Employee Gifts Celebrated at Luncheon

Staff at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute and Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation were celebrated today at a recognition luncheon for their contribution to world-class healthcare, but perhaps not in the way one would expect.

Each employee at the luncheon was celebrated for his or her donation to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation, made through payroll deduction. “Our Employee Giving Program is an opportunity for any employee to make a donation that directly supports the world-class health care provided here at the Health Sciences Centre,” said Robert Scott Srigley, Chair, Employee Giving Program. “We have a very generous group of employees who go over and above their roles and make a difference where they work. I’m proud to Chair the Employee Giving Committee that encourages philanthropy and allows all of us to give back to a facility that is important, not only to each of us individually, but to our entire community.”

Barry Streib, Secretary and Chair, Governance, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation welcomed 83 new employees this year to the Employee Giving Program, and recognized those already part of the Program, some for over 20 years. “I know you have a choice when it comes to giving and I’m very thankful you have chosen to support an area that already has great importance to you. Thank you for your leadership and dedication to patient care.”

“Our employees make our Hospital the outstanding facility that it is,” commented Jean Bartkowiak, President & CEO, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and CEO, Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute. “I am very privileged to lead a team that has such dedication to improving the lives of patients and their families through donations to our Health Sciences Foundation. I’m equally proud to be part of this team. I know my contribution, along with those of my colleagues is used to procure critical equipment for the care we provide patients.”

At the celebration, it was announced that employees donated a total of $84,835 over the past year, which was boosted to $94,835 thanks to Tbaytel. “Last year, Tbaytel made a four-year commitment to match donations of up to $10,000 made by employees of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and we are absolutely thrilled with the result of fundraising efforts for 2016,” said Kathleen Jones, Tbaytel’s VP of sales, marketing and communication. “Our workforce is made up of 430 employees who all live and work here in Thunder Bay and regionally, so we are very proud to support an initiative that helps to make improved patient care a priority.”

Items funded thanks to the generosity of employees and Tbaytel were:

• A New Vital Signs Monitor
• A New Hospital Bed and
• An IV Pump

Joanne Maki, Unit Leader, Ambulatory Care explained, “Vital Signs Monitors are key to the care we provide each day, and give us accurate data about a patient’s condition. We use them to track blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation and temperature. The best part about our new monitor is it can interface with our electronic medical record, which represents a significant advance in patient safety and accuracy and means we can spend more time on patient care than paperwork.”

In addition to gifts made through payroll deductions, employees contributed another $4,417.51 thanks to some fun initiatives. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, several elves made their way around the Health Sciences Centre, making people smile. For a $5 donation, any employee could ‘elf’ someone else, with 173 people contributing to the joy. As well, candy sales in the Hospital and throughout the community added to the total. Thanks to these additional donations, some smaller items were funded including:

• 120 patient room clocks
• A compact refrigerator for families in the Operating Room and
• A patient kitchen update in the Renal Department

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