Hello, Boozhoo, Bonjour.

There has been some debate about this around the office, but I am of the belief that you can wish people a Happy New Year anytime in the month of January. So, just in the nick of time, please allow me to wish all of you the very best for the upcoming year!

Here at the Hospital and Health Research Institute it has been busy so far toward the end of last year and into 2024. Firstly, we have been fortunate to receive funding for various clinical areas. Last month, it was announced that funding in excess of $1.2 million would be provided for use in supporting Alternative Levels of Care and patient flow initiatives, available here. Last week, we were informed of additional funding for the Paediatric Transport Program, a much needed care team for our Hospital and region. I want to thank all the staff and leadership team members who have worked hard on the proposals to help make our case for this funding we’ve received to better treat the communities we serve.

Throughout the months of December and January, we also had an influx of paediatric patients needing care and an increase in visits to our Emergency Department. Let me just say that the incredible teamwork of our departments to manage through these times did not go unnoticed. It is through the efforts of our front-line staff and professional staff, a contribution that gives us the ability to have our patient flow initiatives maintained; resulting in patients of all ages getting the care they need in a timely manner. Thank you for your work and leadership in care over these capacity pressure periods. 

As I am sure you have heard me say before, we are unique and face challenges not encountered by other academic hospitals. The demand for acute care needs is higher than any other area in the province and the care we provide expands well beyond our community. As the only tertiary acute care and academic hospital, we support populations in areas that are remote and have limited care services. So, it was validating to see the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario substantiated many of the challenges and limitations we experience in our Northern Hospitals in a Value-for-Money Audit Report. The report provides recommendations to the Ministry of Health and Ontario Health for addressing hospital services in Northern Ontario to ensure there are more effective and appropriate health care services to manage the unique health care needs of our region. We have developed good relationships with our regional representatives in the provincial government and will continue to strongly advocate on your behalf.

In case you missed the latest Health Research Speaker Series that featured Dr. Hazem Elmansy, please know you can catch the next one on February 22 with Dr. David Savage, an Emergency Physician at TBRHSC and Assistant Professor at NOSM University. This Speaker Series is part of our commitment to bring awareness to the importance of clinical research and connecting to clinical practice.

One other note, Wake the Giant Training is a great way to learn more about creating a more inclusive space. The online training module provides insight into some of the realities that Indigenous Peoples may face when using our Hospital or coming to our city. I am happy to say that I have completed my training and found the learnings to be beneficial to my work and diversified my perspectives.

Finally, another thank you is well deserved to all who provided their meaningful input by taking the 2023 Employee and Professional Staff Engagement Survey. The survey was completed by all staffing and professional staff groups and our participation rate was just over 63% – a high rate of return in surveys. On first glance, the comments validate the challenges we know are part of our workdays, such as staffing. Please know that your participation in this survey provides us with the details needed to improve our workplace and make it a place you enjoy. We will be communicating the results over the next few weeks and engaging with you again as we build our action plans for addressing the key areas and also celebrating the successes. As always, your feedback on these blogs or any other matter is always welcome and valued. You can reach me at: rhonda.ellacott@tbh.net.