The federal government recently passed legislation to introduce September 30th as a new federal holiday, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This holiday will take place every year, commencing this year.

The purpose of this holiday is to provide an opportunity for Canadians to recognize and commemorate the legacy of residential schools. This new holiday was proposed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in 2015 and seeks to honour First Nations, Inuit, and Metis Survivors and their families and communities, and to ensure that the public commemoration of their history and the legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.

September 30th is also known as Orange Shirt Day. You can read about Orange Shirt Day and Phyllis Webstad’s story here: https://www.orangeshirtday.org/phyllis-story.html

In preparation of Orange Shirt Day, we are providing an opportunity for you to order your own “Every Child Matters” Orange Shirt. 

Orange Shirts are available at a cost of $9.60 (inclusive of taxes). Toddler and XL sizes are $2.00 extra.  Sizes are as follows:

• Ladies: XS, S, M, L, XL & 2XL
• Mens: XS, S, M, L, XL & 2XL
• Youth: XS, S, M, L
• Toddler: starting at 2T

There are some samples available on-site to try on.

If you would like to have an Orange Shirt for September 30th please contact Stephanie Rowan by email at rowans@tbh.net or by calling 684-6735. Note: the deadline to order is September 9th, 2021. After September 9th, prices are subject to change.

Note: This tool is only available within the Hospital network.

Link: http://covid19-vaccination-declaration.tbrhsc.net/

Sent on behalf of Infection Prevention and Control

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A VRE outbreak has been declared on surgical unit 3C at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.

The hospital currently has 1 unit in VRE outbreak:

• Surgical unit 3C

Precautions are in place to protect patients and their families, staff, and visitors. Each unit is being screened and monitored for further VRE transmission and notice will be sent when the outbreak is declared over.

For more information, contact:
Infection Prevention and Control at Tel. (807) 684-6094

Pregnancy and Infant Loss (PAIL) Network

Virtual Compassionate Care Workshop

Join us for a FREE one day virtual workshop focused around providing compassionate care to bereaved families who experience the loss of a pregnancy or death of their infant.

This educational session covers many topics, including; attachment, grief, memory making, cultural safety, what to say/what not to say, pregnancy after loss, caring for the caregiver, and family-centered care. We also invite a panel of family members to answer questions about their lived experience with loss and what it means to receive compassionate care.

Participants leave with a list of supports and resources, as well as practical skills, tools, and techniques to provide skilled and compassionate care to grieving parents and families.

Hosted by: PAIL Network/Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Date/Time: Wed., September 22nd, 2021, 9am-4pm (workshop held on Zoom)

Registration: https://pailnetworkccw-thunderbayregional-sept22.eventbrite.ca
Password: PAILCCW

Deadline to Register is Wednesday, September 15th, 2021. Space is limited.

Important Notes:
– The Pregnancy and Infant Loss Network offers FREE Compassionate Care Workshops to health and service professionals who are either employed by a government funded organization or who are members of a licensed, regulated profession in Ontario.
– The workshop will be presented over Zoom, and you will be expected to join from a computer with both video and audio capabilities. If you do not have a computer at home or through your employer with these requirements, please indicate this during registration.
– Each attendee must register separately. Confirmations and updates are automated by the event management system, EventBrite.
– In an effort to maintain a safe environment for family panelists, educators, and participants with a lived experience of loss, we ask that anyone joining from home mute their video and audio if any babies will be in camera view.
-If you have any additional questions about this workshop, please email megan.fockler@sunnybrook.ca

There’s another big winner in the Northwest, thanks to August’s Thunder Bay 50/50.

The Grand Prize winner of this month’s $463,630 jackpot is Cathy Tymchyshyn from Thunder Bay.

When reached at her workplace, Cathy was taken aback. “The rest of the staff is all here cheering me on!” she exclaimed.

Cathy was too shocked to think of what she’d do with her winnings. “I have no idea. It’s the biggest thing I’ve won, for sure.” she said, “It’s wonderful!”

“I never get tired of making these calls!” said Glenn Craig, President & CEO of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation, “People have been coming up to me and asking when I was going to call them with good news.”

Another piece of good news is that every ticket in the Thunder Bay 50/50 funds the most important medical equipment needs at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.

“The Thunder Bay 50/50 has been more successful that we ever could have imagined,” continued Craig, “We have some fantastic equipment announcements coming up, completely funded from support of the 50/50. We’re excited to share more as soon as we can.”

