April is BeADonor Month in Ontario. The goal during BeADonor Month is to inspire those who have not yet registered consent for organ and tissue donation – the more Ontarians register to donate, the greater the chance to save those who are in need of a transplant. Registering only takes two minutes when visiting beadonor.ca. and can give hope to more than 1,500 Ontarians waiting for a life-saving transplant because one organ donor can save up to eight lives.

Shared on behalf of Marcello Bernardo, Manager, Communications and Engagement

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I am pleased to share that Raiili Pellizzari has joined the Communications and Engagement Department as the Communications and Special Projects Lead, effective April 25th.

In this role, the Communications and Special Projects Lead will report to the Manager, Communications and Engagement and support the implementation of proactive and effective communications that promotes the Strategic Plan and regular execution, maintenance and measurement of Communications & Engagement campaign activities, including social media initiatives, media relations, and content/message development and delivery. The Lead will develop and facilitate engagement strategies with internal and external stakeholders, including the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute. The Lead will also be involved in overseeing engagements and projects that advances the reputation and position of our Hospital as a leading Academic Health Sciences Centre. In addition, Raiili will be providing project oversight for projects under the VP Quality and Corporate Affairs.   

Raiili comes to us from Ontario Health (North) where she held the position of Lead, System Strategy, Planning, Design and Implementation. Prior to that, she held positions as a Communications and Community Engagement Lead, while also supporting the Incident Commander in COVID-19 activities as the Incident Management Lead. 

Raiili has a Master of Biomedical Technology from the University of Calgary and an Honours Bachelor of Science, with a Major in Applied Biomolecular Science, from Lakehead University.

Please join me in welcoming Raiili to our Hospital.

Although the Volunteer & PFA Recognition Committee have planned a number of recognition activities and events, volunteers are particularly pleased when Hospital staff recognize and thank them for their efforts.

National Volunteer Week is the perfect opportunity for you and your staff to recognize the volunteers who serve as part of your department’s team and throughout the Hospital.

Please send your messages of thanks to a specific Volunteer or Patient Family Advisor (PFA) or to the whole team to Megan Valente, Volunteer Coordinator, at valentme@tbh.net end-of-day Monday, April 25 2022.

We will share these with Volunteers and PFAs in the volunteer newsletter, at the PFCC council meeting, and post them in the Volunteer Services department.

On behalf of Volunteers and PFAs, thank you!

Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation funds equipment upgrades for North of Superior Healthcare Group’s Regional Cancer Care program

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As part of Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation’s (TBRHSF) dedication to advance health care in Northwestern Ontario, a Pentax Colonoscope Package was purchased for the North of Superior Healthcare (NOSH) group’s Regional Cancer Care Northwest’s Systemic Therapy Treatment Program at the Wilson Memorial Hospital site in Marathon.

Regional Cancer Care Northwest allows for patients across Northwestern Ontario to access high-quality patient care closer to home.  Although patients may have to travel to Thunder Bay for radiation therapy and other treatment services, the 13 satellite locations provide access to chemotherapy and cancer prevention and screening services at partnering hospitals throughout Northwestern Ontario.  The Foundation helps to provide equipment to these Hospitals so that patients can receive some of their care in their local Hospital rather than travel to Thunder Bay, which is more convenient, comfortable, and economical.  

The existing colorectal cancer screening equipment at the Wilson Memorial site was in need of upgrades – aging equipment was starting to break down and repairs were becoming costly.  With surgeons travelling three hours to perform these scopes, it is imperative that equipment remains functional at all times.  There is no backup equipment if a monitor or scope goes down, and the existing equipment was temperamental and unreliable.

“Thanks to the grant funded by the TBRHSF, we were able to purchase two new colonoscopes and a new radiance monitor for the Wilson Memorial Hospital site.  This new equipment will help us perform around 200 scopes per year, and our screening program helps prevent patients from having to travel to Thunder Bay for these procedures.  This is especially important as colonoscopy prep is definitely more comfortable in your own home than in a hotel room,” says Janet Gobeil, Chief Nursing Officer, NOSH Healthcare Group.  “We cannot thank the Foundation enough – we rely on these grants to keep our program running.”

“A grant request was submitted last year by the NOSH Healthcare Group for new equipment for their colorectal cancer screening program, and it was so important that we were able to fund this upgrade to help patients stay closer to home for their scopes. The Foundation was able to fund $43,784 to purchase the new scopes and monitor, which would not have been able to happen without our generous donors and 50/50 supporters,” says Parker Jones, Chair, Board of Directors, TBRHSF. “The Foundation has approved $198,200 in funding to Regional Cancer Care Northwest’s Systemic Therapy Treatment Program at the Wilson Memorial Hospital site in Marathon since 2009. The Foundation grants are important not only for the Hospital in Thunder Bay, but for smaller regional hospitals – helping provide closer-to-home care for patients across Northwestern Ontario.”

