May 27th is recognized as Emergency Medicine Day. On this day, we celebrate the specialty of Emergency Medicine, and we salute all the amazing people that work in our Emergency Department, and those across the world.

This year the Emergency Medicine Day campaign is dedicated to safety. Safety for our patients, who need care, attention and relief from pain and disease. Safety for our colleagues, who need to be able to work in a secure environment.

To the dedicated health care professionals who are always there to provide emergency care for us no matter the circumstances, thank you for your commitment to caring for patients, their families, and the community.

Thank you to the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health, and Marcus Powloski, Minister of Parliament for Thunder Bay—Rainy River for visiting Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre on the morning of May 24th. It was a great opportunity to discuss how the Government of Canada can better support health care workers and create a modern data system to connect patients and practitioners.

While anyone can experience sexual violence, social and systemic issues have a role to play in the prevalence of sexual violence. Some recent findings about who is experiencing sexual violence in Canada (Statistics Canada, 2022)…

• Women experience sexual violence more than five times higher than men; 1 in 4 women experience sexual violence in their lifetime.
• Indigenous women are three times more likely than non-Indigenous women to experience violence (NWAC, 2021); Over ¼ of Indigenous women experience sexual violence during childhood.
• Rate of sexual victimization are higher among 15 to 24 years old than any other age group.
• In 2022, there was an 18% increase in sexual assaults reported to police than in 2021.
• Sexual assault rates are at their highest in Canada since 1996, however only 6% of cases were reported to police.

TBRHSC’s Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Treatment Centre (SA/DVTC) provides specialized care to survivors of sexual assault, domestic or intimate partner violence and child sexual abuse, as well as follow-up care. SA/DV care is available 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, through our hospital’s Emergency Department. Non-acute SA/DV care is provided through the Follow-up/Outreach Office, Monday to Friday 0900-1700 EST. Our SA/DVTC provides care to all patients at TBRHSC, including those admitted to in-patient units.

• Our SA/DVTC service provided specialized care to 195 patients in our community last year, while the Follow-up/Outreach Office provided an additional 727 follow-up care visits.

Specialized SADV RNs provide comprehensive, unique and individualized services who recognize and respond to physical, psychological, social, medico-legal, and safety needs of the individual and their family in a culturally sensitive manner.

SA/DVTC policy (ER-VTC-01) outlines two pathways for patients to access care. If a patient admitted to an in-patient unit discloses sexual assault or intimate partner violence to their care team, and consents to SA/DV care, please follow the steps outlined on page 4 of ER-VTC-01.

If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to one of our Clinical Lead RNs – Lorena Beaulieu and Deanna Dacey – during office hours at 684-6751.

Additional online learning opportunities are available to all hospital staff who may be responding to sexual assault and intimate partner violence disclosures:

https://tbrhsc.dualcode.com/course/view.php?id=92

https://www.sadvtreatmentcentres.ca/emergency-department-staff-training.html

http://www.dveducation.ca/domesticviolence/welcome.php

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Week (May 1-5) the Committee arranged several events to encourage staff to learn, talk, reflect and engage with others on all issues relating to mental health.

Events included:

• Wear Green Day (May 1)
• Sound Therapy with Gary Savitsky (May 2)
• Art Show (May 3)
• Therapy Dogs (May 3)
• Mental Health, Healing and Creativity Talk with Kristine Lake, Psychologist (May 4)

We want to hear from you! Please complete this survey for the above Mental Health Awareness Week events.

Your feedback will assist in future planning of events that meet the needs of all staff.

Join Donna Berta RN, BScN, Clinical Project Coordinator – Nursing, ORBCoN, as part of the “Transfusionists Talk” webinar series to learn about Platelet Transfusion: A Sticky Process.

Two Sessions: June 28, 2023 2:30 to 3:10 PM (EST) and 9:30 to 10:10 PM (EST)

Learning Objectives:

1. To understand the role of platelets, the Canadian Blood Services production steps, and the indications for platelet transfusion.
2. To define nursing actions to safely administer platelets (tubing & filter, infusion rate, patient monitoring, possible adverse reactions).

Attend this free, virtual, interactive opportunity for learning. Registration is mandatory.   

REGISTER HERE (Registration closes at 10:00 AM EST, June 27, 2023)

Links to join this MS Teams event will be emailed to you the afternoon of June 27, 2023.  
Sessions will be recorded and posted on ORBCoN’s website. 

A link/QR code to the Evaluation Survey and Certificate of Attendance will follow the event.

Any questions, please reach out to Janet Sharun, Coordinator, Transfusion Services at extension 6901 or janet.sharun@tbh.net.

The stars were out on May 6th as OAMRS (Ontario Association of Medical Radiation Sciences) members celebrated the best of the best in the medical radiation sciences profession at the 2023 OAMRS Awards Gala. The gala marked the first time OAMRS was able to celebrate the outstanding award winners in person since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The incredible hard work and dedication shown by members of the medical radiation sciences profession is celebrated annually, and OAMRS is pleased to recognize the award winners from 2023, along with those from past years who were not able to celebrate in person due to the pandemic.

The 2023 OAMRS Award winners were nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a selection panel of active OAMRS members.

Congratulations to all the winners, especially our Hospital’s own, Erin Arps, who received the Unsung Hero Award.

Unsung Hero Award Winner: Erin Arps

The Unsung Hero Award exemplifies the spirit of the profession. The recipient is a person who, through their hard work and selflessness, goes above and beyond what is asked of them. The Unsung Hero for 2023 is Erin Arps, MRT(R) at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. Erin has been a volunteer with OAMRS for more than 15 years. As the OAMRS Northwest Chapter Chair, she is described by her nominator as “positive, engaging, team-centred, generous and having a quick-witted personality.”

Professional Practice is looking for nurses and interprofessional team members to become Best Practice Champions

Best Practice Champions are nurses and allied health care professionals who are passionate about evidence-based practice and improving care in their organizations.

The Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) offers two FREE options for nurses and members of the interprofessional team to become Best Practice Champions.

There is an eLearning course and two-part virtual workshop. The eLearning course allows you to work at your own pace and the workshop is divided into one pre-recorded session and two live sessions. Both options will introduce evidence-based practice, RNAO’s Best Practice Guidelines (BPG), and how to successfully implement the BPGs in your workplace.

If you would like to be a leader in evidence-based change consider registering to become a Best Practice Champion.

Two-part virtual workshop: https://rnao.ca/bpg/get-involved/champions/virtualworkshops
ELearning course: https://rnao.ca/bpg/courses/best-practice-champions-elearning-course

Upcoming Best Practice Champion Virtual Workshops:

Session 1: June 8, 2023 (9am-12pm)
Session 2: June 15, 2022 (9am-12pm)

Session 1: July 13, 2023 (9am-12pm)
Session 2: July 20, 2023 (9am-12pm)

Session 1: Aug 8, 2023 (1pm-4pm)
Session 2: Aug 15, 2023 (1pm-4pm)

Please email SarahLynne.Myllyaho@tbh.net upon completion of a Best Practice Champion Workshops or eLearning course to be added to our organization’s list of Best Practice Champions!

It’s time to Spring into Action with Women in Action.

On Monday, May 29th, Women in Action is holding a cocktail party at Bight Restaurant at 5:30 p.m.

Women in Action’s mission is to support the Emergency Department Enhancement Project at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. This means all proceeds will go directly towards designing a more functional and efficient Emergency Department Space, additional treatment spaces to address overcrowding issues, a new private treatment area to ensure patient privacy and a re-designed triage area.

For more information, please contact Anne Antenucci at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation by calling (807) 684-7106.