There is a line sung by the cast in the popular musical Rent that goes, “Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes. How do you measure, measure a year?”

This signature song is the perfect anthem for this time of year. National Volunteer Week is the annual celebration of those who selflessly give their time to benefit the lives of others—but how do you really measure, measure a year of volunteer support?

There are a couple of traditional ways, like counting the number of hours and years given to an organization, the dollar value of a volunteer’s time, or to calculate things like retention rates.

These numbers speak volumes, but during a year that continued to throw us curveballs, it does not always accurately represent a volunteer’s continued impact at NBRHC. Our volunteers add so much more to our organization.

It is important to move beyond these statistics and look at the individual acts of kindness contained in every hour.

Take for example, NBRHC volunteer Joanne Comerford.

As an Ambassador, Joanne was excited to return and assist patients and care partners navigate the Health Centre. Once a week, Joanne is available to answer questions and provide way-finding support to help people find their way around the hospital—it means she walks, a lot.

She started wearing the smartwatch, Fitbit to track her activity and typically, before most people have had their morning coffee, she has already clocked over 3,000 steps.

In every step, that’s a welcoming comfort to patients in their time of need. A friendly face for a stressed family member looking for their loved one. An extra pair of hands for our busy Pandemic Support staff.

“I take great pride in my role as an Ambassador, and find it comforting to know that my actions have made it easier for patients and families coming to the Health Centre,” says Joanne. “The exercise is an added bonus for me,” she jokes.

So how do we measure, measure a year?

In the musical, the answer is love.

In many ways, that’s true for volunteering too, since volunteers bring heart to Canada’s communities.

This year’s National Volunteer Week theme, Volunteering is Empathy in Action, highlights how this profoundly human connection is at the heart of healthier individuals and stronger communities.

These past 525,600 minutes may be tough to measure with some of the usual metrics, but if we measure this year in a volunteer’s love, we see the shared acts of kindness and compassion, the creativity and patience, and above all, the different ways volunteers continued to care for the NBRHC community.

And that’s something worth celebrating! As we mark another National Volunteer Week, we look back with gratitude and forward with hope.

Thank you volunteers, we appreciate you and everything you do!

The North Bay Regional Health Centre (NBRHC) is taking increased measures to protect and preserve our hospital’s capacity to provide care where it is needed most.

The increasing community spread of the Omicron variant is being felt at NBRHC. Currently, the following factors are affecting our ability to operate smoothly:

• An increase of patients coming in through our Emergency Department (ED), and many presenting with COVID-19 symptoms.
• Sustained bed pressures with patients occupying non-traditional spaces.
• Staffing challenges with 180 health care workers currently off work, because they have tested positive or have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive.

To help address our COVID-19 pressures and to preserve bed and human resource capacity, the Health Centre is taking the following measures:

• Temporarily pausing all non-urgent procedures and surgeries in line with provincial Directive #2. This will allow us to divert resourcing to areas of greatest need. Care teams will identify which scheduled elective procedures will be postponed on a case-by-case basis. We will continue to provide time-sensitive care, such as trauma and cancer. Unless they hear otherwise, patients should assume their surgery is proceeding—patients impacted by this change will be notified by the hospital or surgeon’s office.
• Monitor staffing levels and deploy health care workers to support ED and inpatient care, if necessary.
• Continued prioritization of PCR testing for health care workers to enable expedient safe return-to-work.
• Early next week the Health Centre will begin enhanced assessments for patients with moderate or worsening COVID-19 symptoms. This clinic will support non-urgent COVID-19 patients who cannot safely manage their symptoms at home, without having to go to the Emergency Department.

NBRHC President and CEO Paul Heinrich says the hospital’s health care workers have been working tirelessly for nearly two years, and need the community’s support to keep going. “I know this is not where anyone of us wanted to be at this stage in the pandemic, but we need everyone to help slow the spread,” Heinrich says. “Please continue to follow public health guidelines, get vaccinated or boosted if you haven’t already, and stay home if you have mild COVID-19 symptoms that can be safely managed at home.”

