February is Psychology Month. Psychology is rooted in science that seeks to understand our thoughts, feelings and actions. It is a broad field – some psychology professionals develop and test theories through research while others work to help individuals, organizations, and communities function better. Still others are both researchers and practitioners.
Psychology Month is celebrated every February to highlight the contributions of Canadian psychologists and to show Canadians how psychology works to help people live healthy and happy lives, help their communities flourish, help their employers create better workplaces, and help their governments develop effective policies. Please join us in thanking the Psychologists and Psychological Associates who work at our Hospital and serve our community.
Shared on behalf of Adam Vinet, EVP, Patient Experience & Chief Nursing Executive, VP, Cancer Care Services North West Region, COVID-19 Planning and Operations Division Lead
Please note that services provided through the Patient Family Centred Care (PFCC) portfolio are being impacted due to staffing levels. As a result, post-discharge follow-up calls to patients with medical diagnosis during their transition from hospital to home will not be provided. This service interruption will take place for at least one week, but will resume as soon as possible as this service is vital in bridging the gap between hospital care and transition to home.
We ask that you please consider providing these calls at a departmental level if able to ensure patient care and service excellence is maintained.
For additional information about post-discharge follow-up calls for medical patients, please contact the PFCC Patient Advocates by calling 684-6211 (office) or 629-3887 (cell).
As part of Black History Month, today our spotlight is on Dr. Alexandra Bastiany, a physician who has made her mark on Canadian medicine. Growing up in Montreal, Dr. Bastiany’s family was always supportive of her dreams to pursue medicine.
In 2020, she became Canada’s first Black woman in interventional cardiology. 🩺
Dr. Alexandra Bastiany was born and raised in Montreal, by proud Haitian parents. She earned her medical degree and completed her Internal Medicine and Cardiology training at the Université de Montréal (UdeM), where she graduated with honors in 2018. She is currently a cardiologist at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Centre.
In 2020, she successfully completed her fellowship in Interventional Cardiology at the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute (University of Alberta) in Edmonton, making her the first Black female Interventional Cardiologist in Canada.
Dr. Bastiany has always believed in investing time with the people in her community. Over the past 10 years she has partnered with a local community center in Montreal “La maison d’Haïti” where she collaborated in various health initiatives to help raise awareness and de-stigmatize common health issues afflicting the Haitian population of Montreal. She has also worked directly with other local community organizations, and started career days for minority and children from underserved communities, working to provide them with representation via professional role models.
Dr. Bastiany has recently founded her very first clinic: The Ridgeway Cardiology Clinic, a boutique cardiology outpatient practice in partnership with the Ridgeway Clinic in Thunder Bay. Combining her expertise in cardiovascular disease and her passion for community work, Dr. Bastiany is actively working to decrease the race and gender biases leading to differences in standard of care and clinical outcomes.
The human heart is an incredible muscle. It functions to pump blood throughout your body delivering oxygen and nutrients, and removing waste products. However, your heart is not invincible. Heart disease occurs when arteries have been blocked due to a build-up of plaque. The plaque causes a narrowing of the arteries, making it harder for blood to travel through the body to different organs.
80% of heart disease cases can be prevented through healthy lifestyle behaviours. Having a healthy mind and healthy body are essential for protecting your heart. Do your part to protect your heart by:
1. 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀. Participating in hobbies that bring you joy will positively impact your health. Taking time to recharge can also drastically improve your physical, mental, social and spiritual health.
2. 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Setting goals and holding yourself accountable for making healthy lifestyle decisions will help keep your heart healthy. Don’t just talk about making healthy choices. Take action!
3. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲. It can be hard to exercise regularly, but there are ways to make it fun. Change up your routine. Planning fun outings such as walking in new areas or testing out a new gym, can make physical activity exciting and enjoyable.
February 11th is International Day of Women & Girls in Science. It provides an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate all of the accomplishments and contributions made by women in the world of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Women have led ground-breaking research into public health, vaccines, treatments and innovative technology, and been on the front lines of the COVID-19 response as scientists, health care workers and more.
For a second year, Bay Village is selling heart shaped cookies to raise money for the Our Hearts at Home campaign – Northern Cardiac Fund. Sugar cookies with buttercream frosting are available for $6 plus tax ($6.80), with $3 going directly to the Our Hearts at Home – Northern Cardiac Fund. Their goal is to raise $25,000 this year.
Cookies are available at Bay Village coffee shop during the month of February, and will be available Thursdays and Fridays at Seasons Gift Shop at the Hospital. Cash only at Seasons.
