Category: Informed

Did you miss December’s Town Hall? Don’t worry — we’ve got a recap for you

town fall

This month’s Town Hall took place on Wednesday, December 17 via Microsoft Teams. See below for a video recording of the session and a copy of the presentation slides.

Presentation-Town-Hall-December-17-2025Download

If you have questions you would like answered, please send them to TBRHSC.GroupNews@tbh.net and we will do our best to address them at a future Town Hall.

If you’d like to access a recording or presentation from a previous Town Hall, visit the archive.

Thank you for your commitment to staying informed and engaged.

Reflections From the Front Lines (New Episode!)

Reflections From the Front Lines provides our health care professionals with an opportunity to share stories and experiences about their role in providing exceptional care for every patient, every time.

We feature these each month during our Town Hall — a virtual venue designed to keep staff, professional staff, volunteers and leaners informed about what’s happening at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute.

Check out our previous episodes below (or on the Hospital’s YouTube channel), and be sure to tune in to future Town Halls for more stories.

In this episode, we hear from James Stevenson, a member of the Security team here at our Hospital. James shares a touching story about how he helped contribute to a positive outcome for a patient in Adult Mental Health.
In this episode, we hear from Savanna Boucher, Indigenous Care Coordinator and Annette Klement, Traditional Wellness Coordinator who will share a story about the positive outcome they saw when they incorporated Traditional Medicine into a patient’s care plan.
Desiree Towedeo, Indigenous Care Coordinator, shares a story about how she provided culturally safe care to a patient that led to improved health outcomes during their stay, and how meaningful her role as an Indigenous Care Coordinator is to her.
In this episode, we hear from Megan Valente, Coordinator of Volunteer Services. Megan shares a patient story that highlights a new initiative and showcases how volunteers play a crucial role in the patient experience.
In this episode, we will hear from Michelle Opaski, a Mammographer who works on the Screen for Life Coach. Michelle shares a patient story that highlights how bringing cancer screening services closer to home allows individuals to prioritize their health and detect cancer early.
In this episode, we hear from Nikki Cooper, and Kelti Matson – both Registered Nurses from the Peritoneal Dialysis Renal team. Nikki and Kelti have a patient story that highlights how providing education, compassion, and respect, along with cross-department collaboration, allowed for exceptional patient care.
In this episode, Lyllian Stavropoulos, Co-ordinator of Specimen Collection and Dispatch in Laboratory Services at our Hospital, shares a patient story with us.
In this episode, Ashley Hill, a Registered Practical Nurse in the Emergency Department, speaks about her experience with the cultural safety training called, Repairing the Sacred Circle. Repairing the Sacred Circle was designed, developed and launched by N’doo’owe Binesi at St. Joseph’s Care Group in 2022 with the support and guidance of the Ogichidaa Onaakonigewin – Elders Council.
In this episode, we hear from Dr. Laura Power, an ObGyn at our Hospital. Dr. Power provides us with a look into the interprofessional and comprehensive care available at the Maternity Centre for patients in Thunder Bay and across the region.
In this episode, Mike Heerema, the Critical Care Staffing and Wellness Coordinator in our Intensive Care Unit, tells us about the Tokens of Love initiative for patients and families.
In this episode, we hear from Jessica and Jolene from the Regional Cancer Program at our Hospital.
In this episode, Danielle McLean, a Registered Nurse from the Intensive Care Unit at our Hospital, shares a patient story with us.

Pay Day Change – New Year’s Day

Please note that Thursday, January 1, 2026, is New Year’s Day, a statutory holiday, and banks and financial institutions will be closed. As a result, employees will be paid one day earlier on Wednesday, December 31, 2025.

PhishNotify Coming Soon

A one-click solution for reporting suspicious emails in your inbox

What is “phishing”?

Fraudulent emails or messages where an attacker poses as a legitimate business or reputable person in order to steal sensitive information.

