NEWS RELEASE
GEORGIAN BAY GENERAL HOSPITAL
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The board of directors of Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) has announced the 2022 recipients of the Exceptional People Awards.
The board of directors’ Exceptional People Awards are announced annually to recognize staff and professional staff (physicians, midwives, dentists) who have made exceptional contributions to GBGH while exhibiting the hospital’s values of compassion, accountability, respect and excellence and the vision of exceptional care, every person, every time.
The recipients of this year’s awards represent a cross-section of team members from across the organization and include the following teams/individuals:
Quality and Safety Award
- Environmental services (housekeeping)
Over the pandemic, the environmental services department has played a critical role in not only ensuring quality and safety at the hospital, but also in enhancing the patient experience. It is common for the hospital to receive positive feedback about this team from patients and family members who recognize their many contributions to care. An empathetic conversation with a family member, or going above and beyond to ensure a patient’s comfort, are daily occurrences among these exceptional professionals. Also, with new and changing information about necessary cleaning protocols to ensure infection and prevention control, this team adapted to any task and performed their critical responsibilities with attention to detail and steadfast professionalism. The team also contributes greatly to patient flow, as they efficiently respond to discharges with thorough cleaning that promptly frees up a bed for another waiting patient.
- Janine Duquette, infection prevention and control lead, and Judy Schell, manager, occupational health and safety
Janine Duquette and Judy Schell are being recognized for their unwavering commitment to ensuring the GBGH team was kept informed and safe during the pandemic. With countless hours of overtime in the interest of the GBGH team and patients’ safety, Duquette and Schell’s co-ordinated efforts touched nearly every staff member. Whether it meant providing infection prevention and control education, counselling staff/professional staff through illness and return-to-work scenarios, staying informed on the many and frequently changing ministry and public health directives, or tracking PPE inventory usage and potential shortages, their combined work exemplified everything about quality and safety leadership needed during the pandemic.
Accountability and Sustainability Award
- 2 East inpatient unit
The 2 East team is being recognized for their incredible contributions to save lives, advance health equity and protect the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. With half the unit allocated as a COVID-19 hot zone, this team’s dedication and integrity never faltered during some of the most challenging times of the pandemic. Although faced with significant challenges organization-wide, the nursing, clerical and allied health staff on this unit always showed up for each other and patients, working together tirelessly to share the burden of caring for a majority of the admitted COVID-positive patients at GBGH.
Vision Award
- Dr. Dan Lee, co-chief of emergency and COVID-19 medical lead
Dr. Lee is being recognized for the countless hours and invaluable effort he put into his role as COVID-19 medical lead. In addition to always fulfilling his many responsibilities as chief of emergency, throughout the pandemic Dr. Lee took on additional duties as our resident expert for all aspects of COVID-related medical knowledge. He participated in regular provincial and regional roundtable meetings to share and gather information about the latest COVID-19 research and public health measures, as well as advise the hospital and the community about necessary steps we must all take to reduce viral transmission.
- Maggie Trace, professional practice leader (PPL) and CARE4 project site co-lead
In both her roles as a PPL and the site co-lead for a major electronic health records project, Maggie Trace has demonstrated tenacity in her purpose of ongoing learning and teaching. Trace consistently demonstrates integrity and hard work as she mentors her peers and shares knowledge to continually improve patient care at GBGH. Respected by peers and hospital partners alike, Trace assisted in leading GBGH’s transition to a new electronic health record system — one of the largest projects in the hospital’s history.
“The board’s Exceptional People Awards are the highest honour bestowed by the hospital for exceptional contributions to the hospital’s strategy and patient care — whether it be through any of our three strategic themes or a compilation of GBGH’s essential values of compassion, accountability, respect and excellence,” says Tim Kastelic, chair, GBGH board of directors. “Every year it is difficult to pick just a handful of team members among so many exceptional people, but that is a positive challenge the board welcomes. I am so honoured to be affiliated with an organization where high standards of excellence are prevalent across so many health-care professionals within our hospital.”
In 2021, the entire GBGH team was recognized with the award for their resilience and contributions during the pandemic, including persevering with the details of daily operations, their compassion and dedication to patient care, and for their ability to achieve progress on other major projects which still had to move forward.
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