Meet the Team Bringing Cardiovascular Surgery Closer to Home

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Launching the Cardiovascular Surgery (CVS) Program is one of the largest clinical transformations our Hospital and region has ever undertaken. In partnership with the University Health Network’s Peter Munk Cardiac Centre through our One Program, Two Sites model, we are working to bring specialized cardiovascular care closer to home for patients and families across Northwestern Ontario. It requires deep collaboration among many teams, clinicians, and partners, each contributing their expertise to build a program that meets the highest standards of care.

While construction is creating the physical spaces for cardiovascular surgery, an equally important transformation is happening behind the scenes. A dedicated multidisciplinary project team is leading the clinical planning, operational readiness, education, recruitment, and regional partnerships needed to ensure the program is safe, sustainable, and ready to serve patients from day one.

At the heart of this work is our core clinical CVS project team:

Adam Vinet (Vice President, Patient Experience and Chief Nursing Executive & Regional Vice President, Regional Cancer Care) is championing the project by providing executive guidance, advancing key decisions, and helping ensure the project has the organizational support needed to move forward.

Wayne Taylor (Director, Cardiovascular, Medicine, and Renal Program) serves as the clinical project lead. He provides leadership and direction, supporting the teams doing this important work, guiding key decisions, and helping turn the vision for cardiovascular surgery into an operational program.

Shannan Power (CVS, Clinical Project Manager) leads clinical planning, coordinating multidisciplinary workstreams, facilitating key deliverables, supporting clinical decision-making, and helping translate program vision into safe, effective operational readiness for implementation.

Amanda Kates (CVS, Project Manager) brings the many pieces of the project together by connecting people and plans, coordinating teams, tracking milestones, risks and decisions, and helping the work remain aligned as the program moves toward implementation.

Kaitlyn Veneruz (CVS, Clinical Nurse Specialist) is building education and training plans to prepare nursing teams across the new program with the specialized knowledge and skills needed to deliver safe, high-quality cardiovascular care.

Amanda Walberg (Regional Cardiovascular Development Lead) supports regional planning and partnerships, cardiovascular care pathway development, education, and research and data initiatives that inform program planning across NWO.

Ryan Rossit (Decision Support Analyst) coordinates the project’s financial planning in collaboration with internal stakeholders and external partners including development of the operational budget and Post Construction Operating Plan while ensuring submissions align with Ministry of Health requirements.

Amanda Gerow (Project Manager Training and Orientation, Nursing Stream) supports the rollout of CVS nursing training and orientation, coordinating the people, timelines and activities needed to prepare nursing teams for the new CVS program.

Yvonne Cashman (Administrative Assistant) keeps the project organized behind the scenes by coordinating schedules, meetings, documentation and administrative details that help keep the team connected and the work moving forward.  

Our Partners at the University Health Network’s Peter Munk Cardiac Centre (PMCC) continue to play a critical role in bringing CVS to Northwestern Ontario as our clinical mentors and implementation partners. Their physicians, clinical leaders, educators and project management team are working alongside our staff to share expertise, support knowledge transfer, and help ensure our program is built on proven best practices and decades of cardiac surgery experience.

Behind this core project team is a much broader network of physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, support services, corporate teams, regional health care partners, and patient and family advisors contributing their expertise to the development of the program. This is truly a whole-system effort, with teams across our Hospital and region working together to bring cardiovascular surgery closer to home.

Over the coming months, the project team will continue advancing clinical and operational readiness, workforce recruitment and staff education, pathway development, information technology and information systems planning, and regional partnerships while preparing for key implementation milestones.

Together, we are building far more than a cardiovascular surgery program. We are transforming the experience of cardiovascular care by bringing advanced services closer to home and creating a stronger, more connected system of care for patients and families across Northwestern Ontario.

Shared on behalf of Blake Rathje, Director, Support Services

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Effective Thursday, August 27, office mail delivery and pickup services for 980 & 984 Oliver Road will be discontinued for all departments. This change applies only to internal mail and Canada Post mail.