Shared on behalf of Dr. Rhonda Crocker Ellacott, President & CEO, TBRHSC, CEO, TBRHRI, and Adil Khalfan, Executive, Health System Performance and Support, Ontario Health
As part of the organization’s structure and strategic alignment, the majority of clinical patient facing programs have been streamlined under the Patient Experience portfolio. As such, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) and Ontario Health are pleased to announce the appointment of Adam Vinet, Executive Vice President, Patient Experience and Chief Nursing Executive, to the position of Vice-President, Cancer Care Services, North West Region.
In this role, Adam will work collaboratively with regional partners to champion and influence system transformation to ensure patients in our region receive high quality cancer care. He will also represent Regional Cancer Care Northwest at Ontario Health’s Provincial Leadership Council.
Adam initially worked on the frontlines as a Registered Nurse in the Emergency Department and has progressed through multiple leadership roles that included Quality Nursing Clinical Coordinator and Emergency Department Manager. Through progressive leadership roles, Adam has provided leadership in interprofessional change process within the Emergency Department, where wait time performance and ambulance offload delay methodologies received Provincial recognition at the Nursing Leadership Network Conference. Upon moving to the Director of Surgery and Ambulatory Services, Adam led and influenced the team to redesign the Fracture Clinic resulting in a reduction of patient wait times from four hours to one hour. As part of Ontario Health, Adam was Vice President, Home and Community Care and worked at a system level to guide and support Northwestern Ontario’s home care sector to be a provincial leader with respect to wait times for initial assessments and reassessment for new and existing home care patients.
Please join us in welcoming Adam to this leadership role. We look forward to being part of his success and commitment to ensuring patients throughout Northwestern Ontario continue to receive high-quality cancer care closer to home.
$1M from the Thunder Bay 50/50 proceeds will help bring the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre one step closer to establishing a full cardiovascular surgery program.
The Thunder Bay 50/50 has been an extremely successful fundraiser for the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation since it started in early 2021. Over $9M in prizes has been awarded to over 50 Early Bird and Grand Prize draw winners, and millions of dollars in proceeds have gone towards purchasing equipment and making infrastructure upgrades at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. The Foundation will be allocating $1M in proceeds from the Thunder Bay 50/50 to the Our Hearts at Home campaign, which is bringing cardiovascular surgery to Thunder Bay.
“February is Heart month, and what a perfect time to announce that $1M from the 2021 50/50 proceeds will be going to the Our Hearts at Home campaign,” says Glenn Craig, President and CEO of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation. “Northwestern Ontario has the highest rates of cardiovascular disease, amputation, and other cardiac- and vascular-related health issues, plus we’re the only major city in Ontario where you have to drive for more than a day to access cardiovascular surgery services – so for patients in this region, bringing these services here is really a matter of life or death.”
A full cardiovascular surgery program means that for most patients, they will be able to have their surgeries without having to travel too far from home, and still receive the same level of care they would in a larger centre. In August 2021, the province confirmed their commitment to the project, awarding $5.2 M to help fund the planning and design of the program.
“I know how difficult it can be to travel outside the region for care. It’s difficult for the patients, their families, and the healthcare system to coordinate care. While many of the Foundation’s fundraising activities were put on hold during the pandemic, the success of the 50/50 draw has allowed us to give $1M towards the Our Hearts at Home campaign. This will help fund a full cardiac program here in Thunder Bay, which includes cardiovascular surgery, in addition to the existing services we already have, like angioplasty and cardiology,” says Parker Jones, Chair, Board of Directors, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation.
“I think I can speak for the entire campaign cabinet, and for everyone in the community, when I say how incredibly grateful we are for this donation. This is bringing us one step closer to our fundraising goal and we are beyond thankful for our generous donors and 50/50 supporters who continue to help us reach our vision of full cardiovascular surgical services, closer to home,” says Paul Fitzpatrick, Chair, Our Hearts at Home Cabinet.
“On behalf of our patients, our staff and the leadership team, I want to thank the people in our region for supporting their Foundation in such a huge way,” said Dr. Rhonda Crocker-Ellacott, President & Chief Executive Officer of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Science Centre and Chief Executive Officer of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute. “Thanks to Paul and the entire Foundation team, and the provincial government’s support, a full cardiovascular program here in Thunder Bay will mean even better service for patients closer to home.”
To learn more about the Our Hearts at Home Campaign, or to make a donation, visit healthsciencesfoundation.ca or call the Donation Centre at (807) 345-4673.
Resident physicians are a vital part of Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) and are committed to patient care. TBRHSC is home to 65 residents based in Thunder Bay and hosts elective residents from other medical schools across Canada and the world. You’ll recognize residents by the green lanyards they wear and will see them working in many different specialties such as Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Orthopedics, Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Obstetrics to name a few.
The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is our academic partner and together we are dedicated to providing a welcoming environment where residents are able to learn and contribute to our patients experience.
Join us in thanking our residents for going above and beyond for our patients and their families during this pandemic and every day. We are grateful for you!
