Each year, NOSM University asks learners and members of the clinical community to submit nominations for the Health Sciences Preceptor Awards to recognize those who have gone above and beyond in providing exceptional experiences to learners. There are five award categories which are Innovative Preceptor Award, Interprofessional Collaborator, Commitment to Clinical Education, Northern Ambassador, and Academic Excellence.
We’d like to congratulate all of the 2022-23 winners and nominees, especially our Hospital’s own Erin Woodbeck (Pictured below; a Registered Dietitian at TBRHSC and winner of the Academic Excellence Award in Dietetics), Jane Horiguchi (an Occupational Therapist at TBRHSC and winner of the Interprofessional Collaborator in Occupational Therapy), and Lindsay Sutherland (a Registered Dietitian at TBRHSC and nominee in the Commitment to Clinical Education Award category).
Erin Woodbeck (left), a Registered Dietitian at TBRHSC and winner of the Academic Excellence Award in Dietetics .
Northwestern Ontario Palliative Care Conference – Navigating the Journey Together: Caring for Ourselves & Others
Taking place October 3-5, 2023 at Nor’Wester Hotel & Conference Centre in Thunder Bay, ON Please see the poster below and the Conference Event page for more information.
Early bird registration for the NWO Palliative Care Conference 2023 is now open!
This is CERAH’s (Lakehead University), first in-person conference event since 2019. The event takes place Oct. 3-5 at the Nor’Wester Hotel in Thunder Bay. The theme this year is “Navigating the Journey Together: Caring for Ourselves & Others.” This is a wonderful opportunity for health and social care providers, researchers, students, administrators, palliative care volunteers, and others, to come together as a community to connect and support each other while learning valuable tools and skills grounded in best practice.
In addition to recognized regional champions in palliative care, we are thrilled to have several highly-esteemed presenters coming to Thunder Bay for this event, such as Dr. Hsien Seow and Dr. Samantha Winemaker, creators of the Waiting Room Revolution podcast and co-authors of the soon-to-be released book: Hope for the Best, Plan for the Rest: 7 Keys for Navigating a Life-Limiting Diagnosis (all registrants will receive a copy and have the opportunity to have it signed by the authors!).
Early bird registration is available now until July 31. Full program coming soon.
Shared on behalf of the Patient Family Centred Care (PFCC) Department.
We are happy to inform all staff that Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre now has a full time, as well as a 0.5 FTE Patient Advocate position.
Victoria Marks (right) is in the 1.0 FTE, and Marcia Broughton (left) has recently been hired as the 0.5 FTE. Marcia has a background as a paramedic, and a Clinical Educator with our organization since 2011. She is excited to be part of the PFCC department where she can directly impact patient experience and help ensure the patient’s voice is heard.
The role of the Patient Advocate is to listen, acknowledge, and address, patient and family concerns and help patients and families navigate the complex health care system, while contributing to creating exceptional patient experience. The Patient Advocates help improve the quality of the patient`s care and experience at our Hospital by ensuring and facilitating safe, timely and quality care.
The Patient Advocates are available from Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Anyone requiring the services of the Patient Advocate can reach them by:
calling the Patient Advocate office directly at 807-684-6211;
Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute (TBRHRI) celebrated another year of success at the Annual Meeting of the Corporation on June 22, 2023.
Dr. Andrew Dean, returning as Board Chair, and Dr. Rhonda Crocker Ellacott, CEO of TBRHRI, congratulated all returning Board Directors for the coming term. Dr. Pamela Wakewich departed her role as Vice Chair and Director and was recognized for her commitment to the Board.
Dr. David Marsh was elected as Vice-Chair of the Board as well as Chair of the Science and Research Committee, and James Peotto will continue as Treasurer. Returning as Board Directors are Dr. Sheldon Tobe, Andrew Ross, John Dixon, Peter Bishop, Dr. Jocelyn Bel, and Dr. Erin Cameron.
Dr. Crocker Ellacott will continue to serve as an ex-officio Director along with Dr. David Marsh, Associate Dean, Research, Innovation and International Relations at NOSM University, Dr. Chris Mushquash, Vice President, Research at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) and Chief Scientist at TBRHRI, and Tim Larocque, Director, Applied Research and Innovation at Confederation College.
TBRHRI’s Annual Report was also released and highlights some of the successes of the 2022/2023 fiscal year. To download of a copy of the Annual Report visit https://bit.ly/2022-23-TBRHRI-AnnualReport
Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) celebrated another year of success at the Annual Meeting of the Corporation on June 22, 2023 and are pleased to announce four new Directors and the return of many of our existing Board of Directors.
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 Gord Wickham, 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.
Returning as Standing Committee Community Members are Pauline Mickelson with Patient Safety and Quality of Care, and Christina Brassard with Resource Planning and Audit. Darlene Furlong was appointed as the new Community Member on the Governance and Nominating Committee.
The following Directors have resigned their roles and were recognized for their service on the Board: John Friday, Glen Currie, Monique Rocheleau, and Dr. Pamela Wakewich.
The Board includes the following 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
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:
Chair – Gord Wickham
1st Vice Chair – Pat Lang
2nd Vice Chair – Matt Simeoni
Board Treasurer – John Hatton
Joy Wakefield was elected as Chair of the Patient Safety and Quality of Care Committee. Christine Bates was elected as Chair of the Human Resources Committee.
