A heartfelt thank you to all of our resident doctors at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre! We see you working hard and making a difference in patients’ lives. The caring and support you provide to patients and their families does not go unnoticed. We see how you go the extra mile in everything you do. We see how you support each other. For these reasons, we thank you for all you do!
A reminder to complete this staff quiz by noon today to be entered in the draw.
Congratulations to Jadine Lee-Bukovy – winner of the quarterly ‘Good Catch’ Awards.
Good Catch Awards highlight individuals, groups or departments who demonstrate their commitment to keeping patients safe by reporting a near miss. A ‘good catch’ (or near miss) is an event or situation that could have resulted in harm, but did not reach the patient because of chance or timely intervention. Reporting these events can help to identify gaps in order to prevent future adverse events from happening.
New winners will be randomly selected every quarter. Continue submitting your near misses for a chance to win! Near miss reports are submitted through the Incident Learning System (ILS). Click on the ‘safety reporting’ icon from your Novell home page, or go to the iNtranet and choose ‘Safety Reporting’ under ‘Informational’.
Jadine Lee-Bukovy, Pharmacist, was awarded a certificate and gift card to the Goods and Co. Market for her ‘near miss’ submission to the ILS. Jadine works as part of the Regional Cancer Centre pharmacy team, responsible for the delivery of IV chemotherapy in the outpatient infusion clinic. The pharmacy team works closely our oncologists and other members of the health care team to ensure patients receive optimal chemotherapy treatment at each visit. The pharmacist verifies the appropriateness of chemotherapy doses by assessing blood work for potential hematologic and organ related toxicities, by reviewing clinical assessments for chemotherapy related toxicities, and by ensuring appropriate supportive care treatments are prescribed to prevent and manage adverse effects. All IV chemotherapy medications are compounded in a controlled sterile work environment by a registered pharmacy technician under the close supervision of a pharmacist. Patient safety is a primary focus of the pharmacy team; they ensure the safe and accurate compounding and dispensing of IV chemotherapy products to our patients on a daily basis.
Details of the near miss:
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research is providing more than $1.3 million in grants to researchers at Lakehead University.
Dr. Alla Reznik is a Physics Professor at Lakehead University and a scientist at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute who is receiving $738,226 to explore a new way to diagnose prostate cancer in men.
“The goal of this research is to improve prostate cancer diagnosis by accurately establishing where in the broad spectrum of this disease a particular tumor lies and to identify its true aggressiveness,” said Dr. Reznik, who is the Canada Research Chair in the Physics of Molecular Imaging.
She and her team will achieve this goal over five years by developing a next-generation imaging system based on a combination of prostate-targeted Positron Emission Tomography and transrectal ultrasound imaging.
“Our research will advance the field of prostate cancer detection beyond the current standard of care and will result in an improvement of prostate cancer survival – yielding significant clinical benefits,” Dr. Reznik said.
Her co-applicants include researchers from the London Regional Cancer Program, and the University of Western Ontario. Radialis Medical is the partner organization.
Two PhD students and one Master of Science student will assist with this research.
Dr. Anna Kone, Associate Professor in the Department of Health Sciences, is receiving more than $293,000 to assess and understand the impacts of the pandemic on people from the Black and Indigenous communities who have chronic diseases.
She and her team will perform this important research over two years.
“In the midst of the pandemic, there were reductions in service offering to respond to the crisis,” Dr. Kone said.
“Inevitably, this impacted the care of those already having difficulty navigating the system for their ongoing health needs, including patients with cancer, diabetes, dementia, etc.,” she said.
Dr. Kone will provide recommendations for policy responses and care approaches, informed by anti-oppressive and intersectional ways, overall and for future emergencies.
She and her team will use a mixed-method approach including a survey and interviews. The study will look at Northwestern Ontario, including rural areas and Indigenous communities, plus Black communities in the Greater Toronto Area.
Dr. Lana Ray, from Lakehead’s Department of Indigenous Learning, and Dr. Elaine Wiersma from Lakehead’s Department of Health Sciences, are assisting in this study along with researchers from the University of Toronto.
Multiple Indigenous and Black community-based organizations are also involved and partners in the study, including Waasegiizhig Nanaandawe’iyewigamig Health Access Centre (WNHAC), the Women’s Health in Women’s Hands Community Health Centre, Entité 3, and Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority.
Two first-year Master of Health Sciences students are participating in the research and a recent Master of Public Health graduate is the research coordinator.
Dr. Christopher Mushquash, a Psychology Professor at Lakehead University, and his team are receiving a $250,000 grant to develop content-specific and culturally relevant practices that will transform youth mental health services in Indigenous contexts.
Dr. Mushquash is a clinical psychologist. He is a Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Mental Health and Addiction, a professor at NOSM University, Vice-President of Research at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC), and Chief Scientist at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute (TBRHRI).
The team will conduct this research over one year on behalf of Access Open Minds, the first pan-Canadian youth mental health network.
Six Indigenous community partners are included in the research: Elsipogtog First Nation (NB), Eskasoni First Nation (NS), Sturgeon Lake First Nation (Sask.), Puvirnituq (Nunavik, Que.), the Cree Nation of Mistissini (Que.), and Ulukhaktok (Inuvialuit Settlement Region, NWT).
Access Open Minds has informed the development of and has since collaborated with provincial integrated youth service networks, such as Aire Ouverte, Foundry, Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario/YWHO).
AOM is a network of youth mental health service providers, researchers, families and youth who have been working over the past seven years to test and evaluate a transformed method of providing youth mental health care.
“Our team will develop wise practices and recommendations for the implementation of context specific and culturally relevant youth services in Indigenous contexts, informed by an understanding of the experiences and perspectives of Indigenous community sites and stakeholders,” Dr. Mushquash said.