September’s Raffle is Live

September’s Thunder Bay 50/50 is now open, with the largest Early Bird yet: $5,000 to be drawn on Friday, September 3^rd.

There will also be three additional $2,000 Early Bird draws. Plus, back by popular demand is the $75 ticket package.

Tickets are available online only at thunderbay5050.ca:

• $10 for 5 numbers
• $20 for 30 numbers
• $50 for 150 numbers
• $75 for 300 numbers (Best Value)

Questions about the draw can be sent to info@thunderbay5050.ca. Ticket purchasers must be present in Ontario to purchase. Lottery licence RAF1199631.

The hospital is embarking on a renewal of our Hospital Information System. We are currently reviewing the new, highly-rated version of Meditech, called Expanse, to determine if it will work for us. 

We would like your input. Please take a few minutes and watch one of the online demos and, if you can, log onto one of our workshops.  For more information, see below.

NOTE: On nursing units only, staff can select the Expanse Icon on their computer and enter the information below.

Username: MKL
*Password: NWONTARIO
*Please remember to type the above credentials in ALL CAPS when entering the above information.
*Once in please hit the orange button to proceed

Northwestern Ontario HIS/Digital Health Renewal

Feedback Session Schedule

Area	Suggested Demonstration to watch before Workshop Link for all demos: www.meditech.com/prospects/ Username: MKL Password: NWONTARIO Select orange button:‘Resource Links’	Workshop Register here – registration link
Patients/Clients & Families	1. Improving the patient experience	September 1, 2021  @ 7:30 – 9:00 PM EST Meeting link: https://zoom.us/j/96176079750?pwd=WTNsSWRQK2VMTG92c1BjTE1SYXVVUT09 Meeting ID: 961 7607 9750 Passcode: TBR2021!
Continuum of care	1. Patient Journey Across the Care Continuum 2. Interoperability with Traverse 3. Order Entry with Dr. Derek Garniss. You will find this demo in: a. Acute Care/Critical Care Medical Staff Workshop b. Primary Care Workshop	August 31, 2021, @ 3:30-5:00 PM EST Meeting link: https://thunderbayhospitals.webex.com/thunderbayhospitals/j.php?MTID=m41c2a34cf57c041e15c88e5ac0141591 Meeting Number: 179 571 5291 Password: TBR2021! Dial-In: 1-647-484-1598
Acute Care/Critical Care Nursing & Allied Health	1. Patient Journey Across the Care Continuum 2. Managing medications around the patient 3. Point of Care Medication Administration Extras – 1. Point of Care Specimen Collection 2. Restraint Ordering, Clinical Documentation and Reassessment 3. Nursing Admission Process 4. Head to Toe Assessment 5. Sepsis or Early Warning scoring 6. Nursing Hand Off	Date/Time to be added
Acute Care/Critical Care Medical Staff	1. Patient Journey Across the Care Continuum 2. Interoperability with Traverse 3. Medical and resident documentation workflow 4. Management of complex patients across multiple health care teams (not yet available) 5. Managing medications around the patient 6. Helping clinicians and managers function efficiency (not yet available)	September 9, 2021 @ 7:00-8:30 PM EST Meeting Link: https://thunderbayhospitals.webex.com/thunderbayhospitals/j.php?MTID=m152754b306298ec774c8ef1cbd76713f Meeting Number: 179 052 6726 Password: TBR2021! Dial-In: 1-647-484-1598
Primary Care	1. Patient Journey Across the Care Continuum 2. Interoperability with Traverse 3. Medical and resident documentation workflow 4. Management of complex patients across multiple health care teams 5. Managing medications around the patient 6. Helping clinicians and managers function efficiency	September 9, 2021 @ 12:30-1:30 PM EST Meeting Link: https://thunderbayhospitals.webex.com/thunderbayhospitals/j.php?MTID=m5632f6c1e2b3f7ac8717b5dd9d21453c Meeting Number: 179 848 9821 Password: TBR2021! Dial-In: 1-647-484-1598
Mental Health	1.  Live demonstration with Ontario Shores. 2. Patient Journey Across the Care Continuum 3. Interoperability with Traverse 4. Managing medications around the patient 5. Management of complex patients across multiple health care teams (not yet available)	September 2, 2021 @ 1:00-2:20 PM EST Meeting link: meditech.zoom.us/j/93251560112?p… Meeting ID: 93251560112 Passcode: OU2u Dial-In: 1 300-306-9092 (passcode: 458430)
