Board Chair Message - March 2006

I want to share a part of a letter that has come to the Health Sciences Centre that extols the virtues of our staff and their focus on patient care. It’s a letter that tells me that people, our stakeholders, care deeply about how we do business. And, as you will see, the timing of this letter couldn’t be better.

Some of the highlights include, …”The purpose of this letter is to highlight the absolute brilliance and perfection in patient care of the Labour and Delivery and Maternity Ward staff during my wife’s pregnancy. What puts this Department over and above the line of duty is their “over the top” personal focus on patient needs and service. We were never given the feeling of “Oh, it’s YOU again”. We were never made to feel like our concerns were miniscule or unwarranted. In my extensive travels, I have never seen such brilliant patient care before. We were pleased to see fantastic medical and personal patient service from nurse after nurse, shift after shift…the focus on patient care and service was never lost, not even once. There were also a number of students who are emulating the high expectations of service and care shown by the veteran nurses. Even the staff responsible for cleaning and upkeep had a pleasant smile on their faces every day”.

The writer goes on to describe in more detail how the care prompted his response. This is significant because just a few days ago, a number of people got together to work on a new Strategic Plan for Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. We were facilitated in our discussions by two of our nation’s best. They reminded us that we are positioned to be world leaders in some key areas of healthcare and research. To this end, they agreed to facilitate us in the development of a Strategic Plan that will have immediate impact while moving us through the next year, three years, five years and beyond. Based on our values, our clear vision, and quality of healthcare teams, we expect to achieve our goals. We know they will be lofty, but by caring for each patient and ensuring the necessary support from throughout the organization, we will be effective.

As we roll out our plans that articulate our role as a centre for care, teaching, and research, we will keep you informed. In turn, we would appreciate hearing from you. Please visit our website, www.tbrhsc.net, to find out how you can offer your opinions on our “Opinion Exchange Line”.

These are exciting times. Thanks for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Ron Nelson, Chair
Board of Directors

Back to Board Messages