With much anticipation and celebration, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) and Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute (TBRHRI) released Strategic Plan 2026 today – a plan that will guide both organizations along a path of growth and continued success for the next four years.

“I am so pleased to see the official launch of Strategic Plan 2026,” says Gord Wickham, Board Chair for TBRHSC. “This blueprint for our success is the result of input from 120 engagement sessions with more than 700 stakeholders, including community and regional partners, staff from TBRHSC and TBRHRI, Indigenous communities, patients, families and caregivers, and so many more. Our Patient and Family Centred Care philosophy will continue to guide us as we set out to accomplish our strategic plan, which focuses on enhancing the overall patient experience through patient partnership and improving care coordination, all while embedding the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion.”

“Strategic Plan 2026 will drive our post-COVID-19 recovery,” says Dr. Andrew Dean, Board Chair for TBRHRI. “We’ll be incorporating innovation and inspiration into every decision we make, which is key to advancing health care for the people of Northwestern Ontario and beyond. Strategic Plan 2026 will shape the future of health care through cutting edge research and education.”

The new Strategic Plan 2026 is available for download at https://bit.ly/TBRHSC-TBRHRI-StrategicPlan2026.

Strategic Plan 2026 builds on the successes of the previous strategic plan, with focused strategic directions identified during stakeholder consultations, including: Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion, Patient Experience, and Staff Experience. A clear emphasis on Research, Innovation, & Learning will help prioritize and integrate research efforts, build research capacity and create an environment that better supports research, innovation, teaching and learning. The strategic enabler, Sustainable Future, is critical to the organizations’ financial health and future success, and includes supporting expansion of digital health, creation of a clinical services plan, advancing partnerships and system integration.

“The past two years have seen our amazing teams at the Hospital and Health Research Institute adapt, pivot and go above and beyond their everyday practices and duties,” says Dr. Rhonda Crocker Ellacott, President and Chief Executive Officer of TBRHSC and Chief Executive Officer of TBRHRI. “Strategic Plan 2026 seeks to address the needs of the people of Northwestern Ontario, supports community and regional partnerships and is a roadmap to our COVID-19 recovery. I am excited to lead both of our organizations forward into a positive and promising future.”