The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, issued the following statement on Black History Month:

“Today marks the start of Black History Month. It is a time to honour the legacy of Black Canadians, past and present, and to recognize and celebrate the significant contributions they continue to make to our country.

“This year, the Government of Canada’s Black History Month theme is ‘February and Forever: Celebrating Black history today and every day.’ It invites us to pay tribute to, and learn more about, the important roles that Black Canadians have played in building and shaping a more prosperous, diverse, and inclusive Canada.

“Black Canadians and their communities have a long history of being trailblazers and change makers. Among them is Dr. Alexandra Bastiany, an advocate for diversity in medicine who recently became Canada’s first Black woman interventional cardiologist. Twenty-one-year-old Alphonso Davies from Edmonton is taking the soccer world by storm. Born to Liberian parents, he came to Canada at the age of five. He now plays for the Canadian men’s national soccer team and is a Global Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

“Black history is Canadian history. Canadians of African ancestry have been an integral part of the fabric of this land for centuries. While Black History Month is a time for learning and celebration, we cannot forget that people of African descent created Black History Month in opposition to anti‑Black racism, hate, and discrimination. Racism, hate, and discrimination continue to be a reality for many Canadians. We also know that the COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed social and economic fractures in Canada. Inequality, injustice, and inherent privilege still exist in our society, and we must continue to work together to build a better and more inclusive future for all Canadians.

“As part of our strong commitment to combat all forms of anti‑Black racism and advance human rights and economic prosperity for Black Canadians, we officially recognized the United Nation’s International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-24). And we are making it a priority to develop a whole‑of‑government action plan to ensure equality before the law, eradicate systemic racism, and improve the social, health, and economic well‑being of Black Canadians.

“We continue to work in partnership with Black communities to advance this work. In 2020, we launched Canada’s first Black Entrepreneurship Program to support Black Canadian business owners and entrepreneurs – for whom barriers were exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic – as they grow their businesses, and to empower them to succeed into the future. We also committed to developing a Black Canadians Justice Strategy in consultation and cooperation with provinces, territories, and Black Canadians.

“We will continue to build on historic investments to community organizations that are at the heart of Black Canadian communities. From recently supporting 1,400 projects with Black-led organizations across Canada to moving forward with the implementation of the Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund. As part of Canada’s Anti‑Racism Strategy, we continue to provide resources to communities and organizations to eliminate inequities and tackle racism.

“On behalf of the Government of Canada, I encourage everyone to learn more about Black Canadian history, as we strive to make our country stronger, fairer, and more inclusive. Let’s aspire to be a society where all Black Canadians can succeed and prosper.”

In order to bring safe, quality health care to our patients, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) developed a partnership with the University Health Network’s Peter Munk Cardiac Centre (UHN-PMCC) and together, a corridor of services was created using a ‘One Program on Two Sites’ model for cardiovascular care. The purpose of this model is to save lives and limbs and to reduce the burden of cardiac and vascular disease in Northwestern Ontario by improving access to essential services right here at home.

With UHN-PMCC as our partner, we are ensuring that our care is top-notch and that our patients and families will receive the very best care possible. Our partnership allows us to extend the reach of UHN-PMCC’s centre of excellence into Northwestern Ontario so patients may benefit from leading edge advancements in cardiovascular care.

With the goal to improve access to high quality cardiac and vascular surgical services for Northwestern Ontario residents, the UHN-PMCC’s will share their clinical expertise to support the development of TBRHSC into a fully operational surgical site for selected cardiovascular case types. Wherever possible, care will be delivered ‘close to home’. The cases that are complex and outside of the criteria established for TBRHSC will be managed at the UHN-PMCC. In this manner, the appropriate level of care is offered to all patients, ranging from routine to complex, across two sites. 

As we continue to move through stages of the capital planning process, the objective of this capital project remains to equip TBRHSC with contemporary surgical, inpatient and ambulatory care facilities to provide a comprehensive cardiovascular surgery program to the only major geographic region in Ontario where this surgical service is not available.

It’s a piece of equipment so vital to cardiac care that it’s been called the “heart” of the Cardiovascular Sciences Program. And now, it needs replacing.

A Cath Lab Suite is a system of precision X-ray imaging equipment. The system includes the C-arm along with a viewing console and control panel to rotate and position the C-arm. This versatile suite helps with many cardiac diagnostic and treatment procedures from angiograms and pacemaker insertion to angioplasty. Without this equipment, the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre would have to send patients to southern Ontario or elsewhere for many of these often life-saving services.

Of course, residents in Northwestern Ontario know about that. There was a time when everyone had to travel for angioplasty. When time is muscle, every delay in care can have an impact on patient outcomes.

