Environmental Services staff who helped a patient with a language barrier get home. An Addictions Service Worker who makes every patient ‘feel that they matter’, one slice of lemon loaf at a time. An IPAC team who, for two years in the height of COVID, listened, remained focused and stayed positive as they kept our hospitals safe. A Patient Care Manager who stands up to racism and creates safe spaces for everyone on her team.

These are the recipients of the 2023 St. Joseph’s Our Shared Values Awards who have been recognized for going above and beyond to embody Unity Health’s values of human dignity, compassion, excellence, community and inclusivity.

Here are some of their stories in the words of those who nominated them.

Lisa Hales, Addictions Services Worker

Winner of the Human Dignity Award for an individual or team who affirms that every person has sacred value and is worth of respect.

According to Lisa’s nominators: Often our clients and patients are marginalized and there is still a lot of stigma, even in health care, around those who use substances. Lisa has a way of engaging people and making them feel that they matter. She takes time to be present and listen to the patients and meets them where they are at. She treats the person as more than their substance use and understands that there are many other factors that may have brought them to the hospital. When it comes to human dignity Lisa is able to affirm that every person has sacred value and is worthy of respect.

A recent example was a client who had a history of admissions at our withdrawal management services. He came to the hospital in crisis and was at the Melnyk entrance asking everyone around if they knew “Lisa from the Addiction Service.” A staff member realized who he was talking about and so called Lisa who came down to meet with the client. She bought him a coffee and a slice of lemon loaf and was able to spend time with him figuring out what was going on and trying to persuade him to go back to withdrawal management. He was not a patient of the hospital at that time, but Lisa made the time to connect with him and provide care and support.

Bogdan Swierzbinski and Jose Lebres, Environmental Services Cleaning Staff

Winners of the Compassion Award for an individual or team that enables health and healing by understanding each person’s needs and by providing care with kindness and sensitivity.

According to Bogdan and Jose’s nominators: Both Bogdan and Jose are eager to learn and open to new ideologies and technologies. They show compassion to their colleagues and show a great deal of patience with new hires. In addition, Bogdan and Jose show our patients and families compassion.

While working on site during the evening Bogdan noticed that a patient had been in the same spot since from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.. Bogdan reached out to the patient and asked if he could be of assistance. The patient did not speak English but Bogdan was able to pick up that the language being spoken by the patient was Portuguese.

Bogdan phoned his colleague, Jose, who then left his post to go speak to the patient. Jose was able communicate and calm the nervous elderly patient, who was scared after sitting in the entrance for over seven hours waiting for Wheel Trans. Jose reached out to Wheel Trans, who explained that the patient was going to be picked up at 11 p.m. because she had not been there they had left. Jose was able to make arrangements for a pick up through Beck Taxi at the same Wheel Trans rate.

Shara Junaid and the Unity Health IPAC Team

Winners of the Excellence Award for an individual or team who strives to achieve the best care and quality through innovation and continuous improvement

According to Shara and the IPAC team’s nominators: The Unity Health IPAC Team has truly demonstrated their dedication to excellence for our patients, residents, clients, staff, and physicians during the last few years of the pandemic. As a key leader in this work, Shara Junaid has had to remain organized and focused on continuously learning and developing best practices to manage and support rapidly evolving situations efficiently and effectively.

As cases turned to outbreaks, there was recognition that our routine activities for tracking and managing infections wouldn’t cut it. The team created a model for capturing and tracking cases, actions, timelines that through rapid PDSA cycles has evolved to a new standard. The model has been share beyond Unity Health to LTC homes in the community to assist them in their management of outbreaks.

The team, during the most challenging and stressful times, maintained positive high energy with a personal compassionate focus for every area. They made it a priority to listen, providing opportunities for feedback and at times frustrations when situations were most difficult. Taking time to share standards, rationales and changing requirements many times as teams experienced outbreaks was done in a supportive and positive way each time.

Tamara Mitchell, Dietary Aid, Nutrition Services

Winner of the Community Award for an individual or team that embraces diversity, trust, joy and teamwork to fulfill human potential

According to Tamara’s nominators: I have witnessed Tamara’s ability to just get things started.  She takes the initiative to start the process of stripping the dirty trays while the other staff are still up on the floors collecting and trying to make their way down to the dish room. She supports others on the team when she does this. When asked by the supervisor to adjust food prep numbers because of higher patient count, or reassigned to other duties all of a sudden in the dishroom area, she is right on it with no complaint.

I liken Tamara to a soccer player who sets up plays for the rest of the team to get the best possible outcome on the soccer pitch. By her starting things off like that, there is a better chance of having the arriving dish machine operators quickly load a substantial amount of the trays, plates and cups to resupply the belt line staff with the cleaned items they need to prepare the next meal. 

Marcella Honour, Patient Care Manager of 4L Medicine and Nephrology

Winner of the Inclusivity Award for an individual or team that fosters an inclusive, welcoming environment where everyone is treated equitably and without judgment.

According to Marcella’s nominators: As a leader, Marcella role models positive behavior by speaking up and standing up against racism. She uses her role as a platform for good and to advocate for human rights. She is highly committed to recognizing Black excellence, elevating Black joy and prioritizing Black wellbeing. She reinforces the importance of learning about the rich and deep history of racism and how it allows us to come together as a whole to better understand the lived experiences of our staff, patients and community, and work around combating anti-Black racism as an ongoing priority in our professional and personal lives.

For example, there was a person who was verbally abusive and racist to our health care attendant. Our health care attendant was crying when they left the room. Marcella, went into room and spoke to this person in a humble manner. She provided a safe place for the health care attendant to feel respected. Marcella made clear that harassment has no place in workplace. She is supportive of everyone regardless of their position and creates a sense of belonging.

St. Joseph’s Feast Day gallery

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