CEO Blog: Navigating Health Care for Northerners

In Northern Ontario, especially this year, it’s really May that marks the start of spring, with the snow finally melted and the grass and buds turning green.  

Besides enjoying this time of renewal, May is also a month to think about and thank the people on the frontlines of providing care in the communities served by our hospital.   

Did you know that … 

• May is National Speech and Hearing and Physiotherapy Month; 

• May 1 is National Physicians’ Day; 

• May 12 is the beginning of Nursing Week; 

• May 18 is the beginning of Paramedic Services Week; and 

• May 19 is  Personal Support Worker (PSW) Day 

All these health professionals, who care for our people in different ways, are vital to the well–being and health of people.  

Who are the some of the professionals helping to meet your health care needs at TADH and beyond? 

• 88 physicians (42 family physicians and 46 specialists), 140 locum physicians, 6 Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) comprehensive community clerkship students, and 7 NOSM University family medicine residents; 

• 267 registered nurses (RNs), 114 registered practical nurses (RPNs), and 5 nurse practitioners (NPs) caring for patients in hospital and through out-patient programs; 

• 9 physiotherapists and 2 speech language pathologists; 

• 73 PSWs employed at TADH who work collaboratively with the interdisciplinary teams to deliver quality patient- and family-centered care (and many more are employed at long-term care and community care organizations; and 

• 20 full time and 30 part time paramedics, employed by our health system partners at the Cochrane District Services Board (CDSB), responding to patient calls in Timmins and supporting patients on their transport and transition to hospital.  

Apart from paramedics, contracted by the CDSB, all these professionals are the focus on ongoing recruitment and retention efforts by our hospital. 

One of our Strategic Plan’s five priorities is to improve the experience and well–being of our health service providers including those we’re celebrating this month. That’s why, in 2024-2025, TADH developed and implemented a People Strategy.  This multi-pronged strategy focuses on innovative approaches to recruit and retain staff and physicians; build an organizational culture of support and well-being; ensure processes are in place to listen and act upon, the voices of staff and physicians; and enhance the diversity, equity, inclusion, social accountability and anti-racism practices of the organization.  

As part of the strategy’s plan to retain staff by building a culture of support and well-being, 20 health and wellness initiatives were implemented ranging from social events to financial support webinars to mental health supports.  One of the initiatives was a unique partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association, in which 869 staff participated in workplace wellness sessions involving four pathways of education. 

In 2024-25, this strategy has brought new people to our hospital and community. In fact, frontline health care practitioners made up a large component of the 163 people who joined the TADH team this past year including: 30 RNs, 8 RPNs, 47 allied health professionals, and 4 full-time physicians (family medicine, emergency, orthopedic, radiology).   

Besides bringing new members to our larger hospital team, this success has also help decrease the usage of agency nurses at TADH – down from 77 the year prior to 13 nurses by our 2024-25 fiscal year-end. As a health care organization are working to decrease our reliance on this expensive form of staffing by hiring full-time and part-time nurses who can help to provide more consistency of care.  

Our recruitment successes were made possible through several government initiatives, participating in recruitment fairs, attracting students for placements, encouraging floor mentors, offering an internal referral program incentive, strengthening our relationship with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University (NOSM), and hosting residents and third-year medical students.   

We’ve also reached out to many other partners, in addition to NOSM, to help bring the best health care professionals to our community. A good example of this was celebrated in April when TADH, together with the City of Timmins and Agnico Eagle, reached a milestone goal of raising $1.8 million, to recruit up to 30 physicians over the next three years by offering start-up grants of $60,000 each. Each of the partners contributed equally to this cause. 

Other ways we engage partners is through chairing the Cochrane District Health Human Resources Committee which brings together hospitals and system partners so we can work together to build a stronger network of health care professionals. 

Building on partnerships within the health care sector and with other sectors is crucial to attracting these essential workers to our area. But individuals can help too by spreading the word on why Timmins is such a great place to live and grow. If you ever interested in exploring opportunities for yourself or someone you know, check out our careers page or our physician recruitment section.