Meet the winners of the St. Joseph’s Our Shared Values Awards
On May 1, 2026, staff, physicians, learners, volunteers and patient family partners from St. Joseph’s came together to celebrate the 2026 Our Shared Values Awards on St. Joseph’s Feast Day.
The winners of the 2026 Our Shared Values Awards at St. Joseph’s were 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.
Patient Room Cleans QI Project: Judilee King, Thomas Dashwood, Volha Checha | Community
The Patient Room Cleans QI Project, led by EVS and IPAC, reflects Unity Health’s value of Community through an inclusive, relationship‑centred approach to improving post‑discharge room cleaning and reducing infection risk. Judilee, Volha, and Thomas fostered a safe, welcoming environment where staff felt comfortable sharing ideas and expertise, resulting in strong engagement and trust across pilot units.
EVS staff reported feeling valued and empowered, with growing confidence to influence change. The team’s collaborative approach generated enthusiasm beyond the pilot units, prompting interest from additional Patient Care Managers. Through inclusivity, empowerment, and trust‑building, the team created a connected and motivated community focused on improving care together.
Shughla Ismail, Administrative Assistant Medical Diagnostics, Medicine Program | Inclusivity
Shughla exemplifies inclusivity through her humble, person‑centred, and culturally responsive approach. She consistently creates welcoming, safe spaces for new staff, students, and patients, ensuring they feel valued and respected from the outset.
She communicates information clearly and without assumptions, taking time to understand individual cultural and spiritual needs and proactively addressing barriers that may limit equitable access to care. Her commitment to equity is demonstrated through action—most notably when she ensured a patient could safely receive essential treatment by personally accompanying them home, rather than allowing the procedure to be cancelled.
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Helena Staruszkiewicz, Peer Support Specialist Assertive Community Treatment Team, Outpatient Mental Health | Human Dignity
Helena exemplifies human dignity through her compassionate, consistent support of clients, most notably when she accompanied a client diagnosed with cancer through his journey to palliative care. She was a steady, calming presence during appointments, treatment, and his final days, ensuring he was never alone during a deeply vulnerable time.
In her everyday work, Helena builds strong therapeutic relationships grounded in trust and respect. She is highly knowledgeable about community resources and proactively supports clients with programs, appointments, education or employment goals, and activities of daily living. Her close connection with clients allows her to quickly recognize early signs of worsening mental health and respond with timely, compassionate support.
Carla Curto-Correia, Clinical Manager, 2LM and AIM Clinic | Compassion
Through her “Chats with Carla – Join the Conversation” meetings and regular updates, Carla creates safe, non‑judgmental spaces where staff feel heard, supported, and respected. She leads with humility and accountability, listening openly, reflecting thoughtfully, and adapting when needed to build trust and psychological safety.
Carla consistently centres care on what matters most to patients and families. A powerful example of her compassion occurred during the admission of a bariatric patient who arrived without appropriate equipment. Carla swiftly coordinated multiple departments to ensure safe, timely set‑up and remained at the bedside, offering reassurance and support throughout. Her calm presence restored dignity for the patient and confidence for staff, demonstrating compassion in action for both emotional and physical safety.
Antoinette Krakovsky and Lynda O’Callaghan, Occupational Therapists Outpatient Physiotherapy Rehabilitation | Excellence
Antoinette and Lynda demonstrate excellence by identifying trends, questioning assumptions, and taking ownership of opportunities to improve care. After noticing a recurring pattern of dog‑leash‑related hand and wrist injuries, they moved beyond individual case treatment to analyze contributing factors and functional outcomes.
Through structured assessments and data review, they identified clear, modifiable risk factors and embedded targeted prevention education into routine therapy, requiring patients to practice safer techniques before discharge. This proactive, non‑mandated initiative led to measurable improvements in care.
To extend their impact beyond clinical settings, they developed a public prevention video, “Dog Leashes – Friend or Foe,” and shared their work with industry peers at conferences, demonstrating accountability, innovation, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
Pharmacy Floor Stock Optimization Team, Melissa (Left), Elaine (Centre), Vaishali (Right) | Spotlight on Sustainability
Floorstock Optimization is a pharmacy‑led sustainability initiative that reduces on‑unit medication stock to lower costs, minimize waste, and reduce environmental impact.
At St. Joseph’s, medication usage data was analyzed to align floorstock with actual demand, prioritizing high‑cost, short‑expiry medications to reduce waste and improve inventory stewardship.
At St. Michael’s, regular reviews of Pyxis data support optimized stocking by removing duplicates, standardizing strengths, and limiting short‑expiry and high‑alert medications.
At Providence, patient‑specific dispensing through automated tablet packaging reduced floorstock and medication waste, improved nursing workflow, and enhanced medication safety.
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