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The COVID-19 situation is constantly evolving. As of today, there are 35 patients admitted to Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) who are COVID-19 positive. Of those, 10 are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The overall capacity is approximately 75%.

TBRHSC’s Incident Management Team (IMT) is meeting on a daily basis to implement a safe and appropriate response. Ensuring the availability of specialized acute care services is a priority.

We implore everyone in our community to do their part by following the public health guidelines. Stay safe by staying home except for essential purposes. Accessing care in urgent situations is essential. During the first wave of the pandemic, some community members avoided the hospital out of fear. As a result, in many cases, health care conditions worsened. Those who need urgent care can safely access it at our hospital.

Dr. Zaki Ahmed, Chief of Staff and critical care physician who also provides care in the COVID-19 Care Unit, noted, “If we need to triple our capacity to provide critical care, our plans allow us to do just that. We are ready to respond to our community’s increasing needs during this pandemic.”

In order to address increasing numbers of patients in our hospital who are COVID-19 positive, a number of measures have been taken. These include:

We have plans in place to escalate or ramp down our response as the situation requires. More importantly, we know our teams have the expertise, will and commitment to serve our community safely and responsibly. Our teams are trained to be professional, nimble, and compassionate. You are our most valuable resource. We are entirely committed to protecting the dedicated people who make patient care possible.

We are in this together.

One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, making it one of the most common cancers in women across Canada. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and a great opportunity to discuss breast cancer awareness, prevention, and screening with the women in your life.

There are many ways to reduce your risk of breast cancer such as limiting alcohol intake, maintaining a healthy weight, and staying active. Breast cancer screening is also available and recommended by the Ontario Breast Screening Program. Being screened for cancer allows experts to catch cancer early when it is easier to treat.

Women between the age of 50 to 74 who are considered “average risk” should be screened every two years for breast cancer with mammography. Mammography is essentially an x-ray image of the breasts to show abnormalities, like tumors and cysts that could potentially be cancerous. There is also a “high risk” program for women between the ages of 30 and 69 who meet the high risk criteria, and would be screened annually with mammogram and MRI.

There are several options for breast cancer screening services within Northwestern Ontario. If you are average risk and due for breast cancer screening, you can find mammography services at the following locations:

The Screen for Life Coach is Northwestern Ontario’s mobile cancer screening unit providing breast, colon and cervical cancer screening to anyone eligible in our region.  The Coach normally services 75 different locations annually, however screening locations have been reduced due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. This year, the Coach will be screening in Dryden, Marathon, Atikokan, Geraldton, Nipigon and returning to Thunder Bay by November to screen for the winter.

Do you want to help spread awareness this October? Look for local events happening in our community to help spread the word, raise money for breast cancer treatment and support people in our community. Follow the Screen for Life Coach and Thunder Bay Regional Health Science Centre on Facebook to keep in the know about breast cancer.

For more information about breast cancer screening, visit: www.tbrhsc.net/cancerscreening.

Getting checked for colon cancer just got easier with the introduction of the fecal immunochemical test (FIT) in Ontario. FIT is available across the province through Cancer Care Ontario’s organized colon cancer screening program, ColonCancerCheck.

Cancer Care Ontario recommends that people who have no symptoms and are at average risk get checked using FIT every two years. Someone is at average risk for colon cancer if they are 50 to 74 years old with no first-degree relative (parent, brother, sister or child) who has been diagnosed with colon cancer.

Dr. Nicole Zavagnin, Northwest Regional Primary Care Lead, explained details of the new screening tool. “FIT is a simple and safe at-home test that checks someone’s stool (poop) for tiny amounts of blood, which could be caused by a colon cancer and/or pre-cancerous polyps, which are growths in the colon or rectum that can turn into cancer over time,” stated Dr. Zavagnin.

FIT replaces the fecal occult blood test (FOBT) for people at average risk of developing colon cancer. Dr. Zavagnin continued, “Although there is high-quality scientific evidence to support screening with FOBT, FIT offers several advantages:

Colorectal cancer (commonly called “colon cancer” or “bowel cancer”) is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in Ontario and the second most common cause of cancer deaths. It is estimated that in 2018, about 11,600 people in Ontario were diagnosed with colorectal cancer and about 3,360 people in Ontario died from the disease.

