Shared on behalf of Infection Prevention and Control
An enteric outbreak has been declared on the Transitional Care Unit (TCU) as of April 6, 2025. All restrictions are in place.
Outbreak # 2262-2025-00045
Please share this information with the appropriate staff.
As always, our number one priority is the safety of patients and their families, staff and visitors. All patients identified as having an exposure to this outbreak will require isolation with appropriate additional precautions.
The department of Infection Prevention and Control encourages everyone to keep applying the routine practices of hand hygiene, proper use of PPE, equipment cleaning, and the appropriate admission screening of all patients.
Please set an example for staff and students and assist us by maintaining compliance and due diligence.
Michelle Opaski, Mammographer, stands by the Screen for Life Coach which will be visiting over 35 rural, remote, and Indigenous communities across Northwestern Ontario.
The Screen for Life Coach is hitting the road to bring cancer screening closer to home for over 35 rural, remote, and Indigenous communities across Northwestern Ontario.
The Screen for Life Coach (Coach) is a mobile cancer screening bus that delivers breast, cervical, and colon cancer screening services in one convenient place. The Coach’s first stop will be in Dryden at the Dryden Regional Health Centre on April 10th, kicking off a 7-month regional tour.
“The Coach makes cancer screening accessible in communities where these services are limited or non-existent,” says Tarja Heiskanen, Manager of Prevention and Screening at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. “In Northwestern Ontario, getting to the nearest cancer screening site may mean long travel times. By bringing these services closer to home, it’s easier for people to prioritize their health and detect cancer early, when it’s most treatable.”
Cancer screening on the Coach is a proactive way of detecting cancer for individuals that do not have symptoms or a family history. “Regular screening is an important part of maintaining good health,” says Caitlund Davidson, Prevention and Screening Coordinator. “Cancers in the early stages don’t often show symptoms. If you feel fine, it’s a perfect time to get screened.”
Who should get screened?
Anyone who is eligible for breast, cervical, or colon cancer screening can visit the Coach.
In Ontario, the screening guidelines for average risk individuals are as follows:
Women, Two-Spirit, trans and non-binary people between the ages of 40 and 74, should have a breast screening mammogram every two years. New for this travel season, individuals who are 40-49 years of age can now access breast screening on the Coach.
Anyone with a cervix between 25 and 69 years, who has ever been sexually active, should have a cervical screening test every five years.
Individuals, between the ages of 50 and 74, who have no first-degree family history of colon cancer, should complete a take-home colon screening kit every two years.
Screening on the Coach is available at no cost for those with a valid OHIP card. A doctor referral is not required for average-risk individuals within the recommended screening age range.
Where to find the Coach
The Coach screens communities across Northwestern Ontario throughout the summer months and screens the Thunder Bay area during the winter months. A full list of dates and locations is available at tbrhsc.net/screenforlife.
How to make an appointment
Those looking to book a breast, cervical or colon cancer screening appointment on the Screen for Life Coach should call (807) 684-7777. For those eligible for all three types of screenings, all appointments can be scheduled for one visit. Flexible scheduling options, including morning, afternoon, evening, and weekend appointments, are available. A physician referral is not required.
On March 12, the HELP Program (Hospital Elder Life Program) celebrated World Delirium Awareness Day! World Delirium Awareness Day is an annual event that is held in March to raise awareness about delirium and its impact on patients, families and health care systems. It is intended to bring attention to the importance of early recognition and intervention of delirium as well as highlight the latest research, guidelines and best practice for the field.
Thank you to those staff that stopped by and signed in for a chance to win a $25 gift card for Robins Donuts. We are pleased to announce that our winner is Leanne Baird from the Simulation Lab!
Congratulations! You can come and pick up your gift card in the HELP office located within Academic Affairs on the 3rd floor of the main Hospital.
The Infection Prevention and Control team at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre
Today, we are celebrating International Infection Preventionist Day!
Infection Control Practitioners (ICPs) play a crucial role in keeping our staff, patients, families, care partners and volunteers safe. The role of an ICP includes much more than infection investigation or requesting additional precautions. By providing their expertise and promoting best practices, ICPs are involved in many areas, including construction, product evaluation, reprocessing practices, patient safety reporting, environmental cleaning and hand hygiene. The department also assists with preparing Hospital response to emerging infectious diseases. These knowledgeable and skilled professionals must also complete an Infection Prevention and Control Development Course followed by writing an exam to receive their Certification in Infection Control (CIC®). Additional certification is required to support ongoing Hospital construction and maintenance projects.
