April 2014
Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care Improving Access in Thunder Bay
Inside! Directors and Limited Liability JUST WHAT WE NEEDED! TBRHSC Celebrates 10 Years of Building a Healthy Future Thunder Bay Network Encourages Youth to Take Control of their Lives and Make a ‘U-turn’ in the Right Direction Surgeon Group Invests $2-million in Local Orthopedic Research
Second-Year Aviation Students Get a Little Wet During “Dunker” Training
Grow Greenstone Expo Huge Success
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THUNDER BAY BUSINESS APRIL 2014
TBRHSC Celebrates 10 Years of Building a Healthy Future (Thunder Bay - Friday, March 14, 2014) – Members of the community and government officials, including the Honourable Deb Matthews, Ontario’s Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, today celebrated the 10th Anniversary of Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. On February 22, 2004, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) opened, combining the services of McKellar and Port Arthur General Hospitals and Cancer Care services to provide patients access to all areas of expertise and leading-edge equipment under one roof. The design features of the contemporary 375-acute care bed Health Sciences Centre, such as natural light throughout the facility and within the patients’ rooms, offer patients, visitors and staff a comfort-
able, welcoming environment. Ten years after its construction, TBRHSC is still attracting international attention for its innovative design, recently placing sixth on a list of the world’s 30 most architecturally impressive hospitals, the only Canadian hospital on the list.
2007 - the introduction of the Angioplasty Program; 2008 - the launch of a Home Hemodialysis Program; 2009 - adopting the Patient and Family Centred Care model; 2010 - welcoming new President and CEO,
members, volunteers, donors and government partners in contributing to the realization of a leading-edge, regional, acutecare facility for the people of Northwestern Ontario.
Andrée Robichaud; 2011 - opening the Centre for Complex Diabetes Care; 2012 - expanding TBRHSC’s Aboriginal Advisory Committee to 25 members; 2013 - strengthening its commitment to providing smoke-free grounds. Today’s event also highlighted the role of staff, healthcare providers, community
beginning,” said Andrée Robichaud, President and CEO, TBRHSC. “As we prepare to develop a new Strategic Plan with input from policy makers, health professionals, health managers, communities and academic institutions, I look forward to the achievements of the next 10 years.”
“As it was said in 2004, this is just the
"I want to congratulate the entire Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre community on their remarkable achievements over the past 10 years to advance health research and care for the residents of Northwestern Ontario,” said Minister Matthews. “Our government is pleased to support this regional hospital so that it can continue to provide innovative health care for patients and families as close to home as possible." The event highlighted significant advances in the Health Sciences Centre’s development as a regional healthcare provider and research centre. Highlighted milestones included: 2005 - the opening of Tbaytel Tamarack House, a “home away from home” for regional cancer patients; 2006 - recognized as a Teaching Hospital by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care;
“I am extremely proud of our accomplishments and know there are more advances in patient and family centred care and research in store,” said Susan Fraser, Chair of the TBRHSC Board of Directors. “Judging from the past 10 years, I am confident that healthcare in Northwestern
Lauren & Julia were the first twins born at the TBRHSC 10 years ago! Ontario has a very bright future.” “We are very excited about the immediate and long-term benefits to patient care ahead as clinicians and scientists continue to work together,” said Dr. Gary Polonsky, Chair of the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute (TBRRI) Board of Directors. Today’s event was the first of many planned this year to celebrate TBRHSC’s 10th anniversary. Plans include facility and garden tours as well as participation in a number of community events throughout the year. Community members are also invited to sign a giant birthday card at Intercity Shopping Centre on Saturday, March 15, 2014 from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm. For more information, visit www.tbrhsc.net/10years. Deb Matthews, Minister of Health “ This hospital is a gem, a real gem of a hospital. It was kind of wonderful to walk through the ten years and see the additional services provided. People don’t have to travel outside of the region to get the care they need. This is a wonderful, wonderful gem not just as a hospital but the whole NOSM and Research Institute. This is the place to be, a beautiful shining star of our health care system.”
