Parking and Hospital Entrance Information
March 31 to Mid/Late June

Starting Monday, March 31, several key areas around the Renal Entrance and Main Entrance will be impacted as part of the Cardiovascular Surgery (CVS) Construction project. These changes are essential for the expansion and improvement of our Hospital. Please take note of the following important updates:

Major Impacts

• Main and Renal Entrances: Both the Main Entrance (at the revolving doors) and Renal Entrance will be closed for the duration of the construction project. To enter the Hospital, please use the West Entrance (see attached map). Dialysis Aides will be stationed at the West Entrance to assist renal patients who are accessing the Renal department.
• Roadway Access and Fish (A3) Parking Lot: The Fish (A3) parking lot and the roadway in front of the Cancer Centre Entrance will be closed until mid to late June.
• Pick-up and drop-off locations: Temporary pick-up and drop-off will be re-located to the roundabout in front of the Medical Centre building (next to the West entrance). Please follow posted signage as this will be one-way traffic only to ensure safety and smooth traffic flow. Security will be posted to assist with wayfinding and ensure the flow of traffic.
• Eagle (A1) Parking Lot East Gate: The East Gate (gate closest to the Medical Centre building) of the A1 parking lot will be closed for the duration of the construction.
• Information on bus scheduling (Electronic bus sign): The electronic bus sign has been temporarily relocated to an area adjacent to the West Entrance.

Hospital Access

All patients, visitors, and staff can access the Hospital via the West Entrance during this period (please refer to the map). Please follow all posted signage and instructions for a safe and efficient experience.

Summary of Construction during this Period:

• Fencing and signage: Construction fencing and signage will be installed around the construction areas to keep all pedestrians and vehicles safely away from active work zones.
• Site work demolition: Work will include the removal of the canopy, foundations, curbing, sidewalks, retaining walls, trees, asphalt, and other structures to prepare for the new construction.
• Sewer and water modifications: Necessary updates to the sewer and water systems will be carried out.
• New CVS expansion foundation work: Excavation, piling, rebar installation, and formwork will be done to starting creating the foundation for the new expansion.
• Reconstruction of Fish (A3) Parking Lot: The Fish (A3) parking lot will be reconstructed with a new entrance and additional accessible parking spaces.
• Temporary bus stop Location: Temporary bus stops on the East side of the Hospital (East Entrance at the Cafeteria) will be installed to prepare for upcoming phases of construction.

For everyone’s safety, please adhere to all construction fencing, barricades, and safety signs. The construction site will be clearly marked, and all unauthorized personnel are restricted from entering construction areas. We encourage everyone to use designated walkways and stay alert while navigating around the construction zones.

We recognize that these changes will impact patients, visitors, and staff, and we appreciate your cooperation and patience as we work towards expanding cardiovascular care services in our region.

Thank you for your ongoing support and dedication to improving patient care at TBRHSC.

National Indigenous Languages Day, celebrated on March 31, is an opportunity to appreciate the linguistic diversity within Indigenous cultures. This Day emphasizes the importance of revitalizing and preserving Indigenous languages, which are vital to cultural identity and community connections.

In Canada, languages like Anishinabek (Ojibwe), Mushkegowuk (Cree), and Anisininew (Oji-Cree) demonstrate unique vocabulary and grammar, reflecting the rich histories and cultures of their communities.

Within the Ojibwe community, there are some common words and phrases that showcase the beauty and significance of the language. Here are a few:

Celebrating National Indigenous Languages Day not only honors these languages but also encourages individuals to learn and incorporate them into their daily lives, ensuring the preservation of Indigenous cultures for future generations.

To learn more:

The Ojibwe People’s Dictionary – https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/

James Vukelich Kaagegaawaw – https://www.youtube.com/@james.vukelich/featured

Recommended Reading: Vukelich Kaagegaawaw, James. The Seven Generations and The Seven Grandfather Teachings. James Vukelich, 2023                       

The International Transgender Day of Visibility takes place annually on March 31. It is an opportunity to celebrate and empower the Trans community, while also bringing awareness to the barriers and ongoing discrimination Trans people face.

