Shared on behalf of Bridge Northwest

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The Team has been on the move!

The Technical Readiness Team is visiting departments across the region for Device Walkthroughs.

Front line staff, physicians, department managers, and more have been instrumental in directing efficient walkthroughs and providing insight into logistics and workflows.

Captured here are several walkthroughs at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, St. Joseph’s Care Group, Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre, and North of Superior Healthcare Group.

Keep an eye out — our team may be coming through your department next!

The Emergency Department (ED) at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) has continued its annual tradition of giving back during the holiday season. This year, the team raised $2,640, which will support 15 children, ages 1 to 14, through individualized wish bags as part of the Children’s Aid Society of the District of Thunder Bay’s annual Christmas Wish Campaign, now in partnership with Dilico Anishinabek Family Care.

This marks the 16th consecutive year that our ED has participated in this initiative.

Our ED staff and physicians have once again demonstrated the true spirit of the season through their generosity and compassion. Their kindness will undoubtedly help ensure that these children enjoy a bright and memorable holiday.

What an incredible team! Thank you for making a meaningful difference.

Test your knowledge and be entered to win prizes by playing this year’s edition of Holiday Cheer Week Trivia.

Between December 12-18, new questions will be posted daily and winners will be drawn daily starting Monday, December 15 to Friday, December 19. Click here to head to the trivia platform!

Physical ballots will be brought to the service areas and picked up every morning for those who cannot access a computer during their shift.

Infused with Heart & Stroke’s 2020 Guidelines for CPR and ECC, our new BLS program offers an engaging and flexible new way of learning. In this course, you will learn the fundamental skills of high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for victims of all ages. You will practice delivering these skills as a single rescuer and as a member of a multi-rescuer team.

The next session will be held:

Date: Monday, January 5, 2026
Time: 8:30 a.m.
Location: TBRHSC Auditorium A (Room 3021A/3rd Floor)

The skills you learn in BLS will enable you to:

• Recognize a cardiac arrest
• Activate the emergency response system early
• Respond quickly and confidently
• Perform high-quality single-rescuer CPR and multi-rescuer team CPR

This course will ensure people in cardiac arrest have the best chance of survival. Click here to register.

The Maternity Centre at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) provides prenatal care for the residents of Thunder Bay and surrounding region. Our team is committed to providing evidence-based maternity care that is safe, respectful and culturally sensitive.

Self-referral can be made to be seen by a Nurse Practitioner, Family Medicine Physician, Social Worker, Kinesiologist, Dietician, and Lactation Consultant.

To be seen by an Obstetrician, a referral is needed from your primary health care provider or midwife.

During pregnancy, you are welcome to call the Maternity Centre to schedule an appointment with one of our prenatal care providers. All of our programs are accessible with your Ontario health card.

TBRHSC’s Maternity Centre welcomes the 102 babies born at our Hospital during the month of November. Congratulations on the new bundles of joy!

Find out more about our services by visiting https://bit.ly/TBRHSC-Maternity-Centre-info

Shared on behalf of Ryan Sears, Director, Capital and Facility Services; and Heliport Emergency Response Plan Executive Sponsor

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The Hospital’s Heliport Emergency Response Plan (EMER-180) policy has been revised.

Actions required:

1. Read this memo and review the updated Heliport Emergency Response Plan (EMER-180) policy to familiarize yourself with important process changes.
2. Managers to ensure that the updated policy is added to their area’s emergency binder and that all workers review the attached policy. 

Policy changes:

• Increased alignment with Code Red – Fire Alarm (EMER-30).
• New definitions: After Hours, Regular Hours, Code Red Supervisor On Duty, and Incident Manager (reflecting definitions in other emergency colour code policies).
• Removed medical emergency response (previously Sec. 6.3), as this was redundant information based on regular practice.
• New flight path map.
• Simplified and/or removed information captured in the Heliport Operations Manual, such as the disabled aircraft removal plan.

Process Reminders:

• If a helicopter crashes within the heliport perimeter the hospital’s fire alarm will be activated and Security will state “Code Red – Heliport” via overhead announcement.
• Only designated Hospital staff will respond to an incident involving a helicopter or the heliport; do not enter hazardous areas and maintain a safe distance from the incident site.
• Thunder Bay Fire Rescue and/or Thunder Bay Police will take command of the scene when they arrive. 