THUNDER BAY BUSINESS APRIL 2014
Publisher’s Note Scott Sumner The Victoria Inn in Thunder Bay was a buzz with activity in mid March as the second Grow Greenstone Expo was held. This tradeshow type event featured many displays of Greenstone and other businesses, as well as many presentations on a variety of topic including the Ring of Fire and the Premier Gold Hardrock Project. Renald Beaulieu has been the Mayor of the Municipality of Greenstone for 4 years and previously was Mayor of Longlac for 12 years. Greenstone is the amalgamation of Longlac, Geraldton, Nakina, Beardmore, Caramat and several First Nations communities. The mayors job is not a full time job but it is according to Mayor Beaulieu. Beaulieu is also a financial planner with Sun Life and has owned a school bus business in Greenstone for the last 35 years “ We have to speak as Greenstone, all together. This way we have more power and it has been a positive move for us, being more recognized. Greenstone has about 4500 population in total,” stated Renald Beaulieu. “ We are right where the
action is for the Ring of Fire and Premier Gold announcement. It gives us hope. Right now our economy is small businesses sustaining each other. We had a plywood mill and sawmills but since the downturn they all closed down. The restart of the pulp mill in Terrace Bay has helped us as we now supply their wood.
President Miranda Bolt Graphic Designer
Sonia Rutter @ 807- 631-4244
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Grow Greenstone Expo Huge Success
Above: Renald Beaulieu, Mayor of the Municipality of Greenstone Below: Rosalind Lockyer of PARO addresses the conference and many exhibitors on hand My hope is in the very near future we will see our sawmills restart. That will be a very positive move for us.” “ For us the way the Ring of Fire was
announced it was as if we were hand picked because there is only one high ground area that a road can come out right in the Nakina ward. We have been working with governments and First Nations on this as it is a very important factor. As a municipality we have secured land near where the rail might come out for material being hauled,” said Beaulieu. “ Our goal was to see the ferrachrome facility built in Nakina
but there has been a change in that. In the end it is all about jobs and are we getting prepared, we sure are.” The Geraldton Community Forest has just been approved for $4 million for a building and funds to train for the forestry and mining industry. There is a project for broadband coming up that will improve communications. In Greenstone there are two major airports, one in Geraldton and one in Nakina ward. Nakina is very busy because of fly in from the North. “ There will be many opportunities for us to partner with others from Thunder Bay or Sudbury. We want our people to connect and recognize the opportunities,” said Beaulieu. “ Employees could also live in Greenstone. We have the ability to house people and have available lots for residential, commercial and industrial. It is a beautiful place to live, we have schools, medical clinics, a golf course, four arenas, four water treatment plants- the amenities are there. We are prepared for expansion. The cost of living here is probably the best kept secret. You can get a good home for $100,000 or less. Once you live in our communities you would find there is so much to do you can’t do it all.” The Greenstone Expo has been a great success according to Beaulieu.” I am
totally impressed with the response we are getting. Forward thinking is what we are
doing for Greenstone and Northwestern Ontario. The recent comments of the President of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce said people have to get it right. Lets get out and help develop the Ring of Fire which will bring so much benefit to Northern Ontario, Ontario and Canada. We feel good about this. Things take a long time, it is all about patience, but this project will happen. I am very very confident and the future for us in Northwestern Ontario is just fantastic. Lets keep pushing and hoping for this very positive project.”