Rehabilitation	1. Patient Journey Across the Care Continuum 2. Interoperability with Traverse 4. Management of complex patients across multiple health care teams (not yet available)	September 7, 2021 @ 1:00-2:30 PM Meeting Link: https://thunderbayhospitals.webex.com/thunderbayhospitals/j.php?MTID=m15b6e2973d9bf72638d315c2ce01531c Meeting Number: 179 754 1978 Password: TBR2021! Dial-In: 1-647-484-1598
Long Term Care	1. Long term Care (U.S.-based) 2. Management of complex patients across multiple health care teams (not yet available) 3. Nursing Home Screen and Care Planning	September 10, 2021 @ 10:00-11:00 AM EST Meeting link: https://thunderbayhospitals.webex.com/thunderbayhospitals/j.php?MTID=mbd1926d95f32b1f21762194ee4faab5a Meeting Number: 179 624 2560 Password: TBR2021! Dial-In: 1-647-484-1598
Pharmacy	1. Patient Journey Across the Care Continuum 2. Interoperability with Traverse 3. Managing medications around the patient	August 24, 2021  @ 1:30-3:00 PM EST Meeting Link: https://thunderbayhospitals.webex.com/thunderbayhospitals/j.php?MTID=m0a6447687c4864743cdf002f0b3d75e7 Meeting Number: 173 711 4839 Password: TBR2021! Dial-In: 1-647-484-1598
Laboratory-East/TBRHSC	1. LIS (Lab) Overview	August 25, 2021  @ 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM EST Meeting Link: https://thunderbayhospitals.webex.com/thunderbayhospitals/j.php?MTID=m9019a205ea1b4c80eabf0efdc60aee08 Meeting Number: 179 706 5160 Password: TBR2021! Dial-In: 1-647-484-1598
Laboratory-West	1. LIS (Lab) Overview	September 1, 2021  @ 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM EST Meeting Link: https://thunderbayhospitals.webex.com/thunderbayhospitals/j.php?MTID=mbb75d8d6420b38b46d8e766a49f47454 Meeting Number: 179 543 6335 Password: TBR2021! Dial-In: 1-647-484-1598
Portering, Housekeeping, Dietary non-clinical	1. Patient Journey Across the Care Continuum	September 2, 2021 @ 10:30 AM-12 noon EST Meeting link: https://thunderbayhospitals.webex.com/thunderbayhospitals/j.php?MTID=m0b7e0b3082c679bd2eec92c1f79d1c72 Meeting Number: 179 113 0048 Password: TBR2021! Dial-In: 1-647-484-1598
Health Records, Privacy & Registration	1. Patient Journey Across the Care Continuum 2. Universal Patient Access (integrated registration, scheduling) 3. Complete Health Record Management	August 17, 2021 @10:00-11:00 AM EST Meeting link: https://thunderbayhospitals.webex.com/thunderbayhospitals/j.php?MTID=m2498f0850c9a4a594ce2905445996e02 Meeting Number: 173 033 2108 Password: TBR2021! Dial-In: 1-647-484-1598
Research	1. Patient Journey Across the Care Continuum 2. Meeting the needs of data integration and research	August 30, 2021 @ 10:00-11:30 AM EST Meeting Link: https://thunderbayhospitals.webex.com/thunderbayhospitals/j.php?MTID=mcfe990ebf202df5190ff15c3d09baf41 Meeting Number: 179 790 1249 Password: TBR2021! Dial-In: 1-647-484-1598
Finance & Supply Chain	1. General Ledger/ Fixed Asset 2. Supply Chain Management	August 26, 2021 @ 3:00-4:30 PM EST Meeting link: https://thunderbayhospitals.webex.com/thunderbayhospitals/j.php?MTID=ma6a233bbc0b86df2dd2cd420188eabca Meeting Number: 179 913 3599 Password: TBR2021! Dial-In: 1-647-484-1598
Teaching	1. Patient Journey Across the Care Continuum 2. Interoperability with Traverse 3. Medical and resident documentation workflow 4. Management of complex patients across multiple health care teams (not yet available)	To be scheduled
IT Leads	1. Patient Journey Across the Care Continuum 2. Interoperability with Traverse	September 7, 2021 @ 10:00-11:30 AM EST Meeting link: https://thunderbayhospitals.webex.com/thunderbayhospitals/j.php?MTID=ma02545cdf3f503f010c80cdaaed160ee Meeting Number: 173 936 7301 Password: TBR2021! Dial-In: 1-647-484-1598
HIS Shared Informatics Team	1. Patient Journey Across the Care Continuum 2. Interoperability with Traverse	September 9, 2021 @ 9:00-10:30 AM EST Meeting link: https://thunderbayhospitals.webex.com/thunderbayhospitals/j.php?MTID=m913a2d3380448a07224e756e4ce24be7 Meeting number: 179 401 5853 Password: TBR2021! Dial In: 1-647-484-1598

Call 684-7777 to book your appointment.

