Preceptor Award Winner – Kevin Vopni

Kevin Vopni has been a member of the Renal team since 2015. He is the go-to person for new staff wishing to learn more about cannulating a fistula with the ultrasound. He is viewed as an expert in this area, and leadership often recommends him as a resource to others.

Kevin is always willing to preceptor new staff joining our team without hesitation. He will take on the responsibility to ensure knowledge transfer and understanding for care of the renal patient with new staff. He advocates for high quality patient care and brings forward any clinical issues. Kevin has also taken on doing other tasks in the unit like TPE and will mentor staff with this treatment as well to ensure machine set up and understanding of the treatment being provided.

Kevin has precepted many new hires to the unit. He is laid back, with an easygoing personality and passion for teaching about care of the renal patient. Please take this opportunity to acknowledge his strengths and contribution to the renal team.

Volunteer Association Education Bursary Awarded to Erika Whatley

Erika Whatley has been working at Thunder Bay Regional Health Science Center since 2018, initially as a Unit Care Aide (UCA) while pursuing her Practical Nursing diploma at Confederation College. She graduated in 2019 and transitioned to a Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) role, where she was delighted to begin her career on the 3C Surgical floor, fulfilling her dream.

Driven by her immense ambition, Erika refused to settle for less than she deserved. Despite facing numerous challenges in life, she has always pushed herself to chase after her dreams. Driven by her deep passion for nursing, she made the bold decision to further her education and enrolled in Nipissing University’s RPN to RN bridging program to earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and become a Registered Nurse (RN).

Beginning in 2020, she embarked on the arduous journey of working full-time and dedicating herself to completing her degree online. Despite the demands of her rigorous schedule, she persevered with unfaltering determination. However, the challenges did not end there, as the pandemic swept through the world and greatly impacted the nursing profession. As a dedicated nurse, she faced even more hurdles than before, yet remained steadfast in her commitment to patient care.

On top of the challenges of the pandemic, she was suddenly struck with a chronic heart disease that required surgery. Though Erika was forced to take a break from bedside nursing, she remained true in her determination to return to her passion for surgical nursing.

Her scheduled surgery in February 2021 was postponed due to the pandemic-induced delay of countless surgeries across the province. Despite her struggle, she never lost courage and continued to maintain focus on regaining her health. In March 2022, she underwent the long-awaited surgery, finally bringing an end to the challenging journey she had endured. Even though she went through a significant disruption to her plans, she never stopped thriving in both her work and education. Excelling in her new position in lnfection Prevention and Control, Erika remained committed to her love for nursing. She even joined the Nursing Practice Council to advocate for the profession, demonstrating her unwavering dedication and belief in herself.

Erika truly embodies the spirit of nursing, tirelessly advocating for its advancement and showing a firm commitment to patient care.

In recognition of National Nursing Week (May 8-14), there are daily trivia questions. Each submission will be entered into a draw to win prizes. Winners will be announced on the Daily Informed Newsletter during National Nursing Week.

How to enter

You can enter by:

• Clicking the link in the poster below
• Using the QR code in the poster below; or
• Sending in your responses by email to nurses@tbh.net

Day 5 Trivia Questions:

• According to the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO), what is the theme of National Nursing Week 2023?
• In 1971, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) designated May 12 as International Nurses Day (True or False)
• In 1985, the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) passed a resolution to negotiate the week containing May 12 to be National Nurses Week. Soon after, the federal minister of health proclaimed the second week of May as National Nurses Week (True or False)

This week is Emergency Preparedness Week! This year’s theme is “Be Prepared. Know Your Risks”. The intent of the theme is to encourage us all to understand the risks in our area and learn what actions we can take to protect ourselves, our families, and our community.

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:

• Know the risks – Although the consequences of disasters can be similar, knowing the risks specific to our community and our region can help you better prepare
• Make a plan – It will help you and your family know what to do
• Get an emergency kit – During an emergency, we will all need some basic supplies. We may need to get by without power or tap water. Be prepared to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours in an emergency.

Visit https://www.getprepared.gc.ca/, https://www.ontario.ca/page/emergency-preparedness, and the City of Thunder Bay’s Emergency Planning page (https://www.thunderbay.ca/en/city-services/emergency-planning.aspx) for resources to help you and your family prepare for all types of emergencies, including emergency plan templates and emergency kit content recommendations.