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THUNDER BAY BUSINESS APRIL 2014
Directors and Limited Liability © 2014 Brian Babcock One of the benefits of incorporation is limitation of personal liability. Directors of corporations generally cannot be sued as they might be if they were simply owners of the business or officers of an unincorporated association. This applies to both
Legal Matters businesses and not for profit corporations. There are exceptions created in statues, like environmental liabilities and certain unpaid taxes or wages. For this reason,
directors and officers insurance is always a good idea. But someone who slips and injures themselves outside the apartment block you own through a corporation, or the unpaid supplier of the failing retailer, is typically out of luck. The major exception to THIS rule is where directors act in their own interest rather than that of the corporation. This concept can be a very difficult one to apply in practice, and generates a lot of court decisions. A recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision attempts to streamline and simplify the rules. Only time will tell whether it succeeds in doing so. Shoppers Drug Mart hired a corporation to manage its energy billings. Shoppers
would deposit funds in a trust account, and the corporation would make sure the bills were paid on time. Until Shoppers discovered that the trust money was gone but the bills had not been paid. The corporation was an empty shell. So Shoppers sued the sole director. He defended on the basis of the “corporate veil”. Since he was the “bad guy” who essentially stole the money, it seems fair that he should pay. Despite this, the motions judge felt that since the corporation was not created just to protect the wrongdoing, he could not be made to pay. The Court of Appeal ruled otherwise, relying on an earlier decision which stated that “the courts will disregard the separate legal personality of a corporate entity where it is com-
pletely dominated and controlled and being used as a shield for fraudulent or improper conduct.” This is still a very high barrier protecting directors – the phrase “completely dominated” discourages claims arising from isolated acts. The bad acts must also be fraudulent or “improper”. Though “improper” may be a bit vague, it still likely does not leave directors exposed to claims for negligence, or arising from the failure of a business. As always, however, opposing parties will push the limits of liability. Weilers has been advising directors, corporations and creditors on liability for over 67 years.
Thunder Bay Network Encourages Youth to Take Control of their Lives and Make a ‘U-turn’ in the Right Direction BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
Thunder Bay BUSINESS “If you are ready to talk, we are ready to listen” was the message three Thunder Bay agencies are expressing to youth in the community. Today, Thunder Bay Counselling Centre, St. Joseph’s Care Group and Children’s Centre Thunder Bay, unveiled U-turn to a group of Sir Winston Churchill Career and Vocational Institute. It is a network that provides support for young people experiencing difficulty in regards to mental health and substance use. The agencies have been partnering together for the last decade, previously known in
Thunder Bay as the Integrated Youth Services network (IYS). Nancy Chamberlain, Executive Director of Thunder Bay Counselling Centre says; “The network has been rebranded with a fresh new look that is more youth friendly. With the new brand, U-turn is hopeful youth will begin to refer themselves to services provided, instead of waiting and being told to come see us. U-turn will connect youth with the right supports and services to help them make positive changes in their lives.” U-turn offers access to free counselling, advice, support and information to address a range of issues. Diane Walker, Executive Director of
Children’s Centre Thunder Bay says; “Young people are more likely to experience mental illness and substance abuse disorder than any other age group. We are encouraging youth to become the front seat drivers in their own lives and take control to get to where they want to be. When experiencing a bumpy road, it’s never too
lessens the intimidation factor and will make them aware of U-turn services at a social level in which they feel safe and familiar.” To participate in the #sharehowUfeel campaign, youth can tweet @Uturn, post a picture to Instagram using the hashtag #sharehowUfeel or visit the official U-Turn
late to take a U-turn if you feel like you’re going in the wrong direction.” With the unveiling of the new brand, Uturn also launched the #sharehowUfeel social media campaign. #sharehowUfeel is focused on getting youth between the ages of 13-18 to open up and share what they are thinking and feeling, by posting pictures and words on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Janet Sillman, Vice President, Mental Health & Addiction Services of St. Joseph’s Care Group says; “We often find youth aren’t opening up, expressing their feelings or asking for help. Youth are going through a very exciting, confusing and exhilarating time in their lives and they often face several challenges and obstacles along the way. U-turn wants to ensure youth feel comfortable and willing to express themselves. Social media
Facebook page. By posting how you feel by April 1st, youth will also have a chance to win an iPad mini. Further information on U-turn services can be found at www.tbaycounsellingcentre.com/uturn. U-turn is funded by the North West Local Health Integration Network.
Nancy Chamberlain, Executive Director Thunder Bay Counselling Centre “ U Turn is fabulous. It is a network of three organizations that have come together with a new brand to attract youth to come and reach out for help. The program has existed before but we needed a new approach to reach out to youth through social media. It is really related to mental health and addictions.” “ We have a twitter account and are inviting people to hash tag us. We also have facebook, instagram as different ways to connect with us. The old way of brochures doesn’t work any more.” “ We connected with youth in focus groups to ask what they wanted and social media is important to them. The most important thing is to find out you are not alone and there is professional adult and youth support to reduce loneliness and find change. This is reaching youth in a broader way to get help and reach out to us.”