“Getting screened for colon cancer can help to find the disease early, when it is easier to treat,” encouraged Dr. Zavagnin. “When colon cancer is caught early, there is a higher chance for cure, with 90% of people being disease free at 5 years.”

People ages 50 to 74 are encouraged to discuss their eligibility for ColonCancerCheck FIT screening with their family doctor or nurse practitioner. Anyone without a family doctor or nurse practitioner can call Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-828-9213, or call the Screen for Life
Coach at 1-800-461-7031 or (807) 684-7777. Individuals living in an Indigenous community are encouraged to visit their health centre or nursing station, or call the Screen for Life Coach to receive a FIT kit.

LifeLabs will mail eligible people a FIT kit following a request from their family doctor or nurse practitioner. Once completed by the participant, the FIT kit is mailed back to the lab or dropped off at a LifeLabs Patient Service Centre (http://locations.lifelabs.com/).

Eligible people in Ontario will continue to receive letters inviting them to get screened, provide information about their test results, let them know if they need to get more tests done, and remind them when it is time to be screened again.

For more information on colon cancer screening in Ontario, visit cancercare.on.ca/colon.

If you live in Northwestern Ontario there is a greater chance that you or someone you love is at risk for heart disease. The Thunder Bay District has:

Northern Hearts is a non- profit charity whose goal is to reduce the high incidence of cardiovascular disease in the region and create a community environment for people with cardiac disease to share and support each other. Their mission is to promote and educate the community on healthy lifestyles in an attempt to reduce the risk of cardiac disease. In an effort to accomplish their objectives, Northern Hearts organizes two types of events every summer and fall.

Talk with Doc: Cannabis and Your Heart

The most recent “Talk with Doc” featured Dr. Chris Lai who offered an informative and entertaining presentation on the impact that Cannabis can have on your health, and particularly your heart, to a packed room at the Thunder Bay District Health Unit on Thursday, May 23, 2019.

Following the presentation Dr. Lai answered a number of questions from the audience regarding medical applications of cannabis to their individual health concerns as well as some detailed medical explanations to medical professionals in attendance.

The “Talk with Doc” series will continue in the fall of 2019 in an effort to provide up-to-date and informative presentations by health care individuals in the community.

Walk with Doc

The Fort William First Nation Health Centre hosted their third annual “Walk with Doc” on Wednesday evening, May 22nd on top of Mount McKay in an effort to promote healthy lifestyles amongst Fort William First Nations residents. Dr. Chris Lai was the “Doc” in attendance and walked with the group of hearty individuals to the Mount McKay scenic lookout despite the rather cool temperatures.

Sabrina MacLaurin, Community Health Representative at the Health Centre worked in conjunction with Northern Hearts to host the event and was in attendance to complete the walk and award attendance prizes to a few of the lucky participants.

Dr. Chris Lai along with Northern Hearts board members and volunteers are lacing up their shoes to participate in the “Walk with Doc” series taking place from June 3rd to June 28th on Monday to Thursday nights (7-8pm) at Birch Point Park at Boulevard Lake. The walks are free and feature different health care professionals each night along with various host organizations supporting healthier lifestyles and cardiac care in Thunder Bay. Attendance prizes are offered to participating walkers.

For more information on current or future “Walk with Doc” events or to hear about the next “Talk with Doc”, please refer to the organization’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/WalkWithDoc/

National Health Ethics Week: March 31 – April 6, 2019

Ethics is the study of moral principles. Moral principles govern how we act and generally inform what we believe to be right or wrong in a given situation. Ethical scenarios come up daily in the news, through business practices, political decisions, and are woven throughout our personal choices.

Ethical scenarios are also common in healthcare – where people are often faced with difficult and complex decisions that leave them struggling to find the best answers. In these situations the ethics service at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre is here to help! The Ethics service is headed by our Bioethicist, Michelle Allain, and supported by the Hospital’s Ethics Committee, which is made up of staff, as well as, Patient and Family Advisors. The role of the service is to help anyone in the organization (eg: patients, families, staff, volunteers, etc.) struggling with an ethical issue. Together they help guide those responsible for making decisions in a supportive way, while keeping in mind ethical principles, as well as, the values of the patient and our organization.