We all have a role to play in an emergency. Experience has shown that individual preparedness goes a long way to reducing vulnerability and increasing disaster resilience. I encourage you to take concrete actions throughout the year to be more prepared.

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

It’s National Nursing Week and Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) is highlighting a few of our nurses and their achievements. Meet Erika Bishop, Nurse Practitioner – Primary Health Care (NP-PHC) at our Hospital.

---

After graduating in 2014 from Lakehead University, Erika Bishop started her career at TBRHSC working as a cardiac nurse. In 2017, she moved over to the hemodialysis unit and continues working there in a casual position.

Before March 2020, she had applied for graduate studies and ended up spending the majority of the COVID-19 pandemic working on her Master of Nursing – Primary Care Nurse Practitioner degree from Queen’s University, which she obtained in July 2022. She has since joined TBRHSC’s Nurse Led Outreach team as a Nurse Practitioner working in long-term care, assisted living and retirement homes across Thunder Bay with the goal of reducing emergency room visits.

Staff Experience Award Winner – Rene Lafontaine

Congratulations to Rene Lafontaine, for winning the Staff Experience Award!

Rene Lafontaine, an oncology nurse, works as part of the Radiation Oncology multidisciplinary team and in the Chemotherapy unit.

Whenever asked, Rene is always willing to lend a hand. In his interactions with everyone in the department – radiation therapists, other nurses, clerks and physicians – he is always kind. He is a team player; willing to make the trip to pick up rhinolaryngoscopes that haven’t been returned and hunt down equipment, helping with difficult IV starts in Ct Simulation procedures and assisting the patients of his colleagues when the need arises. He communicates well with team members, providing pertinent information regarding a patient visit.

Thank you, Rene, for being a great team player!

Patient Experience Award Winner – Brent Fiddler

Congratulations to Brent Fiddler, winner of the Patient Experience Award.

Brent Fiddler has been a registered nurse in the Intensive Care Unit for the past five years. During his time in the ICU, Brent has gone above and beyond to provide exceptional care to patients and their family members. Brent always treats patients and family members with dignity and respect.

An example of this involves a patient who admitted to the ICU with respiratory failure requiring non-invasive ventilation (BiPaP) to assist with breathing and oxygenation. After a few days of this treatment, the family and care team determined that all best efforts were unavailing and the trajectory of care was switched to palliation. The BiPaP was removed and medications for comfort were administered to the patient.

The patient’s family jokingly said to Brent “too bad he can’t have his music and wine he loved that”. Brent replied “Why not?” The patient’s family went home and got some of the patient’s homemade wine, the family members gave him wine with mouth swabs while they played his favourite music, sang, and danced. The patient passed peacefully soon after. The family was extremely grateful for what they said “was opportunity to have the best of a sad situation”.

Thank you Brent, for going above and beyond for our patients and families.

It’s National Nursing Week and Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) is highlighting a few of our nurses and their achievements. Meet Saird Ezack, a Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) at our Hospital.

---

Saird Ezack started in health care through the Military Reserves. She had many amazing opportunities and obtained her Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) license, Paramedic License, and taught Tactical Combat Casualty Care courses. 

She has been an RPN at TBRHSC since 2013. She worked primarily on surgical units and is very passionate about patient safety and quality care. She has most recently accepted a position on the Paediatric unit.

She thoroughly enjoys teaching and mentoring new and student nurses. She is very fortunate to be Clinical Instructor for Confederation College.

Saird is currently in the process of applying for bridging from RPN to Registered Nurse.

In recognition of National Nursing Week (May 8-14), there are daily trivia questions. Each submission will be entered into a draw to win prizes. Winners will be announced on the Daily Informed Newsletter during National Nursing Week.

How to enter

You can enter by:

• Clicking the link in the poster below
• Using the QR code in the poster below; or
• Sending in your responses by email to nurses@tbh.net

Day 4 Trivia Questions:

• We have a Nursing Practice Council (NPC) (True or False)
• The Nursing Practice Council (NPC) is a forum for nurses across the organization to participate in discussion, referral or decision-making processes that impact safe nursing practice and quality patient care, in alignment with the mission, vision and strategic plan of Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre? (True or False)

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 Fire System and Overhead Paging System on Thursday, May 11, 2023 for approximately four (4) hours – starting at 11:00 PM to facilitate deactivation of the fire system related to the Research MRI new installation project.

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 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. In preparation for the downtime, 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 629-7005. Further support will be provided by Security (684-6509) and the on call Facility Manager (cell number 629-3119) as required.

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