Sent on behalf of Dr. Peter Voros, EVP, Patient Care Programs & Regional VP, Cancer Services, North West Regional Cancer Program

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The health and safety of all staff, professional staff, patients and the community is our top priority. Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre’s COVID-19 vaccination policy is aligned with the requirements of the Public Hospitals Act 1990, Regulation 965 and the Ministry of Health, Directive 6. Unvaccinated health care workers pose an immediate risk to patients and other health care workers as well as to the health system capacity due to the potential introduction of COVID-19 into the health care setting. As such, and effective September 7^th, all Hospital staff and professional staff (workers) are required to comply with one of the following:

• Provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19; or

• Written proof of medical reason, provided by a physician or registered nurse in the extended class that sets out a documented medical reason for not being fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and the effective time period for that medical reason; or

• Proof of completing an educational session approved by the Hospital about the benefits of vaccination prior to declining the vaccination for any reason other than a medical reason.

Workers who do not comply with option #1 will be required to submit to regular antigen point of care testing and demonstrate a negative result, as directed by and at intervals to be determined by the Hospital. Workers will be required to provide verification of the negative test result in a manner determined by the Hospital that enables the Hospital to confirm the result.

Also effective September 7, 2021, proof of all required doses of a COVID-19 vaccine approved by Health Canada is mandatory for all new workers hired by the Hospital as a condition of employment or placement.

PROCESS:

1. All workers must complete the COVID-19 Vaccination Declaration Form available in paper copy or web-portal, and submit it to Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) as soon as possible.

• Workers who have been vaccinated and chose to disclose their vaccination status will provide proof of all required doses of a COVID-19 vaccine approved by Health Canada to OHS. Vaccination receipt must be submitted to OHS by email ohs@tbh.net or as a paper copy. Receipt shall include date of vaccination, vaccine name, lot number, and signature of administration. If OHS does not receive proof of vaccine, the worker is considered unvaccinated. Learner vaccination status will be verified through their academic institution. Contractor vaccination status will be validated through their employer.

• Workers who are unvaccinated due to a medical exemption will submit a valid COVID-19 Vaccination Medical Exemption Form and will submit to point of care antigen testing requirements as directed by the Hospital.

• Workers who have not been vaccinated or chose not to disclose their vaccination status will complete the COVID-19 Vaccination educational program approved by the Hospital and will submit to point of care antigen testing requirements as directed by the Hospital.

• PPE protocols and restrictions may vary between fully vaccinated and unvaccinated workers.

• Workers who decline the vaccine or chose not to disclose their vaccination status will continue to work in their area of assignment. There will be no adjustment to a perceived area of lesser risk based on a refusal of the vaccine or choosing not to disclose vaccination status.

• This policy is subject to modification if the vaccine is declared mandatory by the Hospital or by an overseeing body such as the province or the Chief Medical Officer of Health.

• Non-compliance with this policy will be managed in accordance with the Hospital collective agreements, applicable legislation and human resources policy HR-t-04 Discipline.

Please reference the attached policy for more details.

Thank you for your cooperation and your continued commitment to health and safety.

Please contact your manager with any questions or concerns.

All Hospital COVID-19 updates and resources are also available on the iNtranet at https://comms.tbrhsc.net/covid-19-information/.

Dear Staff, Professional Staff, Learners, Volunteers, Researchers, and Board members

Greetings, Boozhoo and Bonjour,

I wanted to touch base quickly and keep you up to speed on what’s been happening at the Hospital over the summer and what is happening in the coming weeks.

Staffing
I would like to begin by recognizing all the hard work being done to address the shortage of health care workers. As I have engaged in walkabouts at various times with the kindness cart and otherwise, I have heard the concerns regarding staffing, scheduling, and vacancy management. Please understand this is a sector-wide problem globally and not unique to TBRHSC as noted in this recent Globe article:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-canadian-nurses-are-leaving-in-droves-worn-down-by-16-merciless-months/

Let me be blunt in saying there is no simple fix or solution. We are however, working to make improvements that are responsive to your feedback and we recognize the need to support a more comprehensive staff HR strategy – an area of focus identified in our updated strategic plan. To say this is a major area of critical need and focus for us would be a massive understatement.