We appreciate the dedication and commitment of all ICPs in keeping our Hospital safe from the spread of infections. Join us in thanking them for all that they do!
Spring 2025 marks a pivotal moment in our Hospital’s history, demonstrating the tangible results of years of strategic planning, attention to detail, and hard work. With that, we are thrilled to announce the launch of our Cardiovascular Surgery Program. The team is preparing to begin construction, and while we acknowledge the potential disruptions, we emphasize the importance of bringing life-saving surgery to our region. We commit to minimizing impacts on patients and families and appreciate your patience as we continue implementing this vital project.
Anyone who has spent any time at TBRHSC knows our staff, professional staff, volunteers, and learners drive the exceptional patient experience, embodying our vision of care for everyone, every time. I frequently hear firsthand about the profound positive impact our staff has on the lives of patients and families through their compassionate, high-quality care. In early March, we celebrated their dedication during Employee Recognition Week. We extended our gratitude to staff, researchers, volunteers, and Patient Family Advisors with small acts of kindness.
We recently honoured excellence through our annual iCare Impact Awards, recognizing individuals and teams who champion our mission, vision, values, and strategic directions. These peer-to-peer awards highlight those who deliver exceptional care and foster a positive, inclusive environment. You can learn more about the award categories and recipients here.
I would also like to take a moment to let you know April is Be a Donor Month, and we urge everyone to please consider the life-changing impact of organ and tissue donation. We encourage you to have this important conversation with your loved ones.
As you know, the Hospital would be nothing without our amazing volunteers! And, the week of April 27th brings Volunteer Recognition Week, a time to celebrate the invaluable contributions of our volunteers and Patient Family Advisors. They enrich the care experience and make our Hospital more welcoming. Please thank a volunteer for their impact if you have the opportunity.
Finally, I express my deep appreciation to the volunteer members of our Board of Directors. Thank you for guiding the Hospital’s priorities and improving the lives of our community through your leadership and representation.
Patricia Lang Chair, Board of Directors, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre
Shared on behalf of David McConnell, Director – Regional Cancer Care Northwest
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Alicia Langen as the new Coordinator for the 1A Oncology/Medical Inpatient Unit.
Alicia officially steps into this roll on April 7, 2025, and we are excited to welcome her back to the unit where her career began.
Alicia graduated in 2011 from Lakehead University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Following her graduation, she joined TBRHSC and dedicated her efforts to the 1A Oncology team until February 2022, when she transitioned to the Cancer Centre. During her time, Alicia served as a charge nurse both on 1A and within the Cancer Centre, demonstrating exceptional leadership and commitment to oncology patients.
Alicia’s passion for oncology and her wealth of experience make her an invaluable addition to the 1A team. As she assumes the coordinator role, please join me in extending your support and collaboration as she works to enhance the exceptional care we provide to every patient, every time.
The latest projects supported through OICR’s Cancer Therapeutics Innovation Pipeline (CTIP) program aim to develop new drugs against multiple forms of cancer.
The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) has announced its support for five Ontario research teams working to develop the next generation of medicines that kill tumours more effectively, cause fewer side effects and reduce the risk that cancer will come back.
The projects will be funded as part of OICR’s Cancer Therapeutics Innovation Pipeline (CTIP) awards, which provides research teams with up to $300,000 over two years to help advance promising drug discovery research so that new cancer drugs can more quickly and safely reach patients.
“Ontario has become a global leader in developing a new generation of cancer drugs, and OICR is proud to help made-in-Ontario innovations reach their full potential,” says Dr. Lincoln Stein, Acting Scientific Director of OICR. “These five projects are on the cutting edge of cancer drug discovery and are well-positioned to make a major difference in the lives of cancer patients.”
CTIP applications are reviewed by a committee of experts from academia and industry, who also provide scientific and strategic advice to the funded research teams.
The five new CTIP research teams span the province from Thunder Bay to Toronto. They are taking innovative approaches to treating cancer by harnessing new insights about cancer biology to help stop cancer from spreading, reduce unwanted side effects and overcome treatment resistance.