The Mail Room (1^st Floor – Room 1263) will be accessed via employee ID card scan and can be accessed 24/7. See Exhibit A (attached) as a guide to the location of the Mail Room.

Internal Mail: Staff are to bring down internal mail and place the mail into the intended (receiving) departments assigned mail slot, located on the right hand side of the room. Each department is colour coded by floor (i.e. 3^rd Floor – Red) and there is a legend posted on the wall in the Mail Room. See Exhibit B for details.

Outgoing Mail: Staff are to bring down outgoing mail to be sent by Canada Post and neatly place in appropriate red bin labelled “Outgoing Unsealed Mail” or “Outgoing Sealed Mail”. Stores staff will process Canada Post mail for delivery. See Exhibit C for details.

Departments are asked to ensure that outgoing mail is properly prepared and deposited in the designated area on a regular basis. The intended destination/receiver must be clearly stated on the envelopes to avoid lost mail. Incoming mail should be collected promptly from your assigned bin location.

Suggestions to consider through this transition include:

• Assign a limited number of staff to pick up and deliver mail to the Mail Room
• Visit the Mail Room for a brief orientation prior to the go live date
• Review the location of the Mail Room

This change does not affect Courier packages. The current process for shipping and receiving Courier packages will remain the same.

Thank you for your cooperation and assistance in implementing this change. If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Svane at extension 6202.

Exhibit A: Mail Room location

Exhibit B: Mail organizer. Staff are to place their internal mail into the correct mail slot of the destinations department. Staff will also collect any mail for their respective department.

Exhibit C: Staff are to neatly place outgoing or Canada Post mail in the appropriate red bin, depending if the envelopes are sealed or unsealed.

Shared on behalf of Shawn Seagris – Manager, CAMHU, Ambulatory Mental Health, AMCS & Inpatient Social Work

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We are pleased to announce that Dr. Alexandra Drawson will be joining the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Unit (CAMHU) as our Psychologist, effective September 14, 2026. 

Dr. Drawson’s arrival represents an important milestone for CAMHU, marking the return of dedicated psychology services to our inpatient child and adolescent mental health program after many years without a psychologist. This role further strengthens CAMHU’s interdisciplinary model of care and our ability to provide comprehensive, evidence-informed services to children, youth, and families across Northwestern Ontario.

Dr. Drawson is a Registered Psychologist with the College of Psychologists of Ontario and brings extensive experience working with children, adolescents, and families with complex mental health and neurodevelopmental presentations. Her expertise includes psychological and differential assessment, diagnostic clarification, behavioural and emotional support planning, and evidence-based interventions including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and trauma-informed approaches. 

Most recently, Dr. Drawson has worked as a Psychologist with Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Services at St. Joseph’s Care Group, providing psychological assessment, consultation, treatment, and collaborative care planning for children and youth. Her work has included collaboration with families, schools, community providers, nursing, social work, and psychiatry to support continuity of care for youth with complex mental health needs. 

Dr. Drawson also brings a strong background in research, education, clinical supervision, and program development. She holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Lakehead University and has academic appointments with NOSM University and Lakehead University. Her research has focused on child and adolescent mental health, Indigenous health and wellbeing, and improving services for children and youth in Northern and rural communities. 

We are very excited to welcome Dr. Drawson to TBRHSC and CAMHU. Her experience and expertise will be a tremendous addition to our team and, most importantly, to the children, youth, and families we serve. 

Please join us in welcoming Alex to the team when she begins on September 14.

Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) is currently recruiting participants for focus groups to
support the development of our Hospital’s Black Health Action Plan.

The Black Health Action Plan is an initiative that was developed by Ontario Health in order to better understand the healthcare needs of the Black population throughout Ontario, and to help improve health outcomes for Black communities. This work aligns with TBRHSC’s commitment to health equity, culturally safe care, and reducing anti-Black racism at our organization.

What does participation involve?
• Completing a sociodemographic survey
• 2.5 hours in-person focus group

Candidate Criteria

We want to hear from community members, medical or healthcare trainees, physicians, and healthcare professionals who are:

• 18 years of age or older
• Live, work, and reside in Thunder Bay or Northwestern Ontario
• Have received healthcare services at a hospital in Ontario and/or specifically at TBRHSC
• Self-identify as Black

Participants will receive $125 as an honorarium. A meal will be provided at each focus group session.

