Congratulations to our 2023 Bertin Award winners!
The Bertin Award for Excellence in Customer Service recognizes individuals who exemplify the values of Sunnybrook and a commitment to exceptional customer service.
Named after former Board of Directors member Paul Bertin, the award honours and celebrates non-clinical staff who regularly demonstrate excellence in their work.
Congratulations to this year's winners!
Meet the winners and read some words of support from their nominators, below (text has been edited for length and clarity):
Martha Agelopoulos, Patient Administrative Associate, Burns, Trauma and Complex Care Rehab
“In her role as Patient Administrative Associate (PAA), Martha is a dedicated point of contact and support for patients, families and staff alike. “She embodies each of the Hospital’s values of excellence, collaboration, accountability, respect and engagement with every interaction.”
“When it comes to excellence in customer service, Martha effortlessly practices this each and every day. The positive impact she has made and gratitude shared by all staff, physicians, learners, patients and their families is ever present on the unit and has enhanced the culture of respect and collaboration on the unit.”
Popy (Kalliopi) Nassar, Environmental Service Partner, Environmental Services
“Popy does her job meticulously and reliably. She forms warm relationships with all and routinely goes above and beyond expectations when asked for assistance. Our trainees routinely comment on her kindness in yearly evaluations.”
“Without Popy, we would not be able to function efficiently or provide urgent care to many of our patients including those from the trauma and stroke programs, She is a vital component to everything we do here and we could not function without her.”
Fanchea Lau, Administrative Assistant, Palliative Care Consult Team
“Fanchea is an integral part of the palliative care consult team. Her commitment to excellence, attention to detail, and willingness to help others makes her an essential member of the team, and a pleasure to work with.”
“Fanchea approaches each work day with a smile, a calm demeanor and a willingness to pitch in wherever needed. She is exceptionally kind, and presents an attitude towards the team of ‘what can I do to help you.’ She listens to her colleagues, making them feel valued.”
Margaret Lo Dico, Operations Coordinator, Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) to Critical Care Unit (CRCU)
“As the Operations Coordinator for CrCU and CVICU, Max has been invaluable over many years, but especially these last few years when issues of backorders and product availability have never been more acute.”
“Max is an advocate for all members of the interprofessional team and treats everyone with civility and respect…She cares deeply about the safety of all staff and patients and utilizes her expertise in equipment and products to address safety concerns for everyone equally.”
Lucy O’Keefe, Clerk, Pre-Admission Clinic (PAC), Holland Centre
“Lucy is one of the point persons for the Pre-Admission Clinic (PAC) at the Holland Centre. She performs her duties with gusto and provides a welcoming presence for patients… Lucy’s manner lets the patient know how important they are.”
“Her pleasant smile, dedication to customer service, and willingness to go beyond her work requirements has made her an exceptional person to work with. Lucy’s administrative role requires extensive navigation and problem solving at the patient and clinician’s level as she has to facilitate many tasks simultaneously.”
Michelle Su, Administrative Assistant, Student Services, Education
“Michelle Su is an administrative assistant of the highest standard…She is enthusiastic, passionate, warm, friendly, incredibly resourceful, highly organized, and an excellent student advocate. Her door is always open and she is the first one to offer help where needed."
“As the primary contact for all Nerve System student inquiries, Michelle has demonstrated exceptional customer service, both at the student and administrative levels. As the key system administrator, Michelle is able to successfully triage all student inquiries, while devising solutions at a high technical level within our system.”
Eric Westcott, Administrative Assistant, Drug Safety Clinic, Integrated Community Program
“Eric is very engaging with patients and spends much of each day on the phone- scheduling, canceling, rescheduling, discussing appointments, etc. In cases where patients have questions that are out of his scope of expertise, he always asks either a physician or our pharmacist to follow up with them. Then, he usually follows up to make sure that we have indeed contacted the patient.”
“Eric participates in weekly clinic huddles and presents data summarizing our clinic’s progress at decreasing our backlog. He takes feedback from each team member and incorporates this feedback into future weekly presentations. He is diligent and efficient about completing his responsibilities which contributes to an efficient team overall.”