If you have any questions, please reach out to Mēsha Richard, Lead, Emergency Preparedness (ext. 6552 or mesha.richard@tbh.net) 

Shared on behalf of Ryan Sears, Director, Capital and Facility Services

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Please be advised the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (at the 980 Oliver Road location only) will execute a planned impairment of its entire Overhead Paging System and Fire System on Thursday, December 18, 2025 for approximately four (4) hours – starting at 11:00 p.m. to facilitate project related work for the MDRD Renovation. 

Our Facilities and Security teams will be enacting and overseeing our Fire System Impairment and Fire Watch procedures, as included in the Fire Plan for our site. 

During this impairment, no Hot Work will be authorized. Further, any high risk work that could result in an elevated risk of fire, heat, or smoke should not be planned – please review this within your department and plan to discontinue high-risk activities (i.e. construction, repairs, hot showers, etc).  Should you observe activities that may be of concern during the impairment, contact your Supervisor or Manager to discuss. 

While the Hospital’s Overhead Paging System is out of service, alternate measures will be applied to notify the organization of Emergency Codes and Alerts. Staff will continue to activate all Codes using extension 55. Please see the attached policy for guidance.  

Key things to remember during an outage:

1. Regularly monitor email for emergency code and alert notices issued by Switchboard.
2. Respond to emergency codes and alerts through alternate communication measures, e.g., paging, radios, emails, runners, etc., as appropriate – and activate response as required.
3. Be vigilant in reviewing department activities during the period of fire system impairment.
4. Clinical leads are encouraged to collaborate with their teams to consider alternatives to paging patients back to units, such as collecting Patients’ mobile phone numbers.

Further, in event of fire during this impairment, please execute all steps as outlined in Code Red Policy (EMER-30) and your area sub plan.

Should you discover a fire – “REACT“: R – Remove persons in immediate danger; E – Ensure doors are closed to confine fire or smoke; A – Activate the fire alarm by pulling the nearest pull station; C– Call Switchboard at Ext 55 to report the location of the fire; T– Try to extinguish the fire if trained to do so or continue to evacuate.

The contractor for the fire system work is Troy Life & Fire Safety. The Building System Operator is onsite and reachable at cell number 807-629-7005. Further support will be provided by Security (684-6509) and the on call Facility Manager (cell number 807-629-3119) as required. 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the above, please contact Ryan Sears (Ryan.Sears@tbh.net)

On behalf of the Employee Giving Committee, Jenelle and Lindsay from the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation will be visiting each department on December 16 at 1:00 p.m. to welcome new Employee Givers and celebrate our amazing current ones.

Become a new Employee Giver and you’ll receive a festive holiday stocking and a candy cane to kick off the season!

Already an Employee Giver? 

Increase your giving by $1 and receive a candy cane.
Increase your giving by $5 and you’ll receive a stocking + candy cane. 

Let’s start the holiday season by giving back to those who need it most. Together, we can make a meaningful impact in our community.

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Sent on behalf of Dr. Bradley Jacobson, Chief of Staff

I am pleased to announce that Dr. Justin Jagger has been appointed as the Acting Chief of Paediatrics at TBRHSC effective December 3, 2025, after covering the role since November 1, 2025.

This role is familiar to Dr. Jagger, who was Chief of Paediatrics from 2013-2017. He is a respected member of the Department of Paediatrics and has been a Paediatrician with TBHRSC since 2009.

Dr. Jagger is also an Associate Professor and Chair, Section of Child and Adolescent Medicine at NOSM University. I would like to thank Dr. Jagger for taking on this role until April 30, 2026 while Dr. Linda Bakovic is on leave.

Please join me in welcoming him.

Copper Kettle Coffee House is proudly partnering with the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation for the month of December to support the Renal and Hemodialysis Fund — and they are doing it in the sweetest way possible!

For just $1, you can add marshmallows to any hot or cold drink. Your espresso will be poured right over top, melting them into a warm, gooey, irresistible holiday treat — and that $1 goes directly to the Health Sciences Foundation. As well, gingerbread cookies will be up for grabs for $4, with $1 from every cookie supporting the cause as well.

Stop by Copper Kettle Coffee House, enjoy a festive drink and a cookie, and help make a difference for patients in our community.