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Second-Year Aviation Students Get a Little Wet During “Dunker” Training BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
Thunder Bay BUSINESS When you fly over northwestern Ontario where there is almost as much water as land, having to ditch in a lake or river is a
very real possibility. That’s why students in Confederation College’s Aviation Flight Management program took “dunker” training at the Lakehead University C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse. During the course, students learned Submerged Aircraft Fuselage Egress (SAFE) Training. This course taught students in a controlled setting how to safely exit an airplane that has crashed, flipped, and submerged in water. The training is similar to that shown in the “Dilbert Dunker” scene in the movie An Officer and a Gentleman. “Many pilots who crash during a water landing or ditch on a lake survive the impact, but then drown when they become disoriented in the aircraft and can’t escape,” said Paul de Oude, Chair of the School of Aviation at Confederation College. “Since every pilot flying in northwestern Ontario will be flying over water regularly, we make SAFE Training available. The course is run by Transport Canada Aviation Safety Award winner Bryan Webster, who developed his course after surviving a ditching accident himself in 1977. A renowned expert in the field, Webster has since been featured on an episode of The Aviators demonstrating water egress. Bryan Webster “ We have been training students for 15 years and I have trained over 5000 people personally. Of that number we have had 14 come back and thank us as they used the training when they had a problem in their airplane.” “ We have been the pioneers of this program. I used to fly FeD Ex planes every night 15 or 20 years ago. We have taken it to where it is known throughout the world. We put people in a set up that is similar to a cock pit and run through a scenario that is similar to an accident. Once they have 6 or 8 run throughs they are up and ready to go.” “ In this course we put them in and get them used to being upside down which is very unusual and then teach them a four part series which is find the door, open it and find a reference point, find your life vest and get your belt off and then out the door. Once they get it mastered and get their heart rate down, it is imprinted in their mind and they are good to go.’ “You can go from warm dry and happy in a cockpit to upside down in a fraction of a second. If a float plane hits a log in the water it goes upside down. If you have been trained you go straight to getting
yourself out. If you haven’t you go through a state of denial first but you have about 15 seconds. Transport Canada has now mandated this training for pilots.” www.dunkyou.com
Robert Burough is a second year Aviation student at Confederation College andgraduating in April. He has a job lined up at Yellowknife. “ It is pretty intimidating and a very unique experience but will definitely help
me in my future job. It will prepare you ahead of time. The biggest thing about being a pilot is procedure right, say 1 2 3
4. As long as you remember what to do next it happens pretty quickly. It is a skill I can transfer to my job.”
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THUNDER BAY BUSINESS APRIL 2014
Our Next Issue Topic: Construction In Thunder Bay - Ad Copy Deadline April 28th Contact Sylvia @629-7599 or Sonia @ 631-4244
THUNDER BAY BUSINESS APRIL 2014
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One Year Anniversary in New Terminal: Looking Forward to its New Flight Path Ahead Duluth, MN, – The Duluth International Airport (DLH) has much to celebrate at the one year anniversary of the new passenger terminal. The terminal was designed to be
the foundation of a first class customer experience for our travelers and the spring board to making Duluth International Airport the premier gateway to the region. The state-of-the-art terminal provides our air travelers with features such as streamlined security processing, a full service restaurant and lounge, 400 seat concourse, free Wi-Fi, TV’s and monitors throughout the terminal, multiple outlets including charging stations, full jet bridge boarding and deplaning for all flights and a new parking ramp that will be complete in the fall of 2014. “The new terminal offers an inviting first impression to visitors of our region and provided a warm welcomed home to northlanders,” said Director of Communications & Marketing Natalie Peterson. The Airport continues to partner with three major carriers, Delta Airlines, United Airlines and Allegiant Air to provide air service to six major cities with connections to hundreds of domestic and International destinations. “We are pleased to announce that the first year in the new terminal marked the third highest passenger year for DLH serving over 317,000 passengers,” said Executive Director Tom Werner. “The new terminal was just the brick and mortar foundation of our vision for what the customer experience should be at DLH.” New Flight Path Ahead For the year 2014 and beyond, DLH will continue to focus on enhancing the customer experience with some value-added initiatives that will enhance customer satisfaction. The rewards program, Thanks Again, was the first initiative to roll-out on January 6th, 2014. The Thanks Again program allows airport passengers to enroll into the program to automatically earn more frequent flyer miles or hotel points when they park, shop and dine at the airport. This is only the first step at providing value and convenience to our passengers and visitors. We appreciate the support of the region and are committed to making our passengers and visitors who utilize the Duluth International Airport have an experience that not only meets but exceeds their expectations. Stay tuned for exciting things to come in 2014!
