Effective Monday, May 2nd, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre will be starting the construction phase of the capital project for the replacement of the 1.5T Avanto MRI with a new 3T Vida MRI.
Construction is expected to take four months to complete. During construction, hoarding will be erected to upgrade the room shielding and replace the equipment, blocking access to the G door.
Temporary access will be provided via the G door stairwell (around the corner). Please share this information with your staff. The changes were put into effect on May 2nd.
Please note that this also applies to exiting the facility, all foot traffic during construction will be via the G door stairwell.
Please contact Kaitlyn Mauracher, Manager Capital & Program Development with any questions maurachk@tbh.net
May 1-7 is Emergency Preparedness Week at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC). This year’s theme is “Be Ready for Anything”. Throughout the week we will share information related to emergency preparedness at TBRHSC and tips for personal emergency preparedness.
TBRHSC Emergency Preparedness Resources:
Although there are hospital-wide response procedures for each emergency code (captured in policy), some emergency codes require detailed, department specific response plans. Codes Yellow, Amber, Orange, Green, Black, Brown and Red all require department sub-plans. Sub-plans are created using templates provided by Emergency Preparedness and are maintained at the department level.
Be Ready for Anything by annually reviewing emergency code policies and your departmental sub-plans. All emergency code policies are located:
In red-labelled Emergency Code binders in every department
If you have questions regarding procedure, roles, or responsibilities contact your manager or the Lead, Emergency Preparedness.
Preparedness Spotlight:
Security has a defined role in many of TBRHSC’s emergency codes. A few examples of how Security contributes to hospital emergency preparedness and response includes using CCTV to assist with searching for missing patients, attending the site of an unknown spill to assist with traffic control, and liaising with emergency responders during fire alarms.
We asked some of our Security team members to share how they help to ensure that TBRHSC is Ready for Anything.
Tarandeep Singh (Security team member)
“I ensure the hospital is Ready for Anything through eliminating potential hazards in my areas and getting proper training.”
Clinton Lyons (Security team member)
“I make sure the hospital is Ready for Anything by prioritizing mitigation, predicting future hazards and teaming up on risk.”
Christian Nielsen (GardaWorld Site-Manager)
“I try my best to make sure TBRHSC is Ready for Anything by ensuring my team’s training is up to date and that they understand and feel comfortable with their roles in an emergency.”
This month, with spring finally in the air, I would like to continue the conversation surrounding ‘New Beginnings’ here at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC).
And the way to rekindle that discussion is to ask everyone to join me in welcoming the many new staff and physicians who have joined our organization over the past several weeks. This includes:
76 new RNs
16 RPNs
4 internationally educated nurses
This, of course, is in addition to the more than 15 PSWs and hiring of 60 new Unit Care Aides and Externs.
As we begin to move toward COVID-19 recovery, having these new colleagues will help us focus on stabilization of the health sector overall and ensure we place our Hospital in position to transform, restore and then sustain a healthy future for TBRHSC. This is a core underpinning to our Board-approved Strategic Plan moving forward.
As you all know, Northwestern Ontario is not so new to the issue of chronic understaffing – it was a ‘thing’ long before the pandemic. That said, I am very proud of our recruitment folks who have done an incredible job under difficult circumstances to attract and hire people with the goal of managing in some way the immense pressure you have all been under. I know it’s not perfect and won’t solve all of our problems, but as you can see in the table below, we have managed to make progress addressing the staffing challenges that every single hospital in our system is facing at the moment.
January
2020
2022
FT Nurses
519
506
PT Nurses
294
300
Temp/Casual/Float Nurses
533
607
Total
1,346
1,413
It’s important to note this staffing accomplishment happened as we added programs such as the COVID-19 Assessment Centre, responded to patient care acuity needs, and infection prevention and control requirements.
