TBRHSC: A Year in Review
Published Tuesday, January 7, 2025
TBRHSC Takes the Pledge Against Substance Use and Addiction Stigma
Health care staff and the leadership team at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) came together in March to celebrate the launch of an anti-stigma campaign designed to bring awareness to and break down the stigma associated with substance use and addiction.
As part of the Patient Experience pillar of Strategic Plan 2026, the Anti-Stigma Campaign will define what stigma is within TBRHSC and provide education on the appropriate tools and strategies to ensure staff provide exceptional care to every patient facing mental health and addictions.
Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre Recognized for its Commitment to Excellence in Renal Care
Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) has been recognized by Ontario Health for its excellence in renal care through the North West Regional Renal Program. In the 2023-24 fiscal year, TBRHSC achieved significant improvements in kidney care services, meeting or exceeding key performance targets.
Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre Receives Hospital Achievement Award in Organ and Tissue Donation
Ontario Health (Trillium Gift of Life Network [TGLN]) has once again recognized Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) with an achievement award for its commitment to organ and tissue donation. TBRHSC has been presented with the Provincial Conversion Rate Award, which is given to hospitals who exceed TGLN's target conversion rate of 63 percent.
Patient and Family Centred Care at Applied Health Research Showcase
In February, two members of TBRHSC's Patient and Family Centred Care team presented at the Centre for Applied Health Research Showcase on the impact of strategies implemented to improve transitions and continuity of care after discharge. Two of the strategies were patient-oriented discharge summaries (PODS) and patient-oriented education tools (POETs) which provide patients with pertinent discharge instructions and address barriers to patient education such as health literacy and environmental factors.
Preliminary findings show that using PODS/POETs and PDL phone calls together show promise in improving continuity of care and transitions for patients visiting TBRHSC and may lead to fewer adverse events in the post-discharge setting.
Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre Celebrates 20 Years
On February 22, 2004, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) opened, combining the services of McKellar and Port Arthur General Hospitals and Cancer Care services. McKellar and Port Arthur General Hospitals had merged in 1995 to become the Thunder Bay Regional Hospital, providing acute care for Northwestern Ontario.
Since opening in 2004, TBRHSC has expanded in its size, as well as its programs and services. The successes of the past 20 years and those that are certain to come, could not have been achieved alone. For the role that our staff, donors to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation, community members and partners in health had in building excellent health care in Northwestern Ontario, we thank you.
Cancer Centre Receives Innovation Award for Remote Treatment Planning
Our Cancer Centre's Radiation Therapy Department received an innovation award from Ontario Health – Cancer Care Ontario for a Remote Treatment Planning initiative. This award recognizes significant contributions to quality and innovation in the delivery of cancer care in Ontario. There is currently a shortage of health care providers who are specifically trained and qualified in radiation planning in North America. TBRHSC's Remote Treatment Planning model addresses these health human resource challenges creatively by hiring qualified treatment planners to perform work and developing workflow, training and infrastructure to ensure seamless execution of these treatment plans. These changes have positively impacted access to care and wait time improvements.
Roaming Education for Staff
Since November 2023, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) has been innovating staff education through a program called REFS, aimed at improving training delivery. REFS has three components:
- Roaming Education: Content experts visit various hospital departments with snacks, leading spontaneous sessions on a selected topic.
- Lunch and Learns: Brief, energetic learning sessions held three times a month.
- On-the-Spot Simulations: The REFS team conducts mock codes in different departments for hands-on experience.
The program is designed to be inclusive, attracting a diverse group of professionals including pharmacists, therapists, nurses, students, and more.
Improving Access to Culturally Safe Care for Indigenous Patients
To address the gaps in the health care system and improve outcomes for Indigenous patients, TBRHSC led the development of the Indigenous Care Coordinator (ICC) program. There are ICCs on site Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., to support culturally safe and quality care for Indigenous Peoples during their hospital stay. Patients can access ICC services through the self-identification process, the Hospital Health Team, by community or family requests, or by requesting one when they are admitted. They can also email TBRHSC.IndigenousCareCoordinators@tbh.net.
Celebrating One Year of the Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit Mobile Team
The Ontario Forensic Pathology Service and Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre proudly recognize an important milestone — the one-year anniversary of the Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit (PFPU) Mobile Team initiative for medicolegal autopsies from Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario. Through this innovative partnership, we are able to continue to perform high-quality medicolegal autopsies in Thunder Bay when a PFPU-staffed Mobile Team is present one week per month.
Empowering Indigenous Youth with the Indigenous Career Experience Initiative
TBRHSC'S Indigenous Career Experience (ICE) aims to engage Indigenous youth by offering valuable insights into various career paths in health care and fostering a connection with TBRHSC. By offering students the opportunity to be involved in hands-on learning, the program provides an opportunity for students to get excited about a future career in health care. It also facilitates the recruitment of Indigenous staff within the health care sector.