The first week in April is National Health Ethics Week. The Hospital will be joining other health organizations across Canada in reaching out to the community to bring attention to the resources available and to discuss ethical issues and the process for addressing them. Ethics Committee members will be working across the hospital campus with an interactive display, allowing people to evaluate and discuss ethical questions and develop a better understanding of the resources available.

Each year, we ask a question which does not have an obvious right or wrong answer, but which could be decided in many ways, depending on the priorities of the person answering and their personal values and beliefs.

If you would like to join in on our exercise, you can visit tbh.net/ethics to see this year’s question, and submit what you think is the best answer. We’ve also linked some resources there to show how other people might approach the question.

How is ethics relevant to your team?

Every day we perform procedures on patients of all ages and cultures. Procedures are explained, consents are signed and family members updated on their status. Ethical questions and decision making happen daily in our care environment.

What ethical issues come up in your area?

Survey Monkey Redirect for Eating Healthy Together EHT Survey.

Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute celebrated another year of success at the joint Annual General Meeting on Thursday, June 21st.

This year’s meeting focused on quality-driven health care with keynote speaker Lee Fairclough, Vice President of Quality Improvement at Health Quality Ontario. Her presentation discussed how Health Quality enhances patient experiences and outcomes, and what it takes to ingrain Quality in a health care organization.

Returning to the Board of Directors for three-year terms are Anita Jean, Dick Mannisto, Joy Wakefield, and Gary Whitney.

Continuing their terms of office on the Board are John Friday, Micheal Hardy, Patricia Lang, Matt Simeoni, Grant Walsh, Gordon Wickman, and Eric Zakrewski.

The Board includes the following ex-officio Directors:
• Jean Bartkowiak, President and CEO
• Dawna Maria Perry, Chief Nursing Executive
• Dr. Gordon Porter, Chief of Staff
• Dr. Penny Moody-Corbett, Associate Dean, Research, Northern Ontario School of Medicine
• Dr. Eric Davenport, President, Professional Staff Association

At the Inaugural meeting of the Board of Directors, held immediately following the AGM, the Officers of the Corporation were elected as follows:
• Chair – Matt Simeoni
• 1st Vice Chair – Grant Walsh
• 2nd Vice Chair – Dick Mannisto
• Treasurer – John Friday

For the Patient Safety and Quality of Care Committee, Gary Whitney was elected as Chair.

Both organizations also released their 2017/18 Annual Reports. To view Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre’s report, please visit http://tbrhsc.net/2017-2018-annual-report/. To view Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute’s report, please visit http://tbrhsc.net/2017-2018-hri-annual-report/.

Returning to the region this spring for a full travel season is the Screen for Life Coach – a mobile health screening service that provides breast, cervical and colon cancer screening to more than 70 different locations in Northwestern Ontario.

Lauren Beach, Mobile Coach Lead at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, is preparing for the upcoming travel season. “We are excited to get the Coach back on the road! Our team of registered nurses and medical radiation technologists look forward to providing high-quality health care services, and seeing some familiar faces in the region,” insisted Beach.

The Coach increases access to important cancer screening services to help detect breast, cervical and colon cancers, making it easier for people in Northwestern Ontario to participate in cancer screening. In our region, screening rates need to improve, as the percentage of eligible individuals who are overdue for screening is high. According to the Cancer Quality Council of Ontario, for our region only 61.8% of women are up-to-date with breast cancer screening, 59.0% are up-to-date on their cervical cancer screening, and 42.8% of adults, between the ages of 50 and 74 years, are overdue for colon cancer screening.

In Ontario, the cancer screening guidelines for average risk men and women are as follows:

All of these cancer screening tests are provided on the Screen for Life Coach. Regular cancer screening can detect cancer in its early stages, when it is less likely to have spread and is easier to treat.

