June, 2009

Message from: Ingrid Parkes, Chair, Board of Directors, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre

In a few days, members of the Board of Directors will be meeting again at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre’s Annual Meeting. Along with the corporate membership, we will be reviewing the achievements of this past year and considering our plans for the future.

As you know, the list of accomplishments over this past year of our Physicians, Staff, and Volunteers is incredible. We have had a great year. And, our books are balanced!

It is exciting that at a time when many organizations are floundering, we are setting our sights on lofty goals designed to lead healthcare in Canada and beyond, and set new standards of care. We can only do this because of the strength of our people, partners and plans. Again, congratulations for making us a leader in acute care; accountable, respectful, safe, evidence-based and embracing Patient and Family Centred Care (PFCC).

We have begun to roll out our PFCC plans. We are convinced we are doing the right thing. We are changing our Model of Care to embrace the needs of our patients and families. Already our patient advisors are providing great counsel to redirect our resources. We are tailoring our healthcare in a beautiful way to care for our loved ones. PFCC is unique. Even a superficial examination of the strategy yields a positive response. However, a “deeper dive” exposes the tremendous strengths inherent in the plan. We know that it takes time to implement, but the outcomes are worth the effort. To this end, along with our Chief of Staff, Dr. Gordon Porter, I am making plans to travel to many communities in Northwestern Ontario to talk about the tremendous benefits of Patient and Family Centred Care. Dr. Porter is a tremendous supporter of the strategy and looks forward to meeting other Hospital Board Members, Physicians, Staff, and Volunteers to talk to them about our new Plan of Care, and share the story of Patient and Family Centred Care.

On another matter, I want to thank everyone involved in our challenge to plan for a Pandemic Disease Outbreak. Besides coping with the acute care needs of our patients, our Teams continue to refine plans for the eventuality of these kinds of events. Unfortunately, planning for Pandemic and Disaster events are a reality. When they happen, we must be ready. To the point, I hesitate to think what would happen if our Health Sciences Centre was full of acutely ill patients – a common occurrence for us – and a wave of patients tried to gain entrance for care. It would be an unbelievable challenge. Yet, that is what we are planning for. We are grateful for the cooperation from all our community and regional partners, who would join us to provide the right care for the right patient at the right time.

In conclusion, I must congratulate all of my Board members for their role in this being a great year. The “attitude of unity” you have brought to your duties as a Director has been wonderful. Along with our Physicians, Staff, and Volunteers, we all are ambassadors of Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. We are “Caring Together”.

I am trusting that everyone will have a great summer.

Thank you for your continued support over this past year.

Ingrid Parkes, Chair
Board of Directors