Transgender people often experience significant barriers to accessing essential healthcare services, including primary care, emergency care, and gender-affirming care (The Trans PULSE Canada Team, 2020), and these challenges are compounded for Trans individuals residing in rural areas (Scheim, Lopez, Bauer, Brasseur, Baptiste, Navarro, Smith, Blodgett, Churchill, Coleman, 2024). Additionally, both past and anticipated experiences of discrimination further limit Trans peoples’ access to necessary healthcare services (Scheim et al, 2024).

What is gender-affirming care?

Gender-affirming care is a range of services that provide life-saving healthcare for Trans individuals. This includes transition-related services and other medical care, mental health care, and social services.

How can healthcare workers start to provide more gender-affirming care?

1. Learn. To learn more about the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community, including the inequities and challenges they face when accessing healthcare, and how you can provide gender-affirming care, seek education opportunities!
   1. Rainbow Health Ontario’s 2SLGBTQ Foundations Course is a great place to start. Check out their website at: https://www.rainbowhealthontario.ca/
   1. To learn more about affirming and inclusive language on Egale Canada at: https://egale.ca/awareness/affirming-and-inclusive-language/
   1. To learn more about using pronouns, Egale Canada offers a Pronoun Usage Guide: https://egale.ca/awareness/pronoun-usage-guide/
   1. Egale Canada also offers tips on how to be an ally to the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community: https://egale.ca/awareness/tips-on-how-to-practice-lgbtqi2s-allyship/
2. Participate. Join the hospital’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee

To learn more about the International Transgender Day of Visibility, please go to Egale Canada at: https://egale.ca/egale-in-action/trans-day-of-visibility-2024/

To read the reports referenced in this article, you can check them out here:

1. https://transpulsecanada.ca/results/report-1/
2. https://transpulsecanada.ca/results/report-health-and-well-being-among-rural-and-small-town-trans-and-non-binary-people/

Shared on behalf of Wayne Taylor, Director, Cardiovascular, Medicine & Renal Program, Regional Director, NW Regional Renal Program, Ontario Renal Network

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We are pleased to share the dedication of four beds to acute withdrawal management, on 2A Medicine, at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, effective April 1, 2025. These beds will provide focused care for patients aged 17 years of age and older, who present with acute withdrawal symptoms and require inpatient admission, primarily for withdrawal management.

The implementation of these beds represents an important step in enhancing our capacity to manage acute withdrawal in a safe, supportive environment. The key goals of this service include:

• Advancing staff knowledge in withdrawal management.
• Reducing re-admission rates and Emergency Department (ED) visits after discharge.
• Ensuring safe and effective management of withdrawal symptoms.
• Decreasing the number of patients leaving against medical advice.

To ensure effective use of these new beds, staff on 2A have received specialized training in withdrawal management, with a focus on recognizing and managing the complexities of withdrawal symptoms. Providers admitting patients to the Acute Withdrawal Management beds will consult the Addictions Medicine Consult Service (AMCS) for additional support in care delivery.

This expansion to our services demonstrates our continued commitment to providing comprehensive care to those in need of addictions medicine. By addressing these needs directly within the medical unit, we aim to improve patient outcomes.

If you have any questions or require additional information, please feel free to contact:

Taylor MacKenzie
Manager-2A Medicine
Hospital Elder Life Program
Acute Withdrawal Management Beds
(807) 684-6657

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to providing high-quality care to our patients.

Grade 1 and 2 students from St. Martin Elementary School recently celebrated the largest graduation class from the FAST Heroes program, a global health education initiative aimed at raising stroke awareness. This program, taught by a dedicated teacher, Jennifer Edwards, focuses on educating young students to recognize stroke symptoms, thereby helping protect their loved ones especially their grandparents – we call them grandheroes!

The graduation ceremony was supported by the Northwestern Ontario Regional Stroke Network from Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and Superior North EMS. The Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board (TBCDSB) has endorsed the FAST Heroes program since 2024, achieving significant success in equipping students with crucial knowledge about stroke symptoms. This initiative not only educates students but also fosters community-wide awareness that extends beyond the classroom.

In Canada, a stroke occurs every five minutes, underscoring the urgent need for awareness and timely medical intervention. With one in four adults likely to experience a stroke in their lifetime, early recognition of symptoms is critical. However, many people fail to identify these symptoms promptly, leading to delays in seeking treatment, which can significantly impactoutcomes. Stroke is one of the main reasons that children lose their grandparents! By encouraging students to take an active role at home to educate their families, the children can have more quality time together with their grandparents.

