Health care plant maintenance, planning and engineering staff are the in-house professionals responsible for facilities management, planning, development and maintenance of complex health care systems, equipment and facilities. Our health care facilities rely on these staff to provide the necessary skills and resources to develop and manage the environment of care within our organization in an efficient manner and with the patient in mind.
October 15-21 is National Health Care Facilities and Engineering Week, and it is meant to recognize and honour the plant, maintenance, planning and engineering staff on behalf of all who benefit from them. Please join us in thanking these staff members for their contributions in maintaining a safe, secure and functioning environment for our Hospital.
RNAO (Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario) is celebrating its ninth annual Fall Tour.
RNAO’s Lakehead Chapter is very proud to have had our application accepted – we’ve been selected as one of the stops along RNAO’s Fall Tour.
Dr. Claudette Holloway, President of RNAO, will be visiting Thunder Bay on Wednesday, October 18, 2023.
The Fall Tour is an opportunity for Lakehead Chapter members to meet Dr. Holloway. She will be speaking about RNAO’s advocacy and priorities. Join us and discuss your thoughts/ideas and ask questions related to nursing, health and health care.
About our guest speaker:
Dr. Claudette Holloway is the President of RNAO, the professional association representing registered nurses, nurse practitioners and nursing students in the province of Ontario. She has a bachelor’s degree from Ryerson, a master’s degree in nursing from D’Youville College, Buffalo, New York and a Doctorate in Health Administration from the University of Phoenix. In Canada, Claudette has more than 35 years of nursing experience, including 10 years of leadership as a program manager at Toronto Public Health, district administration for St. Elizabeth Visiting Nurses in Toronto, and nurse manager at the John Noble Homes for the Aged in Brantford, Ontario. She is passionate about promoting the nursing profession, decreasing, and eliminating anti-black racism and all forms of racism and discrimination in nursing and the health-care system.
What: Lakehead Chapter Fall Tour —Meet and Greet with RNAO President Dr. Claudette Holloway When: Wednesday, October 18, 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Where: ICP Main Meeting Room 2178, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre
Registration is required (CLICK HERE). Open to Lakehead Chapter members, and nursing staff.
Pharmacy Technician Day (October 17) recognizes the invaluable contributions made by Registered Pharmacy Technicians who work tirelessly to ensure patients receive their medications safely and accurately.
The role of a pharmacy technician is an integral part of any pharmacy operation, including Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. With many new responsibilities, such as an expanded role in medication reconciliation and management of our Automated Medication Dispensing Units (Omnicell ®), it is important to take some time to appreciate all that our pharmacy technician team does for our patients, their families and staff. Please take this day to show your support for our pharmacy technician team.
Are you or someone you know interested in pursuing a career as a pharmacy technician?
In order to enroll in one of the 23 current pharmacy technician programs in Ontario, you’ll need an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent, a grade 12 English credit, and grade 11/12 math and sciences credits. The programs are generally 18-24 months in duration. In order to ensure that the program you’re considering is accredited by the Ontario College of Pharmacists (OCP), visit https://ccapp.ca/canadian-pharmacy-technician-programs/
Pharmacy technicians are regulated under the OCP in order to practice. Once you’ve completed an accredited program, you’ll need to meet the requirements from the OCP to become registered and work in the field.
Halloween is a fun, and spooky, time of year for kids. Make trick-or-treating safe for everyone with a few easy safety tips:
When choosing a costume, stay away from long trailing fabric and make sure eye holes in masks are large enough to see out of.
Provide children with flashlights or glow sticks as part of their costume.
Dried flowers, cornstalks, and crepe paper catch fire easily. Keep all decorations away from open flames and other heat sources.
Use battery-operated candles or glow-sticks in jack-o’lanterns. If you use real candles, use extreme caution. Be sure to place lit pumpkins well away from anything that can burn and far enough out of the way of trick-or-treaters.
Keep exits clear of decorations, so nothing blocks escape routes.
Make sure all smoke alarms in the home are working.
Tell children to stay away from open flames including jack-o-lanterns with candles in them. Be sure they know how to stop, drop and roll if their clothing catches fire. (Have them practice, stopping immediately, dropping to the ground, covering their face with hands, and rolling over and over to put the flames out.)
Have questions or feedback? Contact Mēsha Richard, Lead, Emergency Preparednessatmesha.richard@tbh.net.
For more information about staying fire safe this Halloween, check out nfpa.org/education
Shared on behalf of behalf of Ryan Sears, Director, Capital & Facilities Services
Please be advised that a Code Red to Code Green-STAT Evacuation drill is scheduled for Thursday October 12, 2023 at 20:30h. The exercise will be simulated to reflect hospital operations at 03:00h, when staffing levels are at their lowest. Mock patients will be evacuated from 3A. This exercise is required by the Ontario Fire Code and will be evaluated by internal observers and representatives from Thunder Bay Fire Rescue.
Managers
Circulate this memo and attachments to staff, including employees without regular access to email, and post the drill poster in your unit (see attached).