About Duluth International Airport The new state-of-the-art passenger terminal at the Duluth International Airport opened for business on January 14, 2013. United Airlines offers three daily nonstop
flights to Chicago; Delta offers six daily nonstop flights to Minneapolis/St. Paul and two daily nonstop flights to Detroit; and Allegiant Air offers twice weekly nonstop flights to Las Vegas, Phoenix-Mesa and seasonal service to Orlando-Sanford. In 2013 the Duluth International Airport recorded the second busiest year in its history. Visit www.duluthairport.com, like us at facebook.com/duluthairport or follow us on Twitter @DuluthAirportDuluth
International Airport Gets a Fourth Flight to Chicago Duluth, MN, – Starting June 16, United Airlines will offer a fourth daily nonstop flight from Duluth Airport (DLH) to Chicago O’Hare (ORD). The DuluthChicago route has experienced continued growth, proving to be a popular, high-
demand destination for Northland travelers. The additional flight will depart ORD at 3:45 PM and arrive at DLH at 5:17 PM with a turnaround departure leaving DLH at 5:50 PM and arriving at ORD at 7:20 PM. The later flights will allow business travelers to travel between destinations without missing a work day. “We are pleased that United has added a flight time to meet our passengers’ travel needs to and from Chicago,” said Duluth International Airport Executive Director Tom Werner. “It is important that DLH
continue to have air service competition to help keep airfares down. Having viable options for air service will eventually lead to future air service opportunities.” The flight from Duluth to Chicago takes less than 90 minutes. Once travelers land in Chicago, they have access to the 573 daily domestic flights offered by United and United Express, as well as 19 International daily departures that include cities in Asia, Europe, South America and the Caribbean.
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THUNDER BAY BUSINESS APRIL 2014
J&J Sports Staff Offer Great Experience To Their Customers! J & J Sports first became a powersports dealer in Thunder Bay some 37 years ago in 1977. The dealership was started by Jack Witiluk selling motorcycles. The company has been at it’s Tungsten Street location for over 30 years now and J & J Sports were one of the original buildings in the intercity area. The business started
board line. Anne Marie Polhill is the Manager of J &J Sports and has worked at J&J Sports for 14 years. Previously she was at another dealership for 10 years selling Ski Doo products, giving her a long history in the powersports business. “ We have a great team that has knowledge here at J&J Sports. Our parts department has great experience in the industry with Scott and Jammy together having over 10 years of service. Our service man-
J & J Sports currently have 11 full time employees on staff as well as some part time staff including co-op students. “ It is a fun business and we can see the same customer here from 25 years ago every once in a while. This year has been an unbelievable winter for snowmobiling. It could have been a little warmer but has been a good year and we still have 2 months to go. Some of our customers are just heading out ice fishing now. We have sold out of several models including the
as a motorcycle dealer with the Honda product, during the early stages of Honda in Canada, before they even manufactured cars. The company expanded to Bombardier with Ski Doo, Misty River boats, Suzuki products and then Polaris. Currently J&J Sports sells Honda, Polaris, Suzuki and will get Mirrorcraft boats in April to enhance their Honda out-
ager Ray Hollanti, started as a parts person and has been here over 25 years. Our head mechanic, Ron Tougas, has been at J&J Sports for over 30 years now. Sal Benincasa is back with us in sales now and worked here 10 years ago. Dustin Krewsnoski has had long experience in sales of powersports. We are a very knowledgeable team in the industry” said Anne Marie Polhill.