Moving forward, our health human resources is a major priority for TBRHSC. We know front line health care workers are exhausted. You have worked longer and harder and in more difficult conditions than ever. This combined with what’s coming in terms of overall capacity and care pressures to address backlogs in care create a real vulnerability. We know globally that will mean more departures and retirements that will challenge our retention efforts. We’re not alone here.
What we do have that makes us unique is a beautiful region that is affordable compared to most other parts of the province – while also being a teaching hospital with an award-winning research institute. Moving forward, communicating this will be a critical priority as set out in our Strategic Plan priorities.
The Senior Team has heard clearly from you about how we need to continue supporting our front line, support staff experience, and together with that, the overall patient experience. The wellbeing of our workforce is critical and foundational to everything we do and will do in this new beginning. It’s not optional at this point as we all definitively know.
Together we will need to innovate new and better solutions, change our approach to care and approach to challenges and problems. We will need to be laser focused on our priorities here if we will clear the path forward. We are creating forums for engagement and input and ideas and sharing. You are the experts and I encourage you to join in and be part of the solution.
In the meantime, again, please join me in welcoming our new colleagues and helping them transition in as smoothly as possible.
As always, I welcome comments on this blog or any other matter. You can reach me at: crockerelr@tbh.net
Shared on behalf of Anne-Marie Heron, Code Red & Code Grey Executive Sponsor; Aaron Skillen, Code Brown Executive Sponsor; David McConnell, Alert-99 Executive Sponsor; Amy Carr, Emergency Fan-Out Executive Sponsor
The Hospital’s Code Red – Fire Alarm (EMER-30), Code Grey- Air Exclusion (EMER-10); Code Brown- Unknown/ Unmanageable Hazardous Substance or Spill (EMER-100), Alert-99/Alert-99 Trauma (EMER-120), and Emergency Fan-Out (EMER-110) have been reviewed and updated.
Actions required:
Managers:
Review the attached codes and contact your Director or Emergency Preparedness with any questions;
Circulate this memo to your staff;
Print the updated policies and add them to the area’s emergency binder, remove/recycle previous versions of the policies, and distribute updated policies to staff for review;
Roles and Responsibilities table and Algorithm added for clarity.
Process Reminders:
Code Red sub plans provide important department specific instructions to supplement the policy that must be reviewed annually by the department manager.
Code Red – Fire Alarm (EMER-30) instructions apply to the Hospital building. For external buildings, call 9-1-1 (see section 6 of policy for details).
Precautionary Code Grey stage to include prolonged air quality issues;
Roles and Responsibilities table and Algorithm added for clarity;
Forest Fire/ Air Quality guidelines, maps, IMS guide, and Equipment Disruptions table added to the appendices as additional tools for Incident Manager and response team.
Process Reminders:
Contact supervisor to notify Switchboard for Precautionary Code Grey.
Only the Senior Leader on Call or Admin Coordinator (after hours) can confirm a Code Grey once the precautionary announcement has been made.
Code Brown- Unknown/ Unmanageable Hazardous Substance or Spill (EMER-100)
Inclusion of Nuclear Medicine Technologist for radioactive spills;
Roles and Responsibilities table and Algorithm added for clarity
Process Reminders:
There is an “All Department” Code Brown sub plan that differs from the Code Brown sub-plan that is designed for use by the Response Team. Both templates are available on the intranet. Please complete (or print) the appropriate document.
Roles and Responsibilities table added for clarity.
Process Reminders:
Alert-99 is to be called for responsive persons requiring medical assistance outside of inpatient units; for non-responsive patients, call a Code Blue.
For persons outside the hospital building, including external buildings, call 9-1-1.
May 1-7 is Emergency Preparedness Week at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC). This year’s theme is “Be Ready for Anything”. Throughout the week we will share information related to emergency preparedness at TBRHSC and tips for personal emergency preparedness.
Emergency Preparedness at TBRHSC:
The Emergency Preparedness and Security department works closely with the Emergency Preparedness Committee (EPC) to ensure that TBRHSC has the capacity to effectively respond, recover and learn from emergencies. The EPC is comprised of staff from various programs and services and is responsible for providing oversight and leadership related to hospital emergency preparedness.