90% of data breaches started with a phishing attack. Stay vigilant and report all suspicious emails. Don’t get phished.

Fight back! With the PhishNotify button, you can report suspicious emails with a single click. Look for it in your Outlook Home ribbon.

Education information coming soon to your inbox.

If you have any questions, please contact the Help Desk at Help.Desk@tbh.net.

Paediatric Service Consults

Shared on behalf of Medical Affairs

Effective immediately, please be advised of the following update to the paediatric on-call routing process: 

  • The Ward Pediatrician on-call will respond to INTERNAL calls only.
  • The NICU physician will manage all EXTERNAL calls.

 External calls include, but are not limited to: 

  • Local calls from within Thunder Bay (e.g., calls from midwives or other physicians), and
  • Regional calls, including those where the requesting physician is seeking advice or a “question-only” consultation.

 The change is intended to clarify call responsibilities and ensure appropriate call coverage moving forward. 

Thank you for your attention and cooperation.

Show Your Holiday Spirit – Send in Your Photos

Its time again to celebrate this holiday season by adorning yourself and your work area. Individuals and teams can submit a photo on or before December 18 to Human Resources at TBRHSC.HumanResources@tbh.net.

December is a time filled with holidays celebrated by many cultures and faiths. It’s important to recognize and honor the diversity of traditions throughout this time.

Submitting a photo gets you entry into a prize draw. Draws will be held throughout the week of December 15-19.

New outfit? New entry! Multiple entries allowed.

Please remember: Holiday attire must align with guidelines/requirements based on specific professions and any decorations must follow safety, Fire Code CPO-01 and IPAC precautions.

All photos must be submitted in the highest available resolution. Submitters are responsible for ensuring that no sensitive or confidential information is visible in the background.

Holiday-Attire-Decorations-2025Download


Holiday Department Closures

Shared on behalf of Jeannine Verdenik, Vice President, People & Culture

The holiday stats are being observed on Thursday, December 25, Friday, December 26 and Thursday, January 1.

Attached is the department closure list, please share with your staff as required.

Happy Holidays!

Jeannine

Holiday-Closures-2025-26Download

Celebrating Our Progress: SP2026 Quarterly Update (July 2 – September 30, 2025)

We all play a vital role in helping to advance our strategic priorities and in achieving our vision of Exceptional care for every patient, every time. In order to increase awareness and help everyone understand how we are progressing on Strategic Plan 2026, we have developed and are distributing these quarterly strategic initiative highlights.

Click the image below to enlarge, or visit the Strategic Plan 2026 page on the corporate intranet for more information.

Click image to enlarge.

Book the Wellness Room Through Microsoft Outlook

We will be transitioning from the sign in/out book that is located outside of the Wellness Room to online booking taking effect December 29, 2025.

With the help of IT, the resource TBRHSC-ROOM-1007-Wellness@tbh.net. was created in Outlook. It is currently set up to automatically accept/decline appointments, and will only allow 20 minute appointments. You will receive a bounce back email letting you know if the time you have chosen has been accepted or declined. You need to ensure the booking is for the 20 min timeline.

How to Book:

1. Open Microsoft Outlook
Open the Outlook desktop app or Outlook Web (Office 365).

2. Create a New Meeting/Event
Select New Meeting (desktop) or New Event (web).

3. Add the Wellness Room
In the Location field — or under Required attendees — type the name Wellness Room. Select it from the directory so it is added as a Room Resource.

4. Pick Your Date and Time
Choose the day and time you want to reserve.
Outlook will automatically show whether the room is free or already booked.

5. Add a Simple Subject
Enter a brief title — your first name and last initial

6. Send the Invitation
Click Send. If the room is available, it will auto-accept and appear on your calendar.
If unavailable, you will receive a decline message

7. Confirm Your Booking
Open the event on your calendar to ensure the wellness room is listed under Location.

For more information, please contact: Rose Lazinski, Manager, Occupational Health and Safety Department at Rose.Lazinski@tbh.net.

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