To participate in the discussion groups, please fill out the registration form.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation is hosting an International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) Walk in Thunder Bay. The walk will be held on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, at the Marina Park Festival Grounds starting at 9:00 a.m. and will conclude at 11:00 a.m. at Intercity Shopping Centre. The Event Invite, Agenda, and Walk Route are attached below.

We hope you will join us at the opening ceremonies or for the walk as we help to raise awareness that drug overdose is preventable, reduce the stigma of substance use, and remember those lost to overdose death. The walk is in support of mothers, families, and friends who have lost loved ones.

For the walk, we are encouraging everyone to wear purple clothing, bring any signs with messaging related to IOAD, or bring a photo of a loved one who was lost to an overdose.

Regional Cancer Care Northwest celebrated a renewed focus on Your Symptoms Matter (YSM), a symptom screening questionnaire that gives patients an opportunity to share how they’re feeling with their health care team before their appointment. Responses are reviewed with the patient’s health care team to help guide conversations and decisions about how to best manage their symptoms.

Staff and volunteers marked the relaunch with balloons, cake, roaming YSM snack carts and “Ask Me About YSM” buttons, while encouraging patients to learn more about the tool and complete it before their appointments.

Moving forward, YSM completion rates will be reported monthly and tracked on thermometer displays in the chemotherapy and radiation waiting rooms, helping staff and patients see our progress as we work to make YSM a consistent part of the patient experience.

Medical Affairs is pleased to announce that Dr. Mahdi Montazeri has joined the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre as a General Cardiologist with the Department of Internal Medicine.

Dr. Mahdi Montazeri brings extensive clinical, academic, and research experience in cardiology, with particular expertise in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), cardiovascular imaging, and echocardiography. He completed his medical degree at Tehran University of Medical Sciences and his Cardiology specialty training at Tehran Heart Center. Dr. Montazeri subsequently pursued advanced training at the University of Toronto, including a Research Fellowship in General Cardiology, a General Clinical Cardiology Fellowship at St. Michael’s Hospital, and extensive fellowship training in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy at Toronto General Hospital.

Through this training, he developed significant expertise in the assessment and management of HCM, including echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, genetic cardiomyopathy, sudden cardiac death risk assessment, and the evaluation of patients for advanced therapies such as septal myectomy and alcohol septal ablation. He has reviewed thousands of echocardiographic studies and hundreds of cardiac MRIs and holds certification through the National Board of Echocardiography.

In addition to his clinical expertise, Dr. Montazeri has demonstrated a strong commitment to research and medical education. His research has contributed to the understanding of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, cardiovascular imaging, arrhythmia risk, hypertension, and other areas of cardiovascular medicine, with numerous peer-reviewed publications and presentations.

Please join us in extending a warm welcome to Dr. Mahdi Montazeri as he joins Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. We look forward to the depth of clinical expertise, academic experience, and collaborative approach he will bring to our patients and families we serve

We are launching a new open feedback portal called “What Matters to You?,” designed to identify fast, actionable ideas to improve your day-to-day work.

The focus is on small pebbles, the changes we can implement in the short-term.

Scan the QR code on the poster below and let us know:

• One thing that would improve your workday
• A small change we can implement soon
• Point out a process, tool, or practice to reduce friction
• What we should start, stop, or continue doing for more joy and well-being
• How you’d like to receive updates

Suggestions will be shared with the Staff Advisor Committee.

Thank you for helping us make meaningful, quick-win improvements!

If you have questions please reach out to Human Resources or any Staff Advisory Committee member.

Want to be Featured in the 2027 Well-Being Calendar?

It is time again to open submissions for the 2027 Well-Being Calendar.

Show us how you or your team make your workplace healthier and happier! Scan the QR code below or click this link to submit yourself or your team as a feature, or to submit a recipe!

Together we can make 2027 the healthiest year yet!