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Contact:
Communications Department
communications@nbrhc.on.ca

Due to high call volumes and request for testing appointments, the North Bay Regional Health Centre’s (NBRHC) COVID-19 Assessment Centre is asking for patience and cooperation as our staff work to meet the community’s testing needs.

Ontario has updated its COVID-19 testing guidelines to prioritize tests for those who need them most. Individuals who meet the criteria must book an appointment by calling 705-474-8600 ext. 4110.

Due to higher demand, the phone lines are very busy. If you reach the voicemail, please leave a message and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.

The Health Centre’s COVID-19 Assessment Centre remains open (except statutory holidays) with adjusted operating hours between Friday, December 24, 2021 and Monday, January 1, 2022.

If you are waiting to get tested, please continue to self-isolate.

You can help ensure we continue to operate as efficiently as possible by booking with your closest testing location and not seek testing at multiple COVID-19 assessment centres. COVID-19 testing is also available at select pharmacies locations for asymptomatic individuals that meet criteria established by the province.

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NBRHC wishes everyone a safe, healthy and happy holiday season as we look forward to 2022.

As many health care services have reduced services, here are some holiday health care tips we hope will help you prepare and keep you and your loved ones healthy.

Remember: if you do need us, we are here for you.

HOLIDAY SEASON HEALTH CARE CHECKLIST:

• Know your primary care provider’s holiday hours (if applicable)
• Schedule any needed medical appointments.
• Refill your medications and medical supplies

Need non-emergency care?

You may be able to access the health care you require elsewhere in our community. Click here for a link to walk in clinics. You can also call Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000.

Tips for visiting the Emergency Department:

NBRHC often is managing higher patient volumes in our Emergency Department (ED) during holidays.

ED patients are triaged, which means the most serious cases are seen first.

If you can, please make sure to bring your health card and any medications you need with you when you come.

With the provincial surge in COVID-19 infections the North Bay Regional Health Centre is taking additional steps to protect our hospital community.

Effective Monday, January 17, 2022, designated Care Partners at NBRHC must show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 along with government-issued photo I.D every time before entering the Health Centre.

This does not apply to patients—patients may still enter the hospital regardless of vaccination status.

The new vaccination guidelines do not apply in some exceptional circumstances including (but not limited to): end-of-life, Birthing Unit, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), paediatric patients or patients with a developmental disability or cognitive impairment.

• Care partners who are not fully vaccinated, do not have a medical exemption and do not meet exception criteria will not be able to visit in-person.
• Everyone entering the building, regardless of vaccination status, will still be required to follow our COVID-19 guidelines including passing COVID-19 screening, wearing a mask at all times, physical distancing and visiting during designated hours only.
• Care Partner visits are allowed between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily.
• Inpatients are permitted two dedicated Care Partners (and one alternate when required).
• Inpatients may have two Care Partners at the bedside at one time where physical distancing is possible.
• Care Partners have the option of entering and exiting throughout the day.

In-person visits are not allowed for COVID-19 suspected or positive patients. In these cases, the unit will help accommodate virtual visits using technology such as iPads. Also, restrictive entry is still in place in outpatient areas (Emergency Department, Outpatient Clinics).

National Public Safety Communicators Week April 11-17, 2021

Ambulance Communications Officers in our region receive more than 36,000 medical and fire calls a year for assistance. On-duty 24/7, 365 days a year, this work is critical to the chain of survival—but the staff performing this vital function are rarely visible.

The North Bay Central Ambulance Communications Centre (CACC) is joining Emergency Communications Centres throughout the Canada in celebrating the second full week of April (April 11-17, 2021) as National Public Safety Communicators Week. This week honours the thousands of men and women who answer emergency calls, dispatch emergency professionals and equipment and render life-saving assistance to citizens.

Ambulance Communications Officer James Sutherland, earned his first pink Stork Pin on Friday morning, March 5, 2021.  At about 9:45 am, James, in his third year as an ACO at North Bay CACC, received a 911 call for a young lady who was in labour and assisted in the delivery of a baby girl in Cobalt, Ontario.  He remained calm and cool while he coached the expectant parents through the birth of their healthy baby girl, who arrived minutes later, as they waited for an ambulance to arrive.  Temiskaming EMS Paramedics arrived a few minutes later to take over care of mom and baby who were transported to Timiskaming Hospital and are both doing well.