Voyageur and have people waiting for next year. Early snow helps and people are out riding now.” said Anne Marie. J& J Sports serve the whole region with Polaris snowmobiles. In ATV’s they offer Polaris, Honda and Suzuki as well as Side By Side’s with the new Honda Pioneer and Polaris models. They offer Honda lawnmowers, generators, trimmers, outboards and snow blowers. Mirror Craft boats are coming for April to compliment Honda
BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
Thunder Bay BUSINESS
“ Working with business for a sustainable and prosperous future”
motors. In motorcycles they sell Honda and Suzuki. According to Anne Marie, Honda has a new motorcycle called the Fury 1300 coming out which people should come in and see. “ It will be exciting for me going to the Polaris dealer meeting March 1st in Las Vegas where the 2015 snowmobiles will be unveiled. It will help us choose our models for next year. After this meeting Snow Check will begin and go on to roughly April 15th. We invite people to come in and pick out your Polaris unit where you will get the best price and options available including extra warranty. This year we ran out of certain models and by Snow Checking you are certain to get your chosen sled. If you pre order your Polaris now it is the best way to guarantee the sled you want and the price is the best then as well.” said Anne Marie. J&J Sports have a new web site up and running for the first time ever (www.jandjsports.ca) which is going great for them and the dealer will be on facebook shortly as well. “ At J&J Sports we are professionals because our staff have so much experience behind us. Our goal is to give the best service we can to the public. We want the customer up and riding as quickly as possible. The experience we have is there to help fix problems and we can sometimes get parts overnight as well. At J&J Sports we are looking forward to growing and servicing our customers. I love the business!” smiles Anne Marie. When not at the dealership Anne Marie loves to ride dirt bikes, snowmobiles and ATV’s.
THUNDER BAY BUSINESS APRIL2014
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JUST WHAT WE NEEDED! If you were thinking that the issues abounding in transportation might have been abating then it's best I give you the latest news straight up-- the global climatic changes are wrecking havoc on transportation and infrastructure around the world ! If you know me you know that I am not an alarmist but the stats are self-evident. The world's insurance industry is paying out more in catastrophic claims than it is taking in in premiums. This regrettably is by a wide margin. The implications for municipalities, for provinces and territories, and for nations in general are hugely serious. In particular you will notice that many jurisdictions, particularly in the United States who are not used to cold bouts of
increasing scale. Couple that with instability of bridge and building structures due to massive flooding you can see where that leads municipal administrators to a new stratosphere of worry. Recently I attended a training session by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities which had a series of engineers present the hard facts. I will summarize and translate these to Northwestern Ontario but you won't need to look out the window to confirm these observations. For many years we had been experiencing less snow and somewhat milder winters. This year of course has been setting temperature and snow accumulation records all over North America. For us in Thunder Bay the "freeze/thaw" cycle means that with a mix of warm days and then continuous subzero temps our pipes, roads, bridges, wires, and electronic monitoring systems (traffic lights) are taking a real pounding.
This after 15 years of minimal snowfalls! So weather planning has become a big issue for transportation planners. Bridge and culvert safety are now critical components of any community's asset management inventory process. The above numbers all add up to more burden to build more defensively, which is expensive, to include emergency evacuations in subdivision designs, which is expensive, to educate the public, which is expensive, and to pay for the increasing insurance premiums if homeowners, businesses, industry and governments want to recover their losses, which is expensive. The solutions remain within citizens and their governments to understand and prepare themselves for the situations that catastrophic weather events throw at us.
A sense of community is vital to helping our neighbours and knowing we may find ourselves in situations that require help. It requires our protective service workers to face even more dangerous situations in their calls to duty. It requires governments to face up to making the plans to deal with the power of nature. Awareness that we all have a role to play and that these implications must be addressed are the tasks ahead for any in any elected office. This is what people expect and it is reasonable! Respectfully submitted,
Ken Boshcoff Director of Business Strategies Crupi Consulting Group
Normally we average 30-40 frozen waterlines a winter. This year we are over 800 already !
snow and freezing rain are experiencing issues with potholes and sinkholes on an
This is happening across the continent, and at least we have the equipment and the trained crews to address the problems. Arguably this winter we were certainly not prepared for the massive peaks of linebreaks or the amounts of snow requiring removal.