TBRHSC’s 2022/2023 Annual Report was also released and highlights some of the successes of the 2022/2023 fiscal year. To download of a copy of the Annual Report visit https://bit.ly/2022-23-TBRHSC-AnnualReport
This week marks one year since the launch of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) and Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute (TBRHRI) jointly released Strategic Plan 2026, and we are pleased to report back to the community on the progress made throughout the year.
Our plan has a focus on five strategic priorities that build on a philosophy of Patients at the Centre of everything we do. The strategic priorities of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion; Patient Experience; Staff Experience; Research, Innovation and Learning, and Sustainable Future have guided much of our work throughout the year.
Each year, a strategic priority will be featured through video, providing a closer look at some of the initiatives TBRHSC and TBRHRI have undertaken advancing health care in Northwestern Ontario. This year, the organizations are highlighting the strategic priority of Staff Experience and has chosen to showcase some of the initiatives being worked on to foster an environment where all staff feel enabled to work safely, grow and ultimately thrive.
“The patient experience and staff experience are directly connected, and these co-dependent components are essential to creating a work environment that supports patient-centred care and supports and fosters a culture of well-being for our staff,” said Dr. Rhonda Crocker Ellacott, President and CEO at TBRHSC and CEO at TBRHRI. “As one of the priorities within the new Strategic Plan, we have taken a deliberate and thoughtful look at staff experience, and supporting transformative change by embedding our values into our behaviours.”
Health human resources pressures are well known both provincially and regionally and over the past year, TBRHSC has worked to address these challenges both through advocating for the region and operationally to make our staff experience a better one.
“By prioritizing the staff experience and developing a positive culture, we will create an environment that supports staff and contributes to the vision of exceptional care, for every patient, every time,” said Gord Wickham, Board Chair for TBRHSC.
Throughout the year both TBRHSC and TBRHRI have been successful in launching 13 of 26 initiatives that are aligned to the five Strategic Directions. This was a challenging yet successful year for both organizations.
“The success of our first year on the joint strategic plan shows the positive impact of the plan and the creation of an environment supportive of research, innovation, and learning,” states Dr. Andrew Dean, Board Chair for TBRHRI.
Time flies when you’re actively commuting! This is the last week of the Active Commute Challenge. If you have not yet given an active commute a try, it’s not too late to sign up. Sweet prizes to be won even with a single logged active commute.
As of Wednesday, June 21st, the computers that are for all staff use (that were temporarily located in Purchasing), have been moved back to the main staff lounge & locker room, across from MDRD. A reminder that these computers are open for all staff to utilize.
If you have any questions about this, please contact Kristi Judge at Tel. 684-7031 or at kristi.judge@tbh.net.
Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) is integrating digital, asynchronous video technology into their clinical workflows for surgical patients using technology developed by Health Care Transformation. TBRHSC’s goal is to improve patients’ experience with access to an online video library that reinforces what they will learn from their health care team regarding pre-operative instructions and post-operative follow up. Patients, caregivers and families can stream modern videos from home at their convenience and in their language.
“We have already been using digital tools to engage our surgical patients, for example, SeamlessMD. By enhancing pre-op communications with video, we convey the information in a standardized, engaging way,” says Caroline Fanti, Director of Regional Surgical Services, TBRHSC. “Our team has been extremely excited not only about the additional tools we will have to communicate with our patients but also how it empowers our patients and families by giving them access to the information they need, at their fingertips.”
In just under two months since launch, the videos have garnered nearly 1,000 views. The feedback received has been overwhelmingly positive, including over 97 per cent of respondents conveying they find the videos helpful. These videos also include multilingual captions to serve the diverse Canadian population.
Dorise Barrett, a recent TBRHSC surgical patient, utilized the SeamlessMD platform and viewed the asynchronous videos.
“The videos were helpful as a reminder of what to do and when, and to highlight the information that my health care team provided,” says Barrett. “I also found the [SeamlessMD] app had lots of information, and the nurses were quick to respond to my questions.”
Kayley Heppler, a Nurse Practitioner who works in the Surgical Transitions and Remote Patient Monitoring program at TBHRSC, has found the videos helpful in preparing patients for surgery.
“The patients come in knowing what to expect in terms of getting ready for surgery, general pre-op and post-op directions,” says Heppler “It gives them the opportunity to formulate any questions in advance, and the ability to be more self-directed in their health care journey.”
“Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre is one of the organizations leading the way towards the future of care delivery,” says Meghan Nechrebecki, Founder and CEO at Health Care Transformation. “To rely on verbal and written pre-op education is inefficient for nurses and ineffective for patients. Async video allows patients to re-watch the information as often as needed and with their partners and other loved ones who play an important role in their care.”
Through the async video analytics, TBRHSC is already tracking improvement in both nurse and patient experience and compliance.
To find out more about surgery at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, or to view the videos, visit bit.ly/TBRHSC-Surgery.
National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 21) is a day for all Canadians to recognize and celebrate the unique heritage, diverse cultures and outstanding contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. Although Indigenous peoples share many similarities, they each have their own distinct heritage, languages, cultural practices and spiritual beliefs. For generations, many Indigenous peoples and communities have celebrated their culture and heritage on or near this day due to the significance of the summer solstice as the longest day of the year.
You are each encouraged to take part in the many cultural activities and celebrations planned across the city to learn more about Indigenous peoples who have helped shape this country.