The Coach travels from Wawa to the Manitoba Border, and everywhere in between, including many First Nation communities. In some cases, the Coach may be in a community more than once throughout the travel season, however, Beach urges residents not to wait. “As the saying goes, don’t miss the bus! Get screened when the Coach is in your community. Make cancer screening a priority and call us to avoid having to travel for your appointment,” encouraged Beach. Men and women who are eligible for cancer screening services can book an appointment today by calling: 1-807-684-7777 or 1-800-461-7031. For the full travel schedule and a virtual tour of the coach, visit: www.tbrhsc.net/screenforlife.

Colon cancer is among the most common causes of cancer death in Ontarians.

Many people in Northwestern Ontario are still not completing the recommended screening test to check for colon cancer. Colon Cancer Awareness Month launches today, and Dr. Nicole Zavagnin, Regional Primary Care Lead for Cancer Care Ontario at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, urges men and women in our region to get screened for colon cancer by completing a simple, ‘do it yourself’, take-home kit.

“The fecal occult blood test (FOBT) kit is a safe and easy-to-complete cancer screening test that checks a person’s stool (poop) for tiny drops of blood, which can be an early sign of colon cancer,” explains Zavagnin. The test for colon cancer can be done in the comfort of your own home. “The FOBT kit is less invasive than other cancer screening tests, allowing people to complete the test in the comfort and privacy of their home. It only takes a few minutes to complete and requires little preparation, so it’s easy to fit into your busy schedule,” she adds.

The FOBT kit is intended for men and women between the ages of 50-74 who have no family history or symptoms of colon cancer. “Colon cancer is 90% treatable if caught early,” Zavagnin says. “Screening helps to find colon cancer early when there are no uncomfortable symptoms, such as persistent diarrhea and stomach pain, and when it is easier to treat.”

Even with the convenience of the FOBT kit, over 40% of people in our region are overdue, meaning they have not been screened for colon cancer within the two year guideline. “The FOBT kit is unique when compared to other medical tests. There is no appointment needed to complete the test, since you do this at home. However with our busy lives, many people may not prioritize the FOBT kit or procrastinate and forget to complete the test before it expires. The FOBT kit is the best way for average risk people to screen for colon cancer. The low number of screening in our region is a call to action for health care providers and patients to make sure that all eligible adults in our region are aware of and have access to screening,” states Dr Zavagnin.

There are many outlets for eligible people to receive a FOBT kit, including your health care provider, the Screen for Life Coach (1-807-684-7777 or 1-800-461-7031), and Telehealth Ontario (1-866-828-9213).
If interested in finding out your personal risk for developing colon cancer, as well as five other types of cancers, check out www.MyCancerIQ.ca. This simple, online self-assessment tool includes a personalized action plan for all individuals that can be shared with family and health care providers.

For more information on colon cancer screening in Ontario, visit www.tbrhsc.net/cancerscreening.

Youth injury prevention programming at Thunder Bay Regional Health Science Centre has grown. Over the past three years, the Hospital has delivered injury prevention education to more grade 11 student across Northwestern Ontario.

The reality education about dangers associated with high risk behaviours and alcohol/ drug misuse has been in place since 2009. Since September 2017, our Hospital provides the harm reduction programming to youth living in Nipigon, Long Lac, and Dryden.

The leading cause of death for youth between the ages of 14-25 is trauma and 90% of these deaths are predictable and preventable. Injury Prevention Leads Shonath Kajorinne and Justin Ross are determined to change that.

Through partnerships with community and regional stakeholders, our Hospital has developed videoconference education sessions based on topics from the International Prevent Alcohol and Risk Related Trauma in Youth (P.A.R.T.Y) Program. Through a pilot project, the injury prevention education is now offered twice per month at the Dryden High School.

“The P.A.R.T.Y. Program introduces a dialogue that our students need to hear and feel part of,” said Richard Hodgkinson, Dryden High School Principal. “At times, many students go through challenges that require support not just from the school and staff but from other people they feel a connection to. At the session I attended, the role model’s story connected back to when they were a student and what they did to help set and reach their goals. We are working and learning together to help students succeed and develop a positive vision of their future.”