The metal stork lapel pins are presented to CACC staff who are involved in a baby’s delivery — a joyous part of a job that is often filled with tragedy.

Often referred to as the first, first responders, communicators have a challenging task. It is imperative that the call taker determine what happened and how to help before responders arrive.

At approximately 1:20 hrs, February 3, 2021, the North Bay CACC received multiple 911 calls regarding a vehicle fire in Kirkland Lake, Ontario that was rapidly spreading to the adjacent house.  ACO Shannon Penasse answered the first 911 call from the neighbour across the street.  She quickly and calmly took control of the situation, determined the exact address of the fire and extracted pertinent information from the caller.  Meanwhile, the fire department had been paged by her co-workers and were responding.  Shannon then had the forethought to elicit the phone number for the house on fire, call the residence and instruct the occupant to leave immediately.  CACC staff, including Team Leader Sylvette Brousseau and ACO Rachel Sheppard received and managed over fourteen 911 calls for this fire in a very short amount of time.

As a result of Shannon’s call to the residence, the occupant, who was hard of hearing and unaware of the fire, grabbed her house coat, her cat and her purse, managing to escape out the backdoor of the house as the windows in her bedroom were breaking due to the intensity of the fire.  Assisted by her neighbour, she walked barefoot through the snow, over a fence, and to her daughter’s residence 5 houses away. In the thank you card she sent Shannon, the fire victim states, “because of your call, I was safe at my daughter’s house before the fire trucks arrived.”  The victim of the fire had spoken to various neighbours in an effort to identify the caller to her residence that morning as she believes that this individual saved her life.

Marc Picard, Manager, CACC says while an emergency call takes only a few minutes, in a crisis it can feel much longer and the call taker must remain calm when most callers are anxious, distraught or confused.

“Call takers are specially trained to gather the critical information needed to prioritize and dispatch calls,” Picard explains. “Not all calls come in from a residential or business address—people need assistance at their cottages, on a snowmobile trail or somewhere on the highway. Dispatchers have to be able to identify a variety of locations on a digital mapping system to be able to send assistance wherever they are.”

Also during this time the call taker has to get specific medical information to both provide pre-arrival instructions to the caller and if a Primary or Advanced Care Paramedic is needed to respond. “They also determine whether assistance is required from Ornge Air Ambulance, Medical First Response Teams, Fire Department or Police,” Picard says.  “Moments later, the next 911 line rings and the process is repeated.”

North Bay CACC staff are fortunate to have an outstanding working relationship with the Ontario Provincial Police Provincial Communications Centre in North Bay as well as the North Bay Police 911 Communication Center, whom they collaborate with daily.

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PHOTOS:

CACC photo 1.jpeg:  Ambulance Communications Officer Shannon Penasse was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation from Emergency Health Services Director Stuart Mooney and Senior Field Manager Steve O’Neil.

CACC photo 2.jpeg:  Ambulance Communications Officer James Sutherland, who earned his first pink Stork Pin.

About the North Bay CACC

The North Bay CACC is a department of the North Bay Regional Health Centre located off-site.  Under the direction of the CACC Manager, the North Bay CACC is staffed daily by Team Leaders, full time and part time Ambulance Communications Officers and support staff, including an Operations Supervisor, Information Support Officer, Liaison & Policy Officer, Program Assistant, as well as an administration clerk.

On duty CACC staff manage 23 EMS Resources at 10 EMS stations, 9 First Response Teams and 22 Volunteer Fire Departments.  This includes Primary Care and Advanced Care Paramedics, Supervisor units and any air ambulances resources that are in the area.  The CACC also coordinates the use of the NBRHC Community Transfer Vehicle. Behind the dispatchers are an administrative staff that support and assist their work, from payroll, to policy writing, to computer maintenance and upgrades.

