THUNDER BAY – NEWS – This week marks one year since the launch of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) and Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute (TBRHRI) jointly released Strategic Plan 2026, and we are pleased to report back to the community on the progress made throughout the year.
Our plan has a focus on five strategic priorities that build on a philosophy of Patients at the Centre of everything we do. The strategic priorities of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion; Patient Experience; Staff Experience; Research, Innovation and Learning, and Sustainable Future have guided much of our work throughout the year.
Each year, a strategic priority will be featured through video, providing a closer look at some of the initiatives TBRHSC and TBRHRI have undertaken advancing health care in Northwestern Ontario. This year, the organizations are highlighting the strategic priority of Staff Experience and has chosen to showcase some of the initiatives being worked on to foster an environment where all staff feel enabled to work safely, grow and ultimately thrive.
“The patient experience and staff experience are directly connected, and these co-dependent components are essential to creating a work environment that supports patient-centred care and supports and fosters a culture of well-being for our staff,” said Dr. Rhonda Crocker Ellacott, President and CEO at TBRHSC and CEO at TBRHRI. “As one of the priorities within the new Strategic Plan, we have taken a deliberate and thoughtful look at staff experience, and supporting transformative change by embedding our values into our behaviours.”
Health human resources pressures are well known both provincially and regionally and over the past year, TBRHSC has worked to address these challenges both through advocating for the region and operationally to make our staff experience a better one.
“By prioritizing the staff experience and developing a positive culture, we will create an environment that supports staff and contributes to the vision of exceptional care, for every patient, every time,” said Gord Wickham, Board Chair for TBRHSC.
Throughout the year both TBRHSC and TBRHRI have been successful in launching 13 of 26 initiatives that are aligned to the five Strategic Directions. This was a challenging yet successful year for both organizations.
“The success of our first year on the joint strategic plan shows the positive impact of the plan and the creation of an environment supportive of research, innovation, and learning,” states Dr. Andrew Dean, Board Chair for TBRHRI.
View the Year One Progress through TBRHSC Annual Report here: https://bit.ly/2022-23-TBRHSC-AnnualReport or TBRHRI Annual Report here: https://bit.ly/2022-23-TBRHRI-AnnualReport.