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THUNDER BAY BUSINESS APRIL 2014
Surgeon Group Invests $2-million in Local Orthopedic Research The group of orthopedic surgeons practicing at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre are donating $2-million over 10 years to fund a local orthopedic research program. The donation was announced today by the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation.
related to patient complications from diabetes which, data shows, are almost 3 times higher than the provincial average. According to Dr. Puskas, the surgeons see a higher rate of amputations in First Nations patients in our region – and at younger
“This donation is huge for research, huge for improving and advancing patient care and huge on leadership from the orthopedic surgeons,” said Glenn Craig, President and CEO of the Foundation.
This is collectively one of the largest gifts in the Health Sciences Foundation’s history and shows great leadership as the Health Sciences Foundation is building a Culture of Philanthropy at the Health Sciences Centre and in the community.
The six surgeons making the donation are: Dr. Peter Clark, Dr. Claude Cullinan, Dr. Kurt Droll, Dr. Jubin Payandeh, Dr. David Puskas, and Dr. Tracy Wilson. “We’re doing this because we want to establish a sustainable orthopedic research program,” said Dr. Droll. “Investing in research is what leads to innovation and advancements in patient care.” The surgeons’ hope is that this announcement will highlight the need for more community investment in health research. “We are looking for our community and government people to step up and say, if our surgeons are committed enough to the point of giving $30,000 each for 10 years, we should be committed and jump on board and help our physicians improve healthcare problems in Northwestern Ontario,” said Dr. Puskas. One of the projects to be funded through the research program is a study into the higher amputation rates in the North West LHIN
cated, and generous orthopedic surgeons are showing great leadership among their clinical peers with this donation,” says Dr. Gordon Porter, Chief of Staff at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. “Clinicians enable us to provide the most complex and urgent care, teach the next generation of healthcare providers, and foster healthcare innovation through research and discovery.”
Dr. Kurt Droll, Orthopedic Surgeon ages. He added, “Our goal is to drop the amputation rate in our LHIN by 50% recognizing that the greatest portion of this will be a huge change in the amputation rate for First Nations.” "In an environment of tough choices, investment in health research & innovation is a smart choice," said Janet Northan, Director of Government Relations and Interim Director of Clinical Research for the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute. "Health research and innovation in Ontario is as much about improving the quality and reducing the cost of healthcare as it is about creating a new path to innovation, jobs, growth and opportunity." “This group of highly skilled, highly dedi-
Your Northern Voice at Queen's Park
Kurt Droll, Orthopedic Surgeon “We have a huge need in Northwestern Ontario with regards to patient care and orthopedics. In order to take it to the next level we have to generate some research initiatives. In the last few years we have run into some barriers, being a lack of financial resource and a lack of human resources. We had to take it upon ourselves to get the ball rolling and get some of the financial infrastructure in place.” “ We have a few studies on the go. One of the main ones is chronic disease and orthopedics. The easiest one to relate to it is diabetes which from an orthopedic perspective leads to infections and amputations. We hope to reduce the amputation rates in Northwestern Ontario. The research will help us to measure and characterize the extent of the problem and once that is accomplished then we can then take the next step and bring forth some innovative initiatives that will hopefully reduce those
amputations.” “ Northwestern Ontario is on the higher side with amputations than the rest of Ontario. We will make a yearly donations of $30,000 per surgeon over a 10 year period. We are a cohesive group that wants to make a difference and hope to become a beacon for other groups to look back on.” “ The TBRHSC is an excellent centre. We are a group of 6 surgeons that can stay very busy and have a large breadth of a practice that is quite attractive to all of us. Our approach is the best medicine is prevention. We want to look at the at risk groups, what are the risk factors and then measure who is at risk. The next stage is to identify some strategies to reduce that risk. We also have another ongoing study on the success rates of our amputations. We are starting from a blank surface and need research assistants and a team. On average we each work 100 hours a week so don’t have much extra time.” Janet Northan, Director of Government Relations, TBRHSC “ They have the ideas and patients but require help in formulating their research ideas into a protocol with things like patient consent forms and the research ethics board. The clinical trial staff and clinical research staff will work with them. The goal is a seed fund and then attracting more funds for health research from other sources. You have to have some basic baseline data to move to a higher level funding. The Canadian Institute for Health Research is an example. For so many physicians the barrier to research is time and money. They are already working so many hours.”