“We will be guided by a community participatory approach grounded in Indigenous knowledge and approaches as guided by the AOM Indigenous Council. We will employ multiple methods to meet the research objectives including a case study approach to generate a narrative case study for each of the six Indigenous sites,” he added.
Dr. Andrew P. Dean, Lakehead’s Vice-President, Research and Innovation congratulated each researcher who received a grant and thanked the CIHR for funding these important projects.
“Lakehead University continues to be a leader in health science research in Northwestern Ontario. As these projects demonstrate, we have amazing diversity and extremely applied research in many important areas in health sciences.”
In 2021/22, Lakehead University received nearly $2 million in assistance from the Research Support Fund to support the indirect costs of research, which includes costs for supporting the management of intellectual property, research and administration, ethics and regulatory compliance, research resources, and research facilities.
Read the full news release for details.
Shared on behalf of Infection Prevention and Control
Please be advised that the COVID-19 outbreak has been declared over TBRHSC’s 3B Surgical Inpatient Unit as of February 9, 2023. All restrictions have been lifted.
Please share this information with the appropriate staff.
For more information, contact: Infection Prevention and Control at 684-6094.
A reminder to complete this staff quiz for your chance to win a prize! All those completed by noon on Friday Feb 10th will be entered in the draw.
The Ontario government recognized 4,555 Ontarians with a Volunteer Service Award, an annual award honouring the exceptional contributions of individuals providing dedicated service to a single organization. Nine volunteers from the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre received a personalized certificate and lapel pin to acknowledge their years of service.
In a news release, Michael Ford, Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism said, “Volunteers are the backbones of our communities and embody the best of the Ontario spirit. They have shown — through their commitment, dedication and selfless service — that we can achieve anything and overcome any challenge when we come together as Team Ontario. I want to thank these incredible leaders, changemakers and everyday heroes for the incredible work they do to make our communities and our province a stronger and better place to live, work and succeed.”
Join us in congratulating the award recipients and thanking them for their dedication to our Hospital:
Ontario Volunteer Service Awards:
Loretta Brassard (Cancer Centre Volunteer, 40 years)
Carole McCollum (Gardening Volunteer, 20 years)
Kim Montanaro (Cancer Centre Volunteer, 25 years)
Marilyn Parker (Seasons Gift Shop Volunteer, 20 years)
Barb Rickards (Wayfinding and Surgical Day Care Volunteer, 25 years)
Judy Surkan (Cancer Centre Volunteer, 25 years)
Ontario Volunteer Service Youth Awards:
Paniz Bashari (Hospital Elder Life Program, HELP, 4 years)
Kieran Cross (Wayfinding, 4 years)
Lahama Naeem (Child Life/Pediatrics, 6 years)
Remember – We want to hear from you! Tell us how volunteers and PFAs have made a difference in your department or why you appreciate volunteers. Please send your responses to Sara Cicchitano, Volunteer Coordinator at Sara.Cicchitano@tbh.net.
Shared on behalf of Ontario Health
Knowing where to turn for health information can be confusing. To support Ontarians in their journey to access the right care at the right time, Health811 is here to help.
Previously known as Health Connect Ontario, which replaced Telehealth Ontario, Health811 is a free, secure and confidential service Ontarians can call or access online 24 hours a day, seven days a week to receive health advice from qualified health professionals, such as registered nurses, locate local health services and find trusted health information.
Health811 features one website: Ontario.ca/Health811 (also available in French: Ontario.ca/Sante811) and one number to call: 811 (TTY: 1-866-797-0007).
Health811 is for non-urgent health questions and concerns only and is not a substitution for 911, which should still be used for a medical emergency. This service is also not a replacement for regular touchpoints with health care providers.
Any references to Health Connect Ontario, such as website links, will be automatically redirected to Health811 to ensure continuity of service.
Features of Health811:
Are you interested in becoming a Workplace Wellness Champion?
Volunteer your time, knowledge, ideas and positive energy by joining the Wellness Committee!
What is the Wellness Committee?
The Wellness Committee is part of an organization-wide initiative that aims to optimize the health and well-being of Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) staff, physicians, students and volunteers. This is done by developing, promoting and supporting staff health and wellness programming that is consistent with the TBRHSC Strategic Plan. By increasing staff health and engagement, the Wellness Committee aims to foster healthy, positive attitudes that support the organization’s mission for excellence in patient and family centered care.
What will you do as part of the Wellness Committee?
Please note, being a member of the Wellness Committee is a voluntary role.
When does the Wellness Committee meet?
Wellness Committee meetings are held every two months on the first Thursday of the month from 12 – 1 pm.
Interested in joining?
Contact caitlund.davidson@tbh.net.
The following photos and acknowledgements were submitted by Physicians, Medical Students and Staff to show their appreciation for our Resident Doctors.
Dr. Andres Griborio-Guzman – You’re an excellent teacher. Thanks for always saying hello and taking an interest.
Imran Bagha – NOSM University
Dr. Laura Kerr – You’re well on your way to becoming an attending. You fit the role already.
Imran Bagha – NOSM University
Dr. Alexi King – The Peritoneal Dialysis department would like to thank Dr. King for being present, kind and compassionate with our renal patients. When he was a resident with the renal program he always made time to check in with our department and see how the day was looking. We think he’s been a great addition to our hospital no matter what area he works in.
The Peritoneal Dialysis department
A reminder to complete this staff quiz for your chance to win a prize! All those completed by noon on Friday February 10 will be entered in the draw.
A reminder to complete this staff quiz for your chance to win a prize! All those completed by noon on Friday February 10 will be entered in the draw.