There are 58 Fire Departments in the geographical area covered by the North Bay CACC.  Most Fire Departments maintain a tiered response agreement with EMS, which dictates when the CACC should notify them to respond to assist with medical calls, off road rescues or motor vehicle collisions.

CACC coordinates the movement of patients to and from the North Bay Regional Health Centre, West Nipissing General Hospital, Mattawa General Hospital, Temiskaming District Hospital, Blanch River Health Englehart site as well as the Blanch River Health Kirkland Lake site within the catchment area as well as the bordering hospitals of Health Sciences North, Timmins and District Hospital, Huntsville Hospital and Centre de Santé Timiskaming to name a few.

With the assistance of the Ornge Communications Centre, emergency calls and non-emergency long distance patient transfers are coordinated with both helicopter and fixed wing air ambulance resources.  There are five hospital helipads, 14 community helipads and three airports within our catchment area.  During daylight hours, an air ambulance helicopter can choose to land directly at the scene of a serious incident if there is a sufficient clearing.

The CACC has a Quality Assurance program which ensures that calls are constantly reviewed to maintain a high quality of service mandated by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.

The North Bay Central Ambulance Communications Centre is committed to ensuring a high level of communications services are provided to both the citizens of Ontario, the ambulance services, fire department and police services at all times.

When Jamie Haydon received the call from Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN) she was getting a new heart, she did not believe it. “My family and I are jokesters, so I thought it was my sister playing a prank,” Haydon says with a laugh. “When I called my mom about the news, she actually hung up on me thinking I was joking.”

When telling her story, Haydon sometimes stops to think about certain significant dates, however without hesitation she recalls February 25, 2016 as the day she “got a new lease on life.”

Initially diagnosed with cardiomyopathy in 2011, a disease of the heart muscle, Haydon had spent years in and out of the North Bay Regional Health Centre (NBRHC) and other hospitals. When she was listed for heart transplant in 2015, she was prepared to wait another two years. Four and a half months later she received the good news. “They found a perfect match,” Haydon says.

Currently in Ontario, there are almost 1,600 people waiting for the same telephone call including six residents in the city of North Bay. While organ and tissue donation has increased significantly in Ontario, one person dies waiting for a transplant every three days.

April is “BeADonor” month in Ontario and the TGLN is asking local residents to consider registering to become a lifesaving organ or tissue donor.

Janis Herzog is the Clinical Support Lead with the TGLN and Clinical Nurse Educator in the Critical Care Unit at the NBRHC. “When you check or register your consent for organ and tissue donation, you are letting those waiting know that you would help them if you could,” says Herzog.

In 2020, Ontario had a record breaking year with more donors than ever before, leading to more transplants performed and ultimately more lives saved. At 58 per cent, North Bay has the second highest donor registration rate out of 170 Ontario communities.

“Over the past year, NBRHC had four organ donors which led to 11 transplants performed from organs recovered,” says Herzog.

If you have registered your consent for organ and tissue donation, it is still important that you talk about your decision with your family and friends.

“Loved ones are always asked before donation happens. Knowing your wishes makes your family’s decision a lot easier to support when they are trying to deal with their loss,” said Herzog. “When a potential donor is registered, families have the comfort of knowing they are affirming their loved one’s wishes.”

Haydon has become really close to her donor’s family. “I haven’t met them in person yet, but I talk to them regularly,” says Haydon. “I can wholeheartedly say they are like my own family now.”

Haydon acknowledges there are many reasons why people choose not to donate and she is okay with it. “I just ask people to be open to the idea,” Haydon said. “Go learn about it, read about it and then make your decision.”

For more information, visit www.giftoflife.on.ca

February 25, 2016 was the day Jamie Haydon “got a new lease on life.”

Health care, even preventative health care, is an essential reason to be leaving home

There is a concerning trend physicians and hospitals worldwide are noticing during the pandemic–fewer patients accessing health care.

Dr. Neva Fantham-Tremblay, NBRHC Medical Director of Surgery & Head of Service for Obstetrics and Gynecology says locally we are seeing the same trend. Fantham-Tremblay says it appears fewer patients are accessing the health care system out of fear—fear of either leaving their home and being exposed to COVID-19, or fear of burdening health care workers and the health care system.