TBRHSC follows the Ontario Health Association (OHA) standardized Emergency Colour Code system. Each colour code (as well as Alert 99 and Lockdown) has an Executive Sponsor (who is a leader and EPC member) and working group assigned to maintaining the associated policy, reviewing key incidents, and identifying education or training opportunities. The Manager of Emergency Preparedness and Security and Lead, Emergency Preparedness work closely with these groups.
Be Ready for Anything by being familiar with all emergency code processes, and knowing your department-specific actions.
Preparedness Spotlight:
We asked some of the EPC Executive Sponsors to share how they help to ensure that TBRHSC is Ready for Anything.
Anne-Marie Heron (Executive Sponsor for Code Red and Code Grey):
“As the Executive Sponsor for Code Red, we ensure the Hospital is Ready for Anything through annual review of the policy and fire plan, monthly drills, preventative maintenance, and fire code reminders to staff.
As the Executive Sponsor for Code Grey – air exclusion and infrastructure failure – we are developing more detailed sub-plans to ensure we are Ready for Anything that mother nature can throw at us – storms, flood, power failure, etc. and developing projects to support infrastructure resiliency.”
Aaron Skillen (Executive Sponsor for Code Brown):
“Any substance having the potential to cause physical harm, regardless of origin, must be considered dangerous. Hospital occupants and property must be protected from exposure to hazardous or potentially hazardous substances or spills. The Code Brown working group develops the procedures to be followed to ensure an immediate and safe means of identification, communication, response and clean-up of hazardous spills.”
Lisa Beck (Executive Sponsor for Code Orange):
“Have a plan and ensure everyone is aware of where it is located and their role. When real or near Code Orange events happen, debrief with all involved while things are fresh in their minds. Strengthen and build on what things when right and act quickly on things that need improvement. Work efficiently as a team!
Ron Turner (Executive Sponsor for Code Green):
“A Code Green is called when an evacuation is required to protect all people in the building from injury or potential harm resulting from a hazardous condition. Some of the key objectives of the plan include alerting staff of the need to evacuate, identifying the type of evacuation response required, accounting for patients, and moving patients from the impacted area to a safer environment away from the hazardous condition. In these situations, a Code Green response identifies the actions that are required and helps staff determine the best course of action, whether that is moving all people to another unit within the hospital, outside, or away from the building all together. As the Executive Sponsor for Code Green, I commend the efforts of the Code Green Working Group and the contributions of all staff to ensure that TBRHSC is Ready for Anything.”
Rosemary Pereira from Kenora, ON is the winner of the April 2022 Thunder Bay 50/50 jackpot.
Rosemary Pereira from Kenora, ON is the lucky winner of the April Thunder Bay 50/50 Grand Prize draw, bringing home a whopping $754,885. Rosemary bought a $20 ticket bundle earlier this month.
“I just went through a knee replacement and I’ve been in so much pain this past month… I thought ‘I need something good in my life!’,” says Rosemary. When asked what she is going to do with her winnings, she replied “I’ll probably share!”
Rosemary explained that she’s been purchasing tickets for the monthly draw for a while now, and on the last Friday of the month, she’s always waiting to hear who the jackpot winner is around 10:00 am (because of the time change in Kenora). However, today, it was the furthest thing from her mind, and the phone call she received from Glenn Craig, President and CEO of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation, was definitely a surprise.
The Thunder Bay 50/50 is a monthly draw in which proceeds go towards purchasing vital equipment and making upgrades at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and its satellite programs across Northwestern Ontario. April is Cancer Month, so all proceeds from this month’s draw will go towards equipment upgrades and improvements in the cancer centre.
