Tuer-Hodes Family Interprofessional Practice Recognition Award for Exceptional Care Nominees
May 10, 2022
The Tuer-Hodes & Family Interprofessional Practice Recognition Award for Exceptional Care is awarded annually to an Interprofessional Practice Team member within HPHA in recognition for his/her ongoing commitment to interprofessional practice and the provision of quality patient care.
The winner will be announced at a virtual presentation on May 11, 2022. Congratulations to this year's nominees!
Lisa, Registered Physiotherapist, Infection Control Practitioner Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC), Alliance Wide
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has required the IPAC team to be nimble and responsive to guidelines that are frequently being updated/modified based on new or changing evidence. While national and provincial IPAC guidelines require practitioners to stay up-to-date with evidence, this pandemic has added an extra layer of ongoing learning to Lisa's already busy job, and she’s managed to integrate this seamlessly into her role.
Whether helping to create guidelines to ensure staff have tools and information to provide the safest and best care, or reviewing environments and practices at our sites to meet the highest health and safety requirements, Lisa is constantly learning and applying this knowledge to allow HPHA to provide the safest and highest quality care to our patients and communities.
Lisa is constantly keeping the team updated with the most recent versions of policies or guidance documents – and with how frequently these documents have been changing lately, her nominator has no idea how she keeps it all straight, but she does.
Lisa has partnered collaboratively with Huron Perth Public Health and community health providers such as Long-Term Care facilities throughout this pandemic to ensure that decisions are made with the best possible information, and best practices are employed not just at the hospitals, but also community health providers throughout or region.
One of the qualities that makes Lisa most deserving of recognition is that she never asks for any. She works tirelessly behind the scenes – staying up to date on research, working with community partners, and reviewing specific cases to ensure we are always providing the best quality care possible at HPHA.
Having done chart reviews, Lisa's nominator is in awe at how quickly she can gather information about a patient/case and recall the fine details of it effortlessly. Whether monitoring antibiotic prophylaxis in the OR, hand hygiene on the wards, or outbreak management just to name a few things, her work involves collaborating with individuals and units across the whole HPHA to improve patient safety and care. She is respected and appreciated by all who work with her. Despite the massive amount of work and responsibility in her role, she never complains and is always upbeat and extremely easy to work with.
Throughout the pandemic Lisa has worked with our patient care units, administration, and the patients’ families to allow loved ones be present for these patients during very difficult times, and in a way that maintained safety for both the families involved, and the other patients on the ward/unit. Even at the peak of the variant waves, when she was massively burdened with work, he always found ways to maintain humanity and compassion in healthcare for patients and families.
Lisa is a member of Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) Canada and also a member of the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario.
Outside of work, Lisa has worked as an Assistant Coach for the Stratford Strikers U11 Girls Soccer Team (2019-20) and Manager of Stratford Minor Hockey Warriors (2018-2019).
Lisa has been a member of the HPHA team since 2005.
Marissa, Registered Dietitian, Clinton Public Hospital, Seaforth Community Hospital & Stratford General Hospital
Marissa works with many patients who have extended admissions at HPHA including those who are admitted or transferred to multiple sites. Often the circumstances of their health and psychosocial spiritual condition land them back in hospital with some regularity. Marissa works with several patients who fit into this pattern of admission and whose circle of care has been limited, marginalized or non-existent. Marissa, without exception, makes her first priority to meet the patient where they are at, as a human being. She assesses, not only the challenges facing the patient from a nutritional perspective, but she accepts that to help the patient, she must understand the patient’s journey, to date, the challenges in the present and how their journey and experience inform their admission and required support. She sees the whole person, not their shortfalls.
Marissa seeks to understand how spiritual care supports her patients and how to integrate the work between spiritual care and nutrition. She sees beyond the physicality and psyche of the patient and seems dedicated to understand what her peers bring to support and care for the patient. Marissa supports the continuity of care through education and connecting spiritual care back to particular patients as they move through the system. When a patient is in emotional and spiritual distress, she is a fierce advocate for the patient and refers as appropriate. She educates her team members of the role and value of nutrition and spiritual care in the patient’s journey. She understands that nutrition isn't simply a caloric process, that the act of breaking bread, holding memories, identity and love are all connected to eating.
She is curious about the spirit and the psyche and recognizes the connection, bringing peace to the body, mind and spirit.
Marissa always has an open door approach for collaborative peer to peer review and exploration of the challenges of patient cases. Her work is often focused on middle-aged patients who are alone in their communities with no family support, challenged with moderate mental health conditions and life-limiting diagnosis. Marissa always makes time for consultation and case review and exploration of approaches. She understands that nourishment is more than the ingestion of food and involves culture, religion and identity. She sees the entire context of the patient and supports their needs. She believes it is important for visits to specifically take place at mealtime to replicate the communal aspect of breaking bread, exploring the patient’s story and experience in a less clinical manner. Her work transcends judgement and values the spirit of equity, diversity and inclusion. She has worked with challenging patients, who are often judged unfairly due to socioeconomic, gender, spiritual, mental health and situational factors.
Marissa is a member of Dieticians of Canada. Outside of work, Marissa coaches U17 Fastball and Ringette in Mitchell and volunteers as a classroom assistant in her daughter’s class.
Marissa has been a member of the HPHA team since 2014.
Flavio, Charge Sonographer, Imaging, Stratford General Hospital
Flavio has been instrumental in numerous process improvement initiatives within the Imaging Department including adopting the Trophon High Level Disinfection units for ultrasound probes, creating patient information resources for ultrasound exams, adjusting patient and sonographer schedules during the pandemic to be able to continue to safely accommodate a high volume of patients.
Ultrasound is an ever-changing modality and Flavio keeps current on advances in the field. When new processes are adopted he spearheads the training and implementation with his staff.
Flavio is respected by his fellow sonographers, imaging team members, radiologists, referring practitioners and colleagues across the Alliance. All new hires work directly with Flavio for a period of time to ensure that they receive quality training and are competent to work alone. Ultrasound is a unique area of imaging, in that the sonographer is the eyes for the radiologist reporting the case. If the pathology or condition is not “found” and imaged, then it is not diagnosed. There is a reason they push and prod as they do.
Flavio often brainstorms and strategizes with his colleagues. He always puts the patients and our programs first. He is accepting of change and assists to promote these changes in staff. Flavio is often consulted for difficult or complex cases. He goes above and beyond, time and time again. He has been known to come in many times for day or evening shifts to scan an emergency patient. He trains a select number of staff in the more specialized ultrasound exams that are not commonly ordered.
Flavio consulted with the Patient Partner Council to assist in creating signage for the ultrasound waiting rooms regarding obstetrical ultrasound exams and purpose of only allowing partners into the exam room during the first hour of the exam due to the complexity and concentration required to perform these exams.
Flavio is a community leader in all things ultrasound; twice a year, he develops and presents day long seminars to instruct sonographers and radiologists in the newest and most up to date ultrasound discoveries, protocols, and parameters. Past seminars have included; expanded fetal cardiology imaging, TIRAD parameters and thyroid imaging, Thrombosis Canada updates on DVT imaging and expectations in treatment. Recently, Flavio expanded these seminars to less privileged areas, where access to education may be limited such as the Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau, Bahamas.
Flavio has led the Imaging team to be certified in LGBT2SQ courses through Rainbow Health Ontario. His next training for the team will be “Trauma Informed Care” to support marginalized patient populations.
Flavio is also a Registered Vascular Technologist and is a member of Sonography Canada, American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers and the College of Medical Radiation Technologists.
Flavio has been a member of the HPHA team since 2001.