Distribute the attached Memo to Patients/Visitors and PFAs.
Ensure that the most up to date policy versions for Code Red (EMER-30) and Code Green (EMER-90), as well as applicable department sub plans, are in your area’s emergency binder.
All staff
Review the Hospital’s Code Red & Code Green policies, as well as applicable department sub plans, and be aware of any instructions specific to your role and department.
What am I expected to do?
Areas that normally operate at 0300h will respond as per Code Red and Code Green policies and relevant sub plans.
Upon hearing “Code Green STAT + Location” each unit will send one staff member to the evacuation site to assist, unless the unit’s sub plan indicates otherwise.
Staff are to remain in their unit until “Code Green Drill – All Clear” is announced overhead, unless they have been assigned to respond.
Staff are to inform patients and visitors that there is a drill in progress.
All participating departments are to complete a Code Red eObservation Form.
What happens if a real emergency occurs during the drill?
To communicate a real Code Red or Code Green during the exercise, the code word (to be stated over any phone/radio/paging system) is: “NO DUFF, NO DUFF + relevant colour code announcement.”
If the drill must be stopped due to real emergency, Switchboard will immediately announce “Code Red + Green Drill – All Clear” overhead, followed by “NO DUFF, NO DUFF + relevant colour code announcement”.
Thank you for your participation and cooperation. Any questions or concerns can be directed to Mēsha Richard, Lead, Emergency Preparedness (ext. 6552 or mesha.richard@tbh.net).
The second full week of each October (8-14) is dedicated to celebrating the important role of Medical Device Reprocessing Departments (MDRD) across the country, just like the one at our Hospital. The MDRD staff is made up of certified technicians that wash, inspect, assemble, wrap, sterilize and distribute instruments to the Operating Room and clinics throughout the Hospital. With a focus on patient safety and quality assurance, the proper reprocessing of reusable patient care items is more important than it ever has been. Staff in the MDRD work almost 24/7 to make sure physicians, nurses and surgeons have the clean sterile instruments they need to provide exceptional care for every patient, every time.
Friday, October 6th was Pink Day at our Hospital, an event where staff members were encouraged to wear pink to work to help raise awareness about the importance of breast cancer screening. Thank you to everyone who stopped by Prevention and Screening’s booth to learn more about breast cancer screening and support our #BreastFriends photo contest.
To participate in this contest and other Breast Cancer Awareness Month activities, visit the Screen for Life Coach social media pages @ScreenforLifeCoachNorthwest.
Friday, October 6 is Pink Day at our Hospital, an event where staff members were encouraged to wear pink to work to help raise awareness about the importance of breast cancer screening.
Stop by Prevention and Screening’s booth at the bottom of the main staircase on October 6 between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. to learn more about cancer screening and to have your photo taken.
Sonography Week (October 2-6) is an opportunity to recognize and promote the profession of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ultrasound) which plays a vital role in the care and treatment of community members.
Sonographers are medical detectives. They use their ultrasound training, technical skills, and understanding of the human body and its systems to decide if structures are normal or abnormal and adapt their investigation as they find clues throughout an examination. This information is then used by doctors to determine the necessary treatment or next steps for the patient.
A sonographer uses an instrument called a transducer or probe on a patient over the area of the body under investigation. The probe emits high-frequency sound which is inaudible to the human ear. As the probe is moved around it records echoes as sound waves bounce back to the ultrasound machine to determine size, shape and consistency of soft tissues. This information is relayed in real-time to produce images on a computer screen.
The quality of an ultrasound exam is very dependent on the skills of the sonographer who completed the scan. If they are not a great detective who takes in all the evidence and finds all the clues, then it is difficult to solve the case. As well, no two cases are ever the same, so a sonographer’s day is never dull.
Sonography is a growing, dynamic profession and sonographers are in demand in hospitals, medical imaging clinics and tertiary healthcare facilities. Many sonographers are also employed as educators, application specialists or sales representatives with medical equipment manufacturing firms, or as researchers.
Did you know?
The gooey gel that people relate to ultrasound exams is necessary for sound waves to travel between the probe and the patient.
Ultrasound exams can last between 20 and 60 minutes with the sonographer in very close proximity to the patient.
Not all sonographers perform all types of exams. Learning different body systems requires special training and separate written and clinical examinations. Students graduate with knowledge of basic exams and can then further their specialization and knowledge if they desire.
At TBRHSC, pregnancy ultrasound is a very small portion of our workload. Most exams at our site relate to abdomen, pelvic, arterial and venous, breast, scrotal, prostate, thyroid, neonatal brain and muscle and tendon studies.
The sonography programs in Canada vary in focus and length. Individuals can be trained in three areas: generalist, cardiac or vascular sonography. For more information and a list of accredited training programs, visit the Sonography Canada website: https://sonographycanada.ca/
Most sonographers LOVE ultrasound and love talking about it, so next time you come across one of these allied health professionals, ask them about their dynamic career.