Dennis Boyd understands that as well as anybody. As an EMS professional in Dryden, he saves the lives of heart attack patients all the time. But he also has his own firsthand experience. In 2014, he had a cardiac arrest himself, and was rushed to one of the two Cath Labs in Thunder Bay for angioplasty to remove three complete blockages including one in the “widowmaker” artery. The Cath Lab Suite helped guide interventional cardiologists to the blockages using live-image X-rays.

“If they didn’t have angioplasty in Thunder Bay, I really don’t think I would have made it all the way to southern Ontario. I really don’t,” he said.

Today, one of the Cath Lab Suites needs replacing. It is still working at the moment, but breakdowns are becoming more frequent leading to delays. At some point, parts will no longer be available and it will be broken for good. Obviously, staff at the Hospital’s Cardiovascular Sciences Program want to replace it long before that happens.

“We need to replace the Cath Lab Suite soon so that we can continue to provide 24/7 care for heart attack patients  – people like Dennis  – from Thunder Bay and across the region,” said Dr. Andrea MacDougall, an interventional cardiologist and Medical Program Director of the Cardiovascular Sciences Program at the Hospital.

She added that the new suite wouldn’t be a simple “replacement.” The new unit will take better images of the heart faster, new software will make those images even sharper, and lower doses of radiation for the X-rays will make every procedure safer for our patients. Plus, the new unit will have advanced features for more complex procedures including cardiac surgery.

This February is Heart Month – and you can help us mend the breaking heart of our cardiac program!

Please donate online right now at HealthSciencesFoundation.ca/Cardiac or call (807) 345-4673. Your donation will help us replace and upgrade this vital piece of equipment to ensure cardiac patients can still get the closer-to-home care they need, 24/7, right here in Thunder Bay.

Your gift today will save lives. Thank you!

Hello, Boozhou, Bonjour.

As we go into this Family Day long weekend, I want to take a moment to acknowledge some facts that need to be shared at a time when society seems to be embracing the “we need to learn to live with it” narrative related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While I can appreciate the desire for the public to move on with their lives – a feeling we all share – the fact is you have all been “living with it” for two years now. There have been no breaks. Our doors have never closed as you have been going 24/7 for two full years now, living with COVID-19 up close and personal – seeing the tragedy and the struggles without a protective bubble from it. I have had conversations with many of you and I’ve heard loud and clear that you’re tired and frustrated with the entire situation and I can’t fault you for that. Your efforts, struggles, and sacrifices are deserving of our respect and utter appreciation.

I also want to emphasize that we are still in the thick of it. We are not seeing the same reduction in hospitalizations, ICU admissions, stable human resource capacity or test positivity declines. Our COVID-19 unit remains exceptionally busy with over 30 patients on it daily, with staff working exceptionally hard to provide care– a clear indication that this is still very much an active issue in the communities we serve despite the narrative we are seeing. Compounding this issue is we currently have 114 staff off work. And, while all this is happening, our Emergency Department volumes have been higher than they have been during most of the pandemic.

I know it can be frustrating coping with this and then watching the provincial or national news and seeing a trend down and what appears to be a celebratory and victorious mood. I recently did a series of media interviews and emphasized our current situation to ensure they understood the reality check that is your reality at work these days – and how our Hospital and region is an outlier in Ontario when it comes to ongoing case trends.

I will admit that opening everything up and lowering restrictions worries me given our high case counts. We anticipate further ICU admissions potentially – and while we are prepared with surge plans in place including continued redeployment, there is some cause for concern.

With the lifting of provincial Directive 2, we have now been enabling the resumption of non-urgent / non emergent surgeries and procedures, working toward returning to 70% of 2019 volumes during this first phase. I want to reassure you that this is a gradual resumption which recognizes the realities of our local situation. That said, we have increased our surgical and procedural volumes in some areas such as Endoscopy, Diagnostics, Cardiac Catheterizations, and other outpatient surgery / procedures to the 70% phased resumption target.

I know you have all made major family and personal sacrifices the past two years to be able to serve our communities. So, even if you have to work this weekend, please take some time to celebrate your strength and the strength of your families on Family Day. And, again, thank you for your continued hard work and compassion in the face of adversity.

As always, I welcome comments on this blog or any other matter. You can reach me at: crockerelr@tbh.net

Rhonda

To honour employees and professional staff who have 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 years of service with an anniversary date of January with Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute.

Check out the all 2022 Long Service Recipients poster to see all staff that are being recognized throughout this year by visiting https://informed.tbrhsc.net/departments/human-resources/programs/long-service

Shared on behalf of Crystal Edwards, Director, Women & Children’s Program, TBRHSC and Dr. Teresa Bruni, Medical Director, Women & Children’s Program, TBRHSC

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The Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services authorizes three agencies to provide child protection services in the City and District of Thunder Bay. They are as follows:

• Children’s Aid Society
• Anishinabek Family Care
• Tikinagan Child and Family Services

All safety and wellbeing concerns for a child/youth (under the age of 18) are to be reported as a Duty to Report to one of the three above listed child protection agencies.

