By Rosalind Russell – The Espanola Regional Hospital and Health Centre presented awards to staff for their contributions to health care for the first time in three years.
Publicist Terri Noble says the hospital has not been able to host the awards over the last three years due to the pandemic, but Wednesday was a special day to acknowledge those efforts. She adds that 12 recipients were presented with the Rock the Walk – Patient First Awards.
She says the awards were even more special since the nominations came from their peers acknowledging individual, leadership and team contributions.
The Individual award was presented to Trista Rajotte, the leadership award to Phil Smith and the team award to the Espanola Nursing Home staff.
PHOTOS: #1 Trista Rajotte – Individual Award
Trista was nominated for her quick thinking, potentially saving a person’s life. During her shift at the QWP, one of the residents noticed that another resident was choking. Trista quickly jumped in, helped the resident stand up and performed the Heimlich maneuver, successfully dislodging the food and allowing the resident to continue breathing. Trista’s brave actions prevented a potentially life-threatening outcome and truly demonstrated our patients’ first philosophy.
#2 Phil Smith – Leadership Award
Phil received several nominations in this category Phil is a great leader in DI. He has built many connections outside of our department to better serve the hospital. He continually finds ways to expand and to grow our department and continues to support his Team. We consider him a great leader and coworker. He has great patient care skills and always leads by example. Phil has a genuinely amazing attitude. He truly wants the best for everyone.
#3 Espanola Nursing Home Staff – Team Award The Long-term care staff have Rocked the Walk and provided exceptional care in the most challenging of environments this past year. The pandemic hit the LTC Team the hardest and they responded in stellar fashion. LTC frontline staff and department leaders stepped up to manage the 24 hour needs of residents and they ensured they and their caregivers were protected and cared for to the highest standard as COVID moved through the unit. Their dedication to the “residents first” philosophy and their protective actions allowed residents to stay connected and feel safe during the most challenging of times. The actions of the entire team are so greatly appreciated and valued by all who have witnessed their care! The LTC team has embodied the organizational values of Patients/Residents First, Integrity, Caring & Compassion, Continuous Quality Improvement, Respect & Dignity, The Contribution of All and A Culture of Effective Communication and they are most deserving of the Team Award! The LTC Team went through a Ministry Proactive Inspection where Inspectors reviewed the home to meet multiple quality standards and the results were exemplary! WE are so proud of the care this Team provides and the standard they adhere to each and every day! A special shout out to the supporting departments to include Dietary, Maintenance, EVS, CSR, Infection Control and RN group as they ensured all hands were on deck to support the LTC Team through periods of outbreak!
Photos provided by ERHRC and used with permissions.
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