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Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care Improving Access to Health Services in Thunder Bay Ontario is improving access to local doctors, nurses and other health care providers to help patients in Thunder Bay get the care they need, when and where they need it. The province is investing almost $14 million to improve access to emergency care and enhance community health care services. This additional funding will support Thunder Bay’s three largest health care providers: Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, St. Joseph’s Care Group and the North West Community Care
Access Centre. New initiatives to enhance care in the community include: - Helping to recruit up to 10 full-time and 14 temporary emergency room doctors to improve access to urgent care. - Staffing 10 acute care hospital beds to treat up to 600 more patients every year. - Expanding a nurse outreach program to provide up to 500 more seniors and people with complex care needs with home care. - Creating 26 new hospital beds to help more people with long-term illnesses or disabilities receive specialized care. - Funding up to 17 more spaces in supportive housing to help seniors and people in need of care remain independent. Improving access to emergency and community-based health care is part of Ontario's Action Plan for Health Care that is providing the right care, at the right time, in the right place. It is also part of the government's economic plan that is creating jobs for today and tomorrow by focusing on Ontario's greatest strengths — its people and strategic partnerships. QUOTES “Our government is committed to making sure patients get access to the health services they need, when they need them. This much-needed funding will help relieve pressers at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, make sure patients have care when and where they need it, and ensure more people in Thunder Bay and northwestern Ontario have access to home, community and specialized care.” — Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care “This is very important news for families in Thunder Bay and across northwestern Ontario. More beds, more home and community care hours, and more supportive housing units mean patients will have more timely access to the most appropriate care, and ultimately, better health outcomes. Increased capacity will also address pressures at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences and I am tremendously pleased our government has taken clear action that focuses on the needs of Thunder Bay and northwestern Ontario.” — Michael Gravelle, MPP for ThunderBay—Superior North ”This investment is very important for the people of Thunder Bay. It will provide more access for more patients, seniors and those with complex care needs, and will help to alleviate the pressure on our acute care beds and Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. I want to personally thank Minister Matthews for listening and acting on behalf of the residents of northwestern Ontario.” — Bill Mauro, MPP, Thunder BayAtikokan
“Reducing pressures in Thunder Bay’s hospitals means that our dedicated doctors, nurses and other health professionals can better deliver the highest quality of care to residents. This investment is an important step in addressing the unique demands of delivering health services in northern Ontario.” —,Andrée Robichaud, President and CEO, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre “Today’s announcement is the culmination of months of planning with our health partners in the North West LHIN, Working together with Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, St. Joseph’s Care Group, the North West CCAC, the City of Thunder Bay and other service providers we have developed an exciting plan to ensure residents from all over northwestern Ontario have better access to the health care they need and deserve.” — Joy Warkentin, Chair, Board of Directors, North West Local Health Integration Network
Deb Matthews, Minister of Health “ All the health leaders in this area came together with a plan to address the problems here and today we are implementing this plan. This is the beginning, a short term plan. There is more that will need to be done. This will significantly reduce pressures on the hospital here. The $14 million will flow immediately.” “ We are learning more that people can be cared for at home and it is where people want to be for as long as they can, so we need to be able to provide the services they need to stay at home with home care.” “ This is a complex solution to a complex problem. If it was as simple as opening more beds it could have been faster but it isn’t that simple. This will go a long way to the number of beds needed in the community and to address the ongoing ALC challenge here.” “ We want people to access the care they need in the most appropriate place. Some people need care but not in the hospital. They may need care that allows them to stay
home. Our announcement does meet the needs of Thunder Bay.” Dr Stuart Kennedy of TBRHSC “ Right now we have our ALC problems here with patients that don’t have to be here. We can now shift out 26 to 35 patients and put people in those beds who really need high level care. We have been working on this with our partners for over a year and it is moving forward so this is great news for the community.” “ In health care budgets are always a challenge but once we deliver all the components of the programs the Ministry is quite good in working with us to accomplish them. The new funds announced today will go a long way to eliminate grid lock, but in health care there are ups and downs throughout the year based on say flu outbreaks.” “ We have already recruited 3 of the new 10 ER physicians so this goes a long way to a solution for us in this area.”
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