Each year, Grants are submitted by different departments of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and its programs located throughout the region, and reviewed by a grant committee.  The success of the Thunder Bay 50/50 allowed for more grants to be funded in 2021 than ever before, and equipment was purchased and improvements were made not only to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, but also to hospitals in Marathon, Terrace Bay, Fort Frances, Dryden, Kenora and Sioux Lookout.

Today’s Employee Donor spotlight is shining on Sandy from the Medical Records department, who’s been a donating towards better healthcare for 12 years!

“I give to the hospital because I think it’s important to support our community,” she says, “and I know this is something almost everyone will need access to at some point in their lives.”

Thank you, Sandy!

Employee Donors are Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre staff who donate through payroll deductions, helping to fund Hospital equipment in the area that means the most to them. Their dedication to better local healthcare is shown in both the hard work they do and their donations. Thank you to Tbaytel, who matches annual Employee Donor contributions up to $7,500!

If you’re a Hospital employee you can sign up, too! Learn more at www.healthsciencesfoundation.ca/imin

Shared on behalf of Adam Vinet, Vice President, Patient Experience & Chief Nursing Executive and Regional Vice President, Cancer Care Services, North West Region; and Peter Myllymaa, Vice President, Operations, Clinical and Support Services, and Chief Financial Officer

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We are excited to announce that we have selected UKG as our new scheduling software vendor.

The UKG Dimensions™ scheduling solution will replace Staffright as our organizational scheduling platform and will simplify the complex task of creating, viewing, and maintaining accurate work schedules.

Through engagement and surveys over the last few months, we have heard that staff want to feel empowered to make choices and to flexibly transition between life and work. Staff want access to self-service tools that allow them to be in control of their schedules — anywhere and anytime.

For staff, this new software means the convenience of mobile or web-based access where they can easily view schedules, set scheduling preferences, manage availability, and stay up-to-date as schedules change. 

For leaders, it will provide tools to effectively make staffing decisions by providing staffing coverage visibility in the moment, communicate schedules quickly, manage rules-based compliance, and provide scheduling transparency – all while increasing productivity and improving employee engagement.

As we transition to this new scheduling software platform, there will inevitably be some change. We will engage with staff, unions, and leaders over the course of the project as we anticipate that some of our current scheduling and payroll policies, processes, and practices will need to evolve.

We are in the process of working with UKG to assemble a project team and develop our project plan, and will communicate further details regarding project milestones and timelines in the coming weeks.  

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact:

Dino Armenti, Director, Financial Services armentid@tbh.net
Rita Grenier Buchan, Manager, Staffing Office grenierr@tbh.net
Michael Iorianni, Manager, Payroll and Accounting ioriannm@tbh.net

Shared on behalf of Jennifer Wintermans, EVP, Communications & Corporate Relations, COVID-19 Lead

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To ensure alignment with current guidelines from the Thunder Bay District Health Unit, updated provincial guidelines, as well as the increase in previous positive cases in our community and the lifting of travel restrictions, the guidelines for When to Test and When to Isolate Inpatients for COVID-19 Guidance Document have been updated.

The updated When to Test and When to Isolate Inpatients for COVID-19 Guidance Document can be found on the intranet: https://comms.tbrhsc.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Guidance-Document-When-to-Test-and-When-to-Isolate-Inpatients-for-COVID-19-Version-4-April-19-2022.pdf  

The following actions have been revised in the document:

• COVID-19 related restrictions for entering Canada for fully vaccinated individuals have been lifted. The guidelines associated with this have been removed from the guidance document.
• Only high-risk exposures (vs low-risk exposures) required testing and isolation. The current guidelines that contradict this have been removed from the guidance document.
• The remainder of the guidelines are unchanged; however, the document has been updated to a more user-friendly format to better empower front line staff and improve compliance with testing and isolation requirements.
• While in response level RED all admissions, all surgical cases, all Upper Endoscopy cases, all Pulmonary Function tests, or higher risk cases in both the Cath Lab and Interventional Radiology, will continue to be swabbed regardless of immunization status or negative screening.
  

The updated guidance does not require any adjustments to current practice at TBRHSC inpatient management. 

To note: Updated actions are used as a guide and may not always be revised as we change response levels. Any questions can be directed to you Manager or IPAC. 

All Hospital COVID-19 updates and resources are also available on the iNtranet at https://comms.tbrhsc.net/covid-19-information/.