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National Nursing Week Spotlight: Ashley McMillan

It is National Nursing Week and Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) is highlighting a few of our nurses and their achievements. Meet Ashley McMillan, a nurse at our Hospital.

After graduating from Lakehead University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Ashley McMillan began her career in the Emergency Department at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. Known for her caring and compassionate approach, she quickly built a reputation for putting patients first and supporting families during some of their most difficult moments.

In addition to her work in emergency care, she took an on-call role with the Hospital’s Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Violence Program, a position she continues today, providing trauma-informed care to individuals in crisis.

In 2019, Ashley accepted a Clinical Lead role with the Digital Order Set Program, helping transition providers from handwritten orders to a digital platform. This position led naturally into her current role as a Change Specialist with the Bridge Northwest Program. In this role, she is helping to implement a fully electronic health record system across 12 hospitals throughout Northwestern Ontario, improving safety, communication, and patient care across the region. Her frontline experience gives her insight into what clinicians truly need from digital systems, and her collaborative spirit makes her an effective link between bedside staff and technical teams.

From emergency room nursing to regional digital health care innovation, Ashley’s career stands as a testament to the many paths nursing can take and her journey reflects a deep commitment to compassion, innovation, and better health care for all.

National Nursing Week Spotlight: April Roy-Holm

It is National Nursing Week and Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) is highlighting a few of our nurses and their achievements. Meet April Roy-Holm, a Registered Nurse at our Hospital.

From a young age, April Roy-Holm knew she wanted to be a nurse. A third generation registered nurse, she is proudly following in the footsteps of the women she admired growing up.

April graduated from Lakehead University in 2020 at the start of the pandemic, a time when the nursing role was rapidly evolving and somewhat unpredictable. She began her career on a Medical-Surgical floor at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, where she found her rhythm in a fast‑paced environment and gained extensive hands-on experience.

With time, April discovered her passion for perioperative care, supporting patients before and after surgery through education, comfort care, wound care, and pain management. Over the years, she has embraced working night shifts, training new staff, serving as a charge nurse and continuing education on best practice standards.

“Nursing is not an easy career,” April states. “It requires critical thinking, time management, prioritization, and the ability to remain calm in emergent situations. But I find it to be meaningful and rewarding. I am thankful for the opportunities my career has given me this far.”

Fire System Downtime (May 21)

Shared on behalf of Ryan Sears – Director, Capital & Facility Services

Please be advised the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (at the 980 Oliver Road location only) will execute a planned impairment of its entire Overhead Paging System and Fire System on Thursday, May 21, 2026 for approximately four (4) hours – starting at 11:00 PM to facilitate fire system program updates. 

Our Facilities and Security teams will be enacting and overseeing our Fire System Impairment and Fire Watch procedures, as included in the Fire Plan for our site. 

During this impairment, no Hot Work will be authorized. Further, any high risk work that could result in an elevated risk of fire, heat, or smoke should not be planned – please review this within your department and plan to discontinue high-risk activities (i.e. construction, repairs, hot showers, etc).  Should you observe activities that may be of concern during the impairment, contact your Supervisor or Manager to discuss. 

While the Hospital’s Overhead Paging System is out of service, alternate measures will be applied to notify the organization of Emergency Codes and Alerts. Staff will continue to activate all Codes using extension 55. Please see the attached policy for guidance.  

Key things to remember during an outage:

  1. Regularly monitor email for emergency code and alert notices issued by Switchboard.
  2. Respond to emergency codes and alerts through alternate communication measures, e.g., paging, radios, emails, runners, etc., as appropriate – and activate response as required.
  3. Be vigilant in reviewing department activities during the period of fire system impairment.
  4. Clinical leads are encouraged to collaborate with their teams to consider alternatives to paging patients back to units, such as collecting Patients’ mobile phone numbers.