She says while our community has been quite good at following public health measures like restricting travel and only leaving home for essential reasons, some may not understand that ‘stay at home’ doesn’t apply to health care. “I want our community to know that health care is one of the essential reasons people should be leaving their house, even with public health restrictions. Health care, even preventative health care, is an essential reason to be leaving home.”

Like many of us during the pandemic, health care providers have adapted the way they work. “I think a lot of people have the misconception that their primary care or specialist’s offices are closed because many have switched to virtual or telephone visits,” Fantham-Tremblay says. “It doesn’t mean the office is closed—it just means some things can be managed virtually and others require an examination.”

While some may have hesitations about coming to the hospital for care, Fantham-Tremblay stresses hospitals are the safest they have ever been. “The pandemic team has worked very hard to ensure your access to health care is safe,” she explains. “Please don’t wait until you are unable to function before seeking care or going to the Emergency Department.”  She says they have had examples of patients coming in much sicker because they waited at home for three days with appendicitis because they were terrified to go to the hospital.

While some communities are seeing a backlog of surgeries, that isn’t the case at NBRHC. “Many of us have seen a decrease in surgical volumes,” Fantham-Tremblay says. “You hear about backlogs for surgeries that are happening across the world and we are fortunate not to have that problem in our community. Sometimes we are actually seeing patients cancel their surgeries out of fear.”

And with that brings a rising concern about the long term effects delaying care might bring, including delayed diagnosis and the possibility of certain cancers developing that maybe could have been managed differently had it been caught earlier.

Although COVID-19 is at the forefront of everyone’s mind right now, Fantham-Tremblay says other diseases and illnesses are still happening. “Ignoring early symptoms or avoiding your cancer screening tests such as pap tests, mammograms, and colorectal cancer screening can impact your health long after the pandemic has passed.”

So for those patients who are unsure whether something needs to be urgently addressed or can be safely be put off, Fantham-Tremblay suggests they reach out to their physician or specialist’s office. “We are specialists in keeping you healthy, and don’t expect you to be a specialist in keeping yourself healthy. Reach out to us—ask your surgeon, ask your family physician, ask your nurse practitioner ‘is this something I should be dealing with urgently or is this something I can safely put off?’ And we may be able to help guide your decision.”

“You are not burdening us by seeking either urgent or non-urgent health care and by having your elective surgeries” Fantham-Tremblay insists. “It is an okay thing to do.”

Keeping our community safe during the holidays – No matter where you live, the safest way to celebrate is by celebrating in-person with those you live with and virtually with those who don’t live with you.

Click here to view the PDF version

Please don’t postpone essential care because of the pandemic

If you are sick and need help, the North Bay Regional Health Centre is here for you.

Staff and physicians at NBRHC want our communities to know we are still available to patients for urgent health care needs and emergencies unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic.

NBRHC Emergency Department Manager Joan Brazeau says that while our communities are doing their part to support our health system as it prepares to respond to COVID-19, patients shouldn’t hesitate to seek treatment at the hospital.

Medical emergencies like heart attacks, strokes, and broken limbs still happen during a pandemic,” Brazeau says. “Please don’t delay receiving care because you are worried about COVID-19. Our Health Centre is prepared to safely provide care to all our patients.”

That’s also the message from Nipissing Paramedic Services. Manager Stephen Merkley says if you have an emergency and need help, please don’t hesitate to call 911. Merkley says they are asking the community to be open and honest about their symptoms when calling 911 for the safety and protection of paramedics and first responders.

 “To make sure we can safely provide care, we ask that you let us know if the person needing help has a fever, new onset of cough, or difficulty breathing,” he explains. “We also need to know if the person has been a close contact to anyone with an acute respiratory illness or a COVID-19 suspected or probable case in the last 14 days.” In saying that, still call if you need us—this information will help the teams safely prepare to care for you.

If you have an emergency please don’t hesitate. Call 911 or go to the nearest Emergency Department.

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Contact:
Lindsay Smylie Smith
Communications Specialist
lindsay.smyliesmith@nbrhc.on.ca