As we begin 2024, I hope you were able to take time over the holiday season to relax, recharge and reflect on the triumphs and challenges of 2023. On behalf of the Board, let me state how grateful we are for our dedicated staff, professional staff and volunteers for all their hard work over the holidays and providing outstanding care to patients and their families.
February is Heart Month, a time to bring attention to the importance of cardiovascular health. Heart disease affects approximately 2.4 million Canadian adults, and is the second leading cause of death in Canada. Each year, an estimated 35,000 cardiac arrests occur in Canada.
Changes are coming to the Emergency Department at our Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, thanks to your donations to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation’s Family Care Grant program. In fact, you can see some of those changes already in the waiting room.
The Carl Nimrod Educator Award recognizes outstanding achievement within the field of education in obstetrics and gynecology. Award recipients have demonstrated excellence, commitment, innovation and leadership in imparting knowledge, skills and attitudes to the next generation of practitioners.
The Emergency Department at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre can be a very busy place. Staff provides all the support and comforts they can. Now, thanks to a Family CARE Grant, they have two new ways to provide that support.
Dr. Marion, MD. MSc. BEd. FRCSC. is an orthopaedic surgeon who has been practicing at Thunder Bay Health Sciences Centre, and regional centres since 2017. He is an assistant professor in the Division of Clinical Sciences at NOSM University and is the current Spine Surgery Medical Lead at the TBRHSC.
Dr. David Savage is a graduate of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and an Emergency Physician at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. His research is currently focused on northern and rural health and health human resource planning.
Dr. Hazem Elmansy is an Associate Professor and Program Director of the Minimally Invasive Urologic Surgery Program at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. He joined Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre’s Urology department in May 2017 after completing his Urology residency at McGill University and training in endourology (including Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy for complex stone management, laser surgery for the prostate and metabolic work-up to prevent stone disease recurrence).
This past fall, TBRHSC Emergency Preparedness led the coordination of a Minimum Staffing Drill (also referred to as a Vulnerable Occupancy Drill) with representation from the Hospital’s the Code Red (fire) and Code Green (evacuation) policy working groups and unit management. This annual hospital-wide drill, mandated by the Ontario Fire Code, tests the Hospital’s ability to safely evacuate patients from a unit during hours with minimal staffing levels. The team’s drill response is then evaluated and timed by Thunder Bay Fire Rescue (TBFR).