Rosemary received her knee replacement in Kenora through the Hospital’s Regional Orthopedic program, where physicians travel from Thunder Bay to perform surgeries at regional sites at different hospitals across Northwestern Ontario. In 2016, the Foundation supported the purchase of specialized Operating Room equipment to facilitate the start-up of this program. Kenora was one of the sites.
“The community support of the Thunder Bay 50/50 has been incredible, and making the phone call to let someone know they just won three-quarters of a million dollars is such a thrill!,” says Glenn Craig. “We have ticket purchasers from all across Ontario, many of who have ties to our Hospital, and they’ve allowed us to purchase some really great equipment to help improve healthcare in our region.”
May Draw Now Open
May’s draw will feature an exciting Long Weekend Early Bird Blitz with four $2400 prizes drawn on Friday, May 20, and the grand prize jackpot happening Friday, May 27. Tickets for the May 2022 jackpot are now are available online only at www.thunderbay5050.ca.
Ticket packages as follows:
$10 for 5 numbers
$20 for 30 numbers
$50 for 150 numbers
$75 for 300 numbers (Best Value)
** Tickets must be purchased by 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 26, 2022 to be eligible for the Grand Prize draw on Friday, May 27, at 11:00 a.m.
Questions about the draw can be sent to info@thunderbay5050.ca. Ticket purchasers must be present in Ontario to purchase and 18 years old or older. The Thunder Bay 50/50 continues each month with the Grand Prize drawn on the last Friday of the month.
Video Caption – Glenn Craig, President and CEO of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation contacts Rosemary Pereira, letting them know they won the April Thunder Bay 50/50 Jackpot.
Shared on behalf of Infection Prevention and Control
A COVID-19 outbreak has been declared on 2A at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) as of April 28, 2022. All restrictions are in place.
As always, our number one priority is the safety of patients and their families, staff and visitors. All patients identified as having an exposure to this outbreak have been isolated with appropriate additional precautions. Essential Care Partners will only be permitted on a case by case basis, following the process outlined in the Care Partner/ Essential Care Partner Guidance Document.
Infection Prevention and Control encourages everyone to continue applying routine practices of hand hygiene, proper use of PPE, cleaning shared equipment and the appropriate screening of all patients. Please set an example to staff and students and assist us by maintaining compliance and due diligence.
Staff with questions regarding potential exposures should contact Occupational Health and Safety.
Notice will be sent when the outbreak is declared over.
For more information, contact:
Infection Prevention and Control Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre Tel. (807) 684-6094
It’s National Volunteer Week, a time to recognize, celebrate and thank the volunteers who contribute to our Hospital and Health Sciences Foundation.
Haakon Dagsvik is a volunteer with the Wayfinding program at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC).
Haakon has completed nearly 1,000 hours of volunteer time at TBRHSC since 2013. He began volunteering shortly after he retired from the Rehab Transport Program where he would take patients to and from their rehabilitation appointments. Being able to talk to patients and hear their stories while getting to move around the Hospital was what attracted him to the role.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic Haakon volunteered as a courier, making light deliveries throughout the Hospital, but transitioned to a wayfinder role upon returning in 2020.
Based at the main entrance of our Hospital, wayfinding volunteers have been helping to create a positive and welcoming first impression at our Hospital to all patients and care partners by:
greeting out-patients, visitors, and staff;
providing directions to out-patients or visitors and personally escorting them, if needed;
transporting out-patients or visitors by wheelchair, as required;
delivering items for patients to the nursing stations;
locating, sanitizing, and returning wheelchairs to the main lobby.
Haakon’s favourite thing about volunteering at TBRHSC is getting to meet a lot of interesting people while helping out our community. “It’s a great way to stay busy while still making a positive impact for our city,” says Haakon.
Haakon has volunteered with other organizations over the years but his tenure at TBRHSC has lasted by far the longest. “Choose a volunteer role that you enjoy while being surrounded with good people. That’s what has kept me coming back for so many years,” says Haakon.
Our Hospital is fortunate to have dedicated volunteers like Haakon.