This year’s CTIP recipients include:
Dr. Jinqiang Hou (Lakehead University, Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute (TBRHRI)) and Dr. Guillem Dayer (TBRHRI) who will explore a potential treatment for cervical cancer, the world’s third most common cancer among women aged 20-39. By targeting a protein found only in cervical cancer cells, they will develop a drug to find and kill cancer cells, with limited damage to surrounding healthy tissue.
“Our hybrid molecule, acting like a guided missile that targets only cancer cells, could provide a new tool to destroy cancer while minimizing side effects for the patient.” – Dr. Jinqiang Hou, Associate Professor (Chemistry), Lakehead University, Scientist, TBRHRI
Dr. Iacovos Michael (Sunnybrook Research Institute) and Dr. Masoud Vedadi (OICR) who will investigate ways to overcome cancer metastasis and resistance to treatment, the two main reasons patients ultimately die of cancer. With CTIP funding, they will build on recent discoveries about a protein that plays a key role in metastasis and resistance for multiple types of cancer, further study its role in cancer development, and explore ways to impede its function.
“Understanding how this protein works will allow us to develop drugs that hinder its function, with the ultimate goal of improving the survival and quality of life of patients affected by cancer.” – Dr. Iacovos Michael, Scientist (Biological Sciences), Sunnybrook Research Institute
Dr. Valentina Evdokimova (OICR) and Dr. Laszlo Radvanyi (University of Toronto) who will harness the “dark matter” of the human genome to identify endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) which could be targeted to prevent cancer progression and immunosuppression. Their team’s goal is to develop a validated drug screening platform that can help unlock the potential of ERV targeting in cancer drug discovery and to use that platform for testing potential therapeutic candidates.
“Though human endogenous retroelements were considered disabled and functionally inept for decades, we are now showing that they are highly expressed in cancerous cells and may hold exciting potential for therapeutics to stop the development of cancer or prevent it altogether.” – Dr. Valentina Evdokimova, Research Scientist, OICR
Dr. Anthony Rullo (McMaster University), Dr. David Uehling (OICR) and Dr. Methvin Isaac (OICR) who will test a potential breast cancer therapy that activates the body’s immune system to kill a tumour. Researchers have developed a chemical synthetic “covalent” antibody mimic that binds to immune cells on one side and tumour cells on the other side, acting as a “bridge” that allows the immune system to attack cancer, while causing fewer side effects than chemotherapy.
“The results of our study will help advance a new class of synthetic immunotherapies with the potential to stop cancer, reduce relapse rates, and help Canadian breast cancer patients who lack other treatment options.” – Dr. Anthony Rullo, Associate Professor (Medicine), McMaster University.
Dr. Rima Al-awar, Dr. Richard Marcellus and Dr. Masoud Vedadi (OICR) who will explore chemical compounds to slow down the uncontrollable growth of cancer cells by inhibiting the function of a protein called KRAS. While the body often develops resistance to other KRAS inhibitors, Al-awar and colleagues will test a different kind of compound less likely to cause resistance, aiming to find the basis for new cancer treatments.
“This approach could offer a new tool against multiple cancers to effectively overcome resistance and give patients a better chance of survival.” – Dr. Rima Al-awar, Senior Advisor (Drug Discovery), OICR.
These exciting studies join the growing portfolio of projects enabled by OICR’s Therapeutic Innovation Research Theme. OICR hosts one of the largest drug discovery programs of its kind in Canada and supports drug discovery projects at other institutions across the province.
“Ontario is proud to be globally recognized as a leader in cancer treatment, a disease where early intervention is critical,” said Nolan Quinn, Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security. “Our government’s support of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and its Cancer Therapeutics Innovation Pipeline will ensure Ontario researchers continue to make ground-breaking discoveries so residents afflicted by cancer can receive the cutting-edge treatment they need to live longer, healthier lives.”
OICR is funded by the Government of Ontario. As the province’s cancer research institute, we take on the biggest challenges in cancer research and deliver real-world solutions to find cancer earlier and treat it more effectively. We are committed to helping people living with cancer, as well as future generations, live longer and healthier lives. For more information visit http://www.oicr.on.ca.
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