 Further, in event of fire during this impairment, please execute all steps as outlined in Code Red Policy (EMER-30) and your area sub plan. Should you discover a fire – “REACT”:
R – Remove persons in immediate danger
E – Ensure doors are closed to confine fire or smoke
A – Activate the fire alarm by pulling the nearest pull station
C– Call Switchboard at Ext 55 to report the location of the fire
T– Try to extinguish the fire if trained to do so or continue to evacuate 

The contractor for the fire system work is Troy Life & Fire Safety. The Building System Operator is onsite and reachable at cell number 807-629-7005. Further support will be provided by Security (684-6509) and the on call Facility Manager (cell number 807-629-3119) as required. 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the above, please contact Ryan Sears. 

Emergency Preparedness at TBRHSC

This week is Emergency Preparedness Week and Ontario’s theme is “Prepared Together”. Being prepared isn’t just about having the right supplies. It’s about working together – individuals, organizations, and governments – so we can all respond and recover better.

Here at TBRHSC we want to strive to continuously improve our level of organizational emergency preparedness.

What can you do to help?

  • Ensure emergency binders have current policies and sub plans.
  • Call 55 to activate Codes and Alerts; clear them as soon as the appropriate responders have arrived and/or the situation is resolved.
  • Submit Incident Learning System and eObservation reports we can learn from real events/near misses.
  • Inspect emergency response equipment in your area (e.g., fail safe phones, sprinkler heads), report safety concerns, and submit workorders as appropriate.
  • Stay cyber smart by securing your devices and connections, reporting phishy emails, and updating passwords (learn more via https://www.getcybersafe.gc.ca/en)

Take Part in Drills and Exercises

  • Every year Interprofessional Education and Emergency Preparedness run dozens of drills and exercises to test and validate our procedures. They help us identify strengths, areas for improvement, and potential best practices.
  • How to request a drill? For general inquiries, reach out to Mēsha Richard, Lead, Emergency Preparedness (Mesha.Richard@tbh.net) or contact Brittney McLaughlin (Brittney.McLaughlin@tbh.net Mock Code Blue/Pink/NRP), Holly Freill (Holly.Freill@tbh.net Mock Code White).
Staff participiating in a Minimum Staffing drill

Emergency Preparedness At Home

This week is Emergency Preparedness Week and Ontario’s theme is “Prepared Together”. Being prepared isn’t just about having the right supplies. It’s about working together – individuals, organizations, and governments – so we can all respond and recover better.

Emergency Preparedness at Home

By taking a few simple steps, you can become better prepared to face a range of emergencies – anytime, anywhere. It is important to:

  • Plan Ahead – In an emergency, it’s important to know where to meet and who to contact. Sit down with your family and close neighbours to make an emergency plan. When planning, think about what each person is responsible for and any medical needs. This includes the needs of children and pets.
  • Pack Smart – Prepare an emergency kit with items you may need. Many of these items may already be in your home. Your emergency kit should reflect the essentials that matter most to your household. This can include:
    • Documents (passports, birth certificates, marriage certificates, pet records, social insurance numbers, financial information)
    • Emergency contact numbers (family, friends, family doctor, insurance providers, utility companies)
    • Medical items (glasses, medications, glucose monitors, walkers)
    • You can also add useful items like a flashlight, power bank, first-aid kit or battery operated radio. Keep these items together in a bag or backpack in one place, so you can find them quickly.
  • Stay Connected – Strong community ties help us prepare for emergencies. When neighbours know and trust each other, it’s easier to share information, offer help, and make sure no one is left behind. People can check in and support those who may need extra help. These connections make our community stronger and help recover faster. Stay involved with our community by:
    • Getting to know your neighbours
    • Checking in on those who may need extra help
    • Sharing helpful resources and information with others
    • Volunteering with local organizations
    • Joining community events

Visit the main lobby booth for Emergency Management Ontario and the Canadian Red Cross this Thursday or attend the personal preparedness presentation on Friday afternoon for a chance to win one of two $20 giftcards!

Know the risks – Learn about risks specific to our community and our region by using some of the following resources:

If you have questions, please reach out to Mēsha Richard, Lead, Emergency Preparedness (ext. 6552 or mesha.richard@tbh.net).

Click here for the schedule of Emergency Preparedness events happening this week at our Hospital.

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