Shared on behalf of Crystal Edwards, Director, Women & Children’s and Mental Health Programs
I am pleased to announce that Debbie Croswell has accepted the position of Interim Manager for the Adult Mental Health and Brief Intervention Treatment Team, effective August 24, 2026.
Debbie is a highly respected colleague and leader who brings a strong combination of clinical expertise, leadership experience, and a genuine commitment to improving patient care. She is well known for her thoughtful and fair approach to leadership, her strong understanding of both organizational and community systems, and her ability to build positive relationships and foster collaboration across teams.
Most recently, Debbie has been serving as the Patient Flow Coordinator for Adult Mental Health, where she has demonstrated exceptional leadership, sound clinical judgment, and a strong ability to navigate complex patient care and system needs. Her experience in this role has further strengthened her understanding of the continuum of mental health services and the importance of ensuring patients receive timely, coordinated, and person-centred care.
Debbie holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and is certified by the Canadian Nurses Association in Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. Her education and extensive professional experience reflect her ongoing dedication to advancing mental health care and supporting both patients and colleagues.
I am confident that Debbie’s leadership, expertise, and commitment to patient-centred care will serve the Adult Mental Health and Brief Intervention Treatment Team well during this interim period.
Please join me in congratulating Debbie and welcoming her to her new interim position. We wish her every success in this role and look forward to the leadership and experience she will bring to the team.
Shared on behalf of Chad Johnson, Code Orange Executive Sponsor
On August 6, the Hospital ran our annual Code Orange – Stage 1 drill.
Available nurses from clinical units reported to the Emergency Department “T” entrance doors and lined up in the hallway with available stretchers and wheelchairs. Arriving nurses were escorted through the ED and, after completing a circuit at the direction of ED staff, were allowed to return to their unit after signing their attendance.
This year’s drill proceeded as planned and on time, with excellent representation from nurse responders; 27 workers from 16 different clinical departments reported to the ED. We also had Observers from various departments helping to facilitate.
Each time we run this exercise things get smoother and overall familiarity increases. Thank you to everyone who took the time to support this drill.
Should anyone have feedback about this drill, please reach out to Mēsha Richard, Lead, Emergency Preparedness (ext. 6552 or mesha.richard@tbh.net).
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 125 babies born at our Hospital during the month of July Congratulations on the new bundles of joy!
On August 8th, we had the privilege of welcoming Carolina Hurricanes Captain Jordan Staal and the Stanley Cup to Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre!
Our Paediatric, POGO (Paediatric Oncology Group of Ontario), Child and Adolescent Mental Health patients, along with some of our youngest patients, and staff, enjoyed the opportunity to meet Jordan, see the Cup up close and create memories that will last a lifetime.
The morning was filled with excitement as patients worked on custom welcome signs and handmade thank-you cards to commemorate this very special visit.
We are incredibly grateful to Jordan, the Staal family, the Carolina Hurricanes organization and the Stanley Cup handlers for helping make this magical day possible!
The HIROC Foundation Safety Grants Program was created in 2018 and supports HIROC Subscribers’ innovative safety solutions. The program aims to support Subscribers with safety and risk initiatives and provide opportunities to share learnings.
Since 2018, the HIROC Foundation has awarded 135 Grants for a total of $2 million to Subscriber organizations!
As TBRHSC is a Subscriber, we are encouraged to apply. There are two types of grants:
HIROC Cultivate Safety Grant – one-year Grant of $13,000 with option to apply for an additional $7,000 for a total of up to $20,000.
HIROC Collaborate Safety Grant – two-year Grant, up to $40,000
Please take note of three dates of interest. A Safety Grant Workshop will take place on August 13 from 11:00am – 1:00pm ET and a Safety Grants Q&A Session is scheduled for a week later on August 20 11:00am – 1:00pm ET.
Christine Bates, Board Chair at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, has been a volunteer on the Board of Directors for five years.
A dedicated group of community volunteers at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) are working to ensure the Hospital continues to meet the evolving needs of patients across Northwestern Ontario.
TBRHSC’s Board consists of volunteers who bring a wide range of professional expertise and lived experience to their role. As a skills-based Board, they provide strategic oversight, shape the Hospital’s long-term direction and ensure decisions reflect the needs of the communities TBRHSC serves.
For Board Chair Christine Bates, volunteering was a natural next chapter after retirement. Before joining, she intentionally gained experience on other community boards, recognizing the complexity and responsibility of hospital governance.
“This is a sophisticated board,” she explains. “Every member brings a specific set of skills.”
That intentional approach to recruitment based on specific competencies is one of the Board’s greatest strengths. Directors are selected to create a balance of expertise, including finance, law, human resources, patient safety and quality, equity, diversity and inclusion, Indigenous and Francophone perspectives, and regional representation. As board members complete their terms, recruitment efforts focus on filling vacancies with skills and experience to better reflect the communities the Hospital serves.
“We’re always asking ourselves, ‘Who is missing from the table?'” Bates says. “The more diverse our perspectives, the better our decisions.”
Serving patients from across Northwestern Ontario means board members need to understand the unique realities of rural, remote and Indigenous communities, where access to care often looks very different than it does in urban centres.
“It’s hard to imagine governance from a distance,” Bates says. “How could people sitting hundreds of kilometres away fully understand what access to care means for someone living in Sioux Lookout or on the North Shore? Some of our board and committee members live in those communities. They experience those challenges firsthand, and that perspective matters.”
Much of the Board’s work happens through committees focused on governance, finance, human resources, audit, and patient safety and quality. Each of these committees includes an elected Community member who, together with Board members, examine issues in depth before recommendations come forward to the full Board for discussion and decision-making.
“Our governance role is often described as ‘fingers out, noses in,'” Bates explains. “To work effectively, we ask questions. We provide oversight. But we don’t manage the day-to-day operations.”
One of the Board’s primary responsibilities is developing the Hospital’s strategic plan. Through extensive consultation with patients and families, staff, physicians, researchers, community partners and government leaders, the Board identifies emerging health care trends and determines where the Hospital should focus its efforts over the next several years.
“It’s about asking, ‘What’s next?'” Bates says. “We gather information about where health care is headed, and then we ask what we need to do now to prepare.”
Progress is monitored through measurable goals and performance indicators that allow the Board to track results while remaining accountable to the community. Bates is particularly proud of the advancements made with two areas where the Board has supported bold organizational leadership.
The first is the Hospital’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion. The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Framework aims to dismantle systemic and structural discrimination in health care and is embedded into all levels and supported by the Board.
“The amount of work that’s been done, and how quickly staff embraced it, has been remarkable,” she says.
She also points to the Hospital’s innovative approaches to health human resources.
While many hospitals turned to agency nurses during province-wide staffing shortages, TBRHSC chose a different path.
Through creative recruitment, retention and workforce planning strategies, the organization avoided relying on agency nursing while continuing to strengthen its permanent workforce.
“It took tremendous creativity and foresight,” Bates says. “It’s something our entire organization should be proud of.”
Although governance focuses on strategy rather than daily operations, board members are continually reminded of the impact those decisions have on patients.
“People stop us to tell us about the nurses, the support staff, the housekeeping staff, the people who made an incredibly difficult experience a little easier,” Bates says.
Those experiences reinforce why volunteer governance matters.
Ultimately, the Board’s goal is simple. “Everything we do comes back to making Northwestern Ontario healthier,” Bates says. “We want people to receive the care they need, when they need it, as close to home as possible.”
