THUNDER BAY – The newly minted CEO of Thunder Bay’s regional hospital will put a heavy emphasis on the experience of patients and staff in her new role, she promised Tuesday.
Rhonda Crocker-Ellacott, who began her career as a registered nurse at the former Port Arthur General Hospital in 1991, officially took the reins of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre on Monday from retiring president Jean Bartkowiak.
It’s a challenging time for the transition, with the hospital announcing the city’s second COVID-19 death Tuesday as cases surge in the region.
However, Crocker-Ellacott also said it an exciting period in the hospital’s history, with the pandemic spurring new approaches that could remain in place long after COVID-19 recedes.
“It’s certainly an opportunity,” she said Tuesday. “I do think it helps us to really think differently about how we can deliver care [in ways] that are actually more efficient and really improve the overall patient experience.”
In her first week, Crocker-Ellacott said her attention was focused internally, sitting down with key leadership teams and getting to know staff in departments across the institution, which employs over 2,500 people.
It’s more of a refresher than a crash course. Crocker-Ellacott began working at the TBRHSC in 2003 when it first opened, serving most recently as vice president of patient services. She was credited at the time of her departure with spearheading a patient- and family-oriented care philosophy at the hospital.
She left that position in 2018 for a job as CEO at the North West Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), and was retained the following year when the North West and North East LHINs were merged, to oversee the gradual transition of duties to Ontario Health.
She also previously served as CEO of the Nipigon District Memorial Hospital, and holds a Masters Clinical Nurse Specialist Degree in Nursing and a Doctorate in Human Services Administration (Health Care Administration).
Her priorities in her new role, in which she will also oversee the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute, include guiding the creation of a new strategic plan, determining how to carry forward lessons from the pandemic, embracing a “health systems” approach, and focusing on needs across the region, she said.
She also pledged to work closely with staff to ensure a positive working environment at the hospital, which she sees as the foundation for improving patient care.
“We know that patient experience, many times, is directly related to how staff feel, and how supported they are in their day-to-day work,” she said. “I really feel passionate about that.”