Vaccinations
As I am sure you are aware of by now, the province is moving forward with Directive 6:
https://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/pro/programs/publichealth/coronavirus/docs/directives/vaccination_policy_in_health_settings.pdf

Simply put, the directive says we must have strict vaccination and testing policies in place by Sept. 7 for all employees, staff, contractors, students, and volunteers. The directive doesn’t make vaccination compulsory, but anyone who declines vaccination must complete an education program and undergo regular antigen testing.

For now, staff will be asked to complete a disclosure form to support the organization in determining who is vaccinated and who will require education, regular antigen testing, and may require enhanced PPE moving forward. I continue to urge anyone who hasn’t received vaccinations to strongly reconsider if medically possible for you.

Premier and Minister Visit
Premier Doug Ford and Minister Greg Rickford visited the Hospital yesterday. We had the opportunity to highlight the excellent work of our teams during the height of the pandemic in the third wave, and showcase some of our innovations and exceptional programs that support our patients and their families both locally and regionally. We also took the opportunity to advance several proposals that are currently before government, including our Indigenous Specific Racism Comprehensive Organizational Assessments and Education Proposal, Regional Surgical Program Development, Cardiovascular Surgery (CVS) capital program, and many others.

The focus of the visit was the provincial government’s announcement of $5.2 million to support the planning and design of our CVS program. As you may know, we are closing in on our stage 2 submission to the Ministry of Health in early September. Our one program/two-site model – working in partnership with University Health Network – is continuing to progress through to full implementation of the program at stage 5. This funding will support the full program development, project management, and functional design of the Cardiac and Vascular program – while supporting the current vascular surgical needs and the developing cardiac program. At full implementation, the capital project supports 14 additional surgical beds, 6 additional cardiac care unit beds, and the associated surgical, recovery, ambulatory, and support requirements. Stay tuned for more updates.

Strategic Plan
Work on the Strategic Plan continues, and come September, we will be back to engaging in the strategic areas of focus with the goal of advancing our full plan within the next few months. As we identify our strategic areas of focus, we will be reviewing the opportunity to align Strategy and Structure for success in the future. It is critical that we align our organization to ensure we successfully accomplish our key priorities. As a first shift, you may have noticed the Communications role has been posted with a broadened scope including government relations, which is an identified area of needed attention through our strategic planning engagement, given government is our major funding partner. This shift has been accomplished at an operational savings while simultaneously streamlining the organizational structure. This is a small step for now, with more to come as we finalize the Strategic Plan.

Final Thoughts
I want to end where I began – and that is firstly thanking and acknowledging all the hard work you continue to put in for the good of our patients, families, and communities. I certainly know it hasn’t been easy on you. And while progress has been made overall, we are very aware of the challenges associated with the Delta variant and the fourth wave that is upon us. Please take care of yourselves physically and mentally. If you are struggling, please remember that there are resources available to help you.

I will be hosting a Town Hall next month where we can have a more thorough discussion. In the meantime, as always, I welcome comments on this blog or any other matter. You can reach me at: crockerelr@tbh.net.

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

We are pleased to announce that Meghan Hill has accepted the position of Lead, Regional Paediatric Program.

Meghan has been a Registered Nurse in the Critical Care Department at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre for over 12 years. During this time she has progressively increased her responsibilities joining the Medical Emergency Team (MET) as well as the Regional Critical Care Response (RCCR) team. As a member of the RCCR team, Meghan has provided virtual clinical support to many regional sites and has had the opportunity to travel as part of the RCCR Regional Education tour.

Throughout her career, Meghan has taken a keen interest in paediatrics and has been committed to furthering her education and knowledge in paediatric care. Meghan is currently a PALS instructor, in addition to instructing TNCC and Rural Trauma Team Development. Over the course of her career she has demonstrated her commitment to teaching, learning and being a mentor.

In her role as the Lead for the Regional Paediatric Program, Meghan will be responsible for developing and implementing a program to support regional providers in the care and management of paediatric patients. She will provide ongoing support and skill development while promoting best practices in paediatric care.

Please join us in congratulating and welcoming Meghan into this new role which will commence September 27, 2021. Meghan’s first day in her role will be spent in the region as she will be joining the RCCR’s fall Regional Education tour.