Shared on behalf of on behalf of Dr. Rhonda Crocker Ellacott, President & CEO, TBRHSC and CEO, TBRHRI

Hello, Boozhou, Bonjour.

I would like to speak with you this month about change – something that has been a constant for all of you the past few years, and yet we still continue to see the landscape shift.

In much the same way it appears Mother Nature is having challenges changing the weather to spring-like, change in health care is often not easy.

I saw this first-hand with some of the changes to our COVID-19 response protocols as we enter what some are calling an endemic, where COVID-19 will simply have a constant presence. I was shadowing a volunteer at our main entrance during a very busy time. Many patients were coming and going, and to say the volunteers at the desk were amazing would be an understatement. They adapted to traffic flows effortlessly and calmly. In what appeared at times to be a chaotic storm, they were a calming voice of reason and information for everyone who approached them.

I tell this story because I feel these volunteers I spent time with epitomize the adaptation and change we are seeing across the Hospital. This level of transition is not easy. It requires endurance, dedication and commitment on your part, and you are all delivering on that day in and day out. I can’t say enough about how you have all adapted and modernized your thinking and work to the current situation.

While the legacy of COVID-19 will likely be with us for some time, it has been refreshing to see us getting back to other aspects of our operations. For instance, in talking about positive change, we are making progress with our Emergency Department (ED) renovations, which will improve the staff and patient experience. The renovations are multi-step and require many stages to be approved through the Ministry of Health process. Our current plans include a redesign to allow for appropriate assessments for those individuals entering our ED who may require mental health and addictions care. This newly constructed, designated area within the ED with direct access from triage will improve the care provided in these types of emergencies.

In concert with those renovations, we are making some positive changes to the waiting area and will be enhancing the observation areas, streamlining registration and creating an environment that allows for a more confidential triage.

All in all, the renovations will improve the way patients move through our ED and allow more area to support patients and supportive care partners, while providing a safer environment overall for both staff and patients. This is an example of combined innovative thinking by many departments, including support from the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation.

Along with these renovations, we are also moving forward with the detailed planning for our Cardiovascular Surgery Project. There are a number of stages that must be approved, and the result will be a 70,000 square foot addition off our main entrance, adjacent to the renal doors. This project is critical to providing cardiac services, allowing us to provide lifesaving treatment within our community that is of the highest quality of cardiovascular care, and done in spaces that support innovation.

As we upgrade to provide better health care services, it is widely recognized that having state-of-the-art digital supports is a fundamental need to ensure we can exchange and coordinate information electronically when sharing information amongst those involved in patient care for efficient and better-managed care. The change and transformation to a new electronic health record has been initiated and involves a multitude of steps at every stage. To ensure everyone realizes the benefits of this change, it is critical to have those using the system engaged at the early stages to champion changes and support innovative solutions. Please watch for more details soon.

So, while change can be challenging, change can also be positive and, in our case, absolutely necessary to stay modern and provide the best possible care for the people we serve. All of these projects are well supported by excellent teams and with many stakeholders and community partners. They all require varying degrees of change and innovative thinking, which is positive and leads to improvements.

We have all come a long way and the acceptance of needing to change is what makes us better and provides the open door to improve how we do things, innovation at its finest. Thank you for all your adaptability as we work through new projects and whatever else comes our way. I look forward to keeping you up to date on these initiatives and am excited to see what these improvements will lead to.

As always, please feel free to reach out to me if you have comments on this blog or connect with me for any other matter. You can reach me at: rhonda.ellacott@tbh.net.