To best support our Indigenous patients and families if a Duty to Report is to be made, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) staff will contact either Dilico Anishinabek Family Care or Tikinagan Child and Family Services. TBRHSC staff will work with the patient or family to identify the child or family’s affiliated agency. If the child or family’s affiliation is unknown, TBRHSC staff will report to one of the two identified Indigenous protection agencies.

Some patients and families will come to TBRHSC having worked with other protection agencies. While we appreciate the support and planning that may have occurred prior to their presentation to hospital, due to jurisdiction, TBRHSC staff mustcontact either Children’s Aid Society, Dilico Anishinabek Family Care, or Tikinagan Child and Family Services. The informed authorized protection agency will then work with other service providers to ensure coordinated service planning.

The safety and wellbeing of all children is a priority and we appreciate your assistance with ensuring that our local child protection agencies are involved in all child protection cases managed within the City and District of Thunder Bay.

Shared on behalf of Dr. Rhonda Crocker Ellacott, President and CEO, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre; CEO, Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute

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I am pleased to announce that Dr. William Harris has accepted the position of Vice President (VP), Medical and Academic Affairs, effective February 14th, 2022.

In this position Dr. Harris will be a member of the Senior Leadership Council, and will report to the President and CEO. In this role, Dr. Harris will provide medical leadership in support of the hospital’s mission, vision, values and Strategic Directions while planning high-quality clinical services, and overseeing program / service specific performance objectives. In addition, Dr. Harris, will guide the advancement of academics and learning, supporting education advancement and collaboration with academic partners to drive service excellence and performance of clinical programs – in collaboration with the team.

The VP Medical and Academic Affairs, oversees the Medical Leadership structure assigned in the dyad model of Program / Service teams and ensures that medical oversight occurs collaboratively with administrative leadership to monitor overall quality, safety and performance of clinical programs.

Dr. Harris has been serving as Interim EVP of Medical Affairs since April 12th, 2021, providing exceptional leadership and guidance during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. He is a valued member of the Senior Leadership Council and the Incident Management Team. Dr. Harris has served as Chief of Surgery since 2018 and continues to practice as a General Surgeon since 2006. He has provided care for patients across Northwestern Ontario through locums at La Verendrye, Riverside Health Care (since 2020) and Endoscopy Procedures at Marathon Hospital (2008-15).

Dr. Harris’ esteemed educational background includes earning his M.D. Doctor of Medicine (Honours) from the University of Toronto, F.R.C.S [C] Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, General Surgery from Master University, Master of Public Health from Harvard University, and his ERCP Fellowship from McMaster University.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Harris on his appointment.

Cardiology Technologist Day is celebrated annually on February 14th to highlight the important role of the profession in the diagnosis and treatment of heart arrhythmias and heart disease.

Registered Cardiology Technologists (RCT) are a specialized group of educated health care professionals who work with Cardiologists and Internal Medicine specialists. They perform a variety of non-invasive cardiac diagnostic tests such as Electrocardiograms, Exercise Stress Testing, Holter monitoring, and cardiac device monitoring and programming.

To many patients, RCTs are the front line workers and friendly faces they see when receiving care for heart disease. To become an RCT you must first complete a CSCT approved Cardiology Technology program and successfully pass the CSCT National Exam. There are many schools across the country with multiple delivery methods to suit most everyone’s situation. Mohawk College offers a two year program and both BCIT and Stenberg College offer online options for those who want to work while taking the program. Upon receiving your diploma from an approved program, you then become eligible to attempt the CSCT Certification Exam. The exam sittings are held twice a year, in April and September.

RCTs are in high demand and Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre is willing to do on the job training while enrolled in an online program. To learn more about joining our Hospital’s team, please visit www.tbrhsc.net.

Nominations are now open for the 10th Annual respect. Awards, recognizing individuals, businesses, and organizations in the community that have demonstrated leadership in enhancing diversity, inclusion, equity and respect for others. 

The Awards were established by the Respect Initiative Working Group and are sponsored by Diversity Thunder Bay. Two recipients will receive awards this year, including an individual and one for an organization or business.

“These awards offer an opportunity to recognize the exceptional efforts of those who work to make Thunder Bay a better place to live and work,” said Jeff Upton, Chair of Community Safety & Well-Being Thunder Bay. “It’s important to highlight these efforts so they might inspire others to create positive change, and help make Thunder Bay a community where everyone can feel safe being exactly who they are.”

Award recipients will be revealed on Wednesday, Mar. 23 during Diversity Thunder Bay’s 16^th Annual Celebration event that recognizes the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The respect. Initiative is a joint initiative of the Anti-Racism & Respect Advisory Committee and Community Safety & Well-Being (CSWB) Thunder Bay. Nominations close on Friday, Feb. 25 at 4:30 pm. For more information, and to fill out a nomination form, visit: www.thunderbay.ca/respect