Congratulations to the TBCDSB, its elementary schools, principals, and teachers for implementing the FAST Heroes program and making a life-saving impact in your community.

FAST Heroes Grand Mission – together we can save the world one grandparent at a time.

Participation Success – Since March 2024, the FAST HEROES program in Canada has engaged 2,584 students, with the TBCDSB accounting for 27% of these student numbers.

Schools: 10
Teachers: 22
Classes: 35
Students: 696

Robin’s at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre is under new ownership, and they have a variety of new offerings.

Open 24/7 with a full menu

New Grab and Go menu including:

• premade wraps
• salads – Caesar, Chicken and Bacon Caesar, Potato, Garden, Chef, Chickpea 
• fruit cups
• veggie cups
• yogurt 
• locally made beef jerky and pepperettes (Bay Meats)
• and more!

Credit cards now accepted under new ownership.

If you have any suggestions, questions, or concerns please reach out to Anton Demetrakopoulos, Owner, at tbayrobins@gmail.com or 807-633-4946.

Please be advised, the Hospital’s Mandatory Disclosure of Harm/Critical Incidents (QM-70) policy has been revised.

Actions Required

• All – Review the updated policy to familiarize yourself with key policy changes and as a refresher on procedural steps.
• Managers – Review this memo and the attached poster with your staff during Safety/Quality Huddles and post in your department.

Policy Changes

Scope Change:

• Volunteers removed as out of scope

New Definition Added:

• Clinical Debrief (aka “Hot Debrief”): Following a critical incident, a meeting to summarize the case, determine what went well and opportunities for improvement, and highlight where actions are required.

Procedure 5.1 Updated:

• Upon the discovery of harm (any level), the healthcare team should meet as soon as possible to discuss. This may just be a conversation with the Department Manager, or for more serious events/critical incidents, a clinical debriefing (aka “hot debrief”) should occur. Members of this debrief team may include involved Staff, Professional Staff, Managers, Directors, Section Chiefs, Quality and Risk Management, the Executive Vice President(s) and Chief of Staff.

Process Reminders

• Please see the attached poster.

If you have any questions, please email: TBRHSC.QualityandRiskManagement@tbh.net.

Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) is excited to announce our partnership with PocketHealth, a secure online platform designed to improve the diagnostic image sharing process.

There are two types of image sharing requests that will be fulfilled using the PocketHealth Image Sharing tool:

Provider Image Sharing

• Available as of October 3, 2024.
• Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre’s Digital Library has fulfilled over 400 provider image sharing requests via PocketHealth since October 2024.

Patient Image Sharing

• Available as of March 26, 2025.
• Once live, patients will be able to visit PocketHealth.com in order to enroll with an account and make requests for diagnostic images.

The PocketHealth tool will ultimately eliminate the need to burn CDs and empower our patients to access and share their images electronically. This transition will reduce patient on-site visits and will provide more timely image sharing with care providers.

How does PocketHealth’s Provider Sharing work?

• Provider image requests will follow the existing request process.
• Instead of burning CDs to store imaging, an access page containing a unique security code will enable any health care provider to access imaging exams online.
• This page can then either be handed over to the patient to deliver to the physician (similar to a CD), or faxed directly to the requesting physician.
• The recipient will then navigate to www.pockethealth.com/VIEW, enter the patient’s date of birth and the security code on the Access Page, then the images will be accessible instantly.

How does PocketHealth Patient Sharing work?

• Patients request access to their diagnostic images by enrolling to PocketHealth at www.pockethealth.com/TBRHSC
• Once signed up, patients can access, store, and share their recent images with any care provider or loved one.

For questions regarding PocketHealth and image sharing requests, please contact TBRHSC Health Records or visit www.PocketHealth.com

It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts, that Housekeeping announces the passing of our colleague and friend Ron Komoski.

Ron started working for the Housekeeping Department in 2010. He was a valued member of our team, dedicated to his work, kind to everyone around him, and always willing to lend a helping hand and offer his expertise.

Ron was a kind and loving person who would always put others first. He always loved a good conversation no matter what the topic. Colleagues remember him as a beautiful person inside and out and will be greatly missed.

Our thoughts go out to his family and friends for their loss.

A celebration of life will be held on Tuesday, March 25 from 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. at the Slovak Legion Bar (801 Atlantic Ave).