visit emphasized our strong partnership with PMCC and UHN and their ongoing support. Together, we’re moving closer to the delivery of accessible, high-quality, closer-to-home cardiovascular care for our patients.

Shane Powell shared his personal story of the loss of his friend to suicide and initiated the important conversation surrounding mental health.

 If you missed the presentation on Tuesday, October 3rd, watch the recording below.

For a full list of Mental Illness Awareness Week events and activities, click HERE.

Shared on behalf of Nutrition and Food Services

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Please be advised that on October 11, 2023 the menus and names of texture modified diets in Meditech will be changing to align with the International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative.

1. The Primary diets of MINCED and DYSPHAGIA MINCED will be replaced with MINCED & MOIST:

Mnemonic: MINC
Response: MINCED and MOIST

2. The Primary diet of SOFT will be replaced with EASY TO CHEW:

Mnemonic: SOFT
Response: EASY TO CHEW

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Nutrition and Food Services at ext. 6725.

Masks are required on all Inpatient Clinical Units and in the Emergency Department at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.

This masking requirement applies to all staff, professional staff, learners, volunteers and Essential Care Partners/Care Partners (ECPs/CPs):

• 1A Inpatient Units (1A Medicine and 1A Oncology) — ECPs/CPs are required to wear a minimum Level 3 procedure mask at all times.

• All other Inpatient Units — ECPs/CPs must wear a minimum Level 3 procedure mask when entering a patient’s room and whenever they are unable to maintain six feet of physical distancing standards within the unit. Masking is not required when outside a patient’s room unless you are unable to maintain a physical distance of six feet within a clinical setting.

• Emergency Department — All Patients and ECPs/CPs accompanying a patient must wear a minimum Level 3 procedure mask at all times.

Masks are available at all public entrances on the sanitizing stands.

Please make use of the hand sanitizer dispensers available throughout the Hospital.

Did you know? The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines recommend no more than two hours of daily recreational screen time for children and youth (age 5-17)? Source: CSEP Guidelines

Tips on how to decrease screen time:

• Set timers for screen use (screen time features on Apple and Samsung devices)
• Consider having “screen free zones” in your home – at meals, in bedrooms 
• Turn off screens one hour before bed time – this helps to improve sleep quality
• Gradually reduce screen time – work towards recommended guideline
• Balance active time and screen time – explore interests you may have outside of screens

For more information, please visit csepguidelines.ca/guidelines/children-youth/.

For more resources on healthy living or to learn more about TBRHSC’s Paediatric Healthy Living Program, please visit our website at https://bit.ly/Paediatric-Healthy-Living-Program

Margie shared her personal experience and knowledge of grief and loss. She talked about coping skills that may help you through your own journey. If you missed the presentation on Monday, October 2nd, watch the recording below.

For a full list of Mental Illness Awareness Week events and activities, click HERE.