“Finding innovative ways to connect with youth in our surrounding areas is so important” said Shonath Kajorinne, Regional Injury Prevention Lead. “Delivering injury prevention messages despite the distance is our goal.”

Providing a portable P.A.R.T.Y. Program toolkit is another project underway in collaboration with ORNGE- air ambulance. The concept of having paramedics use injury prevention teaching aids within the toolkit that can be brought to any Northern Community is exciting to Kajorinne. “It’s an incredible opportunity to work collaboratively with key stakeholders to spread the word on injury prevention,” she said.

Providing injury prevention for youth in our city as well as in the NWO region supports our Hospital’s Strategic Plan, and will help make a healthier community and region in the future.

For more information about youth injury prevention at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, please visit our website at http://www.tbrhsc.net/programs-services/trauma-program/party-program/

Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre was recently recognized for improving access and equity to French language health services.

The Réseau du mieux-être francophone du Nord de l’Ontario held its 7th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on June 5, 2017 where they announced the recipients of their first recognition awards. These awards were created to acknowledge the contribution of health service providers, community groups and individuals towards improving access and equity to French language health services.

“Improving our services to Francophone patients and families is a priority,” said Bartkowiak. “Francophones comprise a significant portion of the population we serve, and we are committed to ensuring that we are respectful of, and responsive to their cultural preferences, needs and values.”

A number of initiatives at our Hospital support better care for Francophone patients and families. Bilingual educational documents and care instructions are available to patients and families. Additionally, our Hospital promotes French language training and eligible staff are encouraged to further develop their French language by taking advantage of a tuition reimbursement program. There is also a Francophone Advisory Committee that guides improvements and promote open communication and sharing of information between our Hospital and the francophone community.

The Réseau du mieux-être francophone du Nord de l’Ontario works with communities and the government to improve the health of Francophones living in Northern Ontario. To learn more, please visit http://www.reseaudumieuxetre.ca/en/.

Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre is bringing our expertise on Patient and Family Centred Care (PFCC) to the 5th Annual National Forum on Patient Experience. Keith Taylor, Co-Chair of our Patient Family Advisor Council will be chairing the event and sharing what it is that makes our Hospital a leader in PFCC.


The 5th Annual National Forum on Patient Experience, taking place in Toronto from September 26 – 27th, is the only event dedicated to patients and professionals from across the country in coming together to address important issues in patient and family centred care. The event’s focus is to improve outcomes, quality of care, and transform the patient experience.


Patient and Family Centred Care is the provision of care that is respectful of, and responsive to individual patient/family preferences, needs, and values and ensures that those values guide all clinical decisions. It’s a partnership involving patients, families and health care providers that results in safe quality care. Creating a caring environment for patients and families ensures continuity of care and fosters a learning environment.


“At our Hospital, we’re leaders in patient and family centred care. Simply put, that means we’re the best at putting patients and their families at the centre of everything that we do – it’s the philosophy that guides us,” said Taylor. “We recognize that creating a quality patient experience builds upon this philosophy, which is why we’ve made it a priority in our Strategic Plan. It’s something that all staff, physicians and volunteers have embraced.”


With the introduction of the Patients First Act and new Accreditation standards, it is now more important than ever to put patients at the centre of care. The forum hopes to help participating health care facilities determine where PFCC is heading on a national level, and what needs to be done to improve.


To learn more about our Hospital and its PFCC philosophy, visit www.tbh.net . To learn more about the Annual National Forum on Patient Experience, visit http://www.patientexperiencesummit.com/.

Northern Hearts is inviting the community to “Walk with Doc”. Founded 14 years ago, Walk with Doc is a program to encourage, build, and maintain healthy and active life-long habits in cooperation with local physicians and organizations.

The walks take place throughout the month of June and feature a local doctor and local health-orientated organization to encourage walkers on their way and to connect and educate participants about active living and community health resources.

Open to any and all members of the public, the walks are about 2 kilometres and begin at 7 PM, Monday to Thursday at Birch Point park on Boulevard Lake. Everyone is welcome.

Upcoming Walks with Doc:

To learn more about Walk with Doc, please visit Facebook.com/WalkwithDoc or email northernhearts@tbaytel.net.

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