Congratulations to our 2020 Schulich Award winners!
The Schulich Awards for Nursing and Clinical Excellence recognize individuals who demonstrate the values of Sunnybrook in their daily work. These awards honour employees who work in the areas of diagnostic, therapeutic and direct clinical patient care. Congratulations to this year's winners!
Below, meet the winners and read some words of support from their nominators (edited for length and clarity):
Samira Alminawi - Senior Medical Laboratory Technologist, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Anatomic Pathology
Samira is a dedicated, experienced and talented laboratory professional whose contributions have helped make Sunnybrook's Division of Anatomic Pathology a leader in the field. She routinely goes above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that the lab is able to provide the highest quality of care to our patients. Thanks to Samira and team’s efforts, Sunnybrook recently became the first hospital lab in Canada to offer a new biomarker test to determine eligibility for a promising new precision treatment for patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer — a cancer with otherwise very limited treatment options. Samira’s expertise has been recognized on a regional and national level. She is a leader and role model to her colleagues, and her hard work is indispensable for a lab such as Sunnybrook’s.
Gitta Ankomah - Clinical Coordinator and Occupational Therapist, Working Condition Program, Holland Centre and Sunnybrook Centre for Independent Living
Gitta never shies away from a new or challenging task. When Gitta was redeployed to work as an alternate care provider in acute care at the Bayview Campus, she took it in stride, viewing it as an opportunity for learning and to provide support at a critical time. Gitta is kind and does whatever she can to ensure patients have the best experience possible. On many occasions, she has stayed after hours to make sure a patient’s family member arrives or that they get safely into a taxi. Says one colleague, “Because of her strong work ethic, she creates a culture of excellence. Furthermore, she does not need or want credit for her work; she is just committed to performing her job well and adding value to her team.”
Lisa Day - Charge Technologist, Breast Imaging Centre
Lisa works in a high-volume and high-demand centre that provides imaging — such as MRI, ultrasound, and mammograms — on a timely basis. She also oversees many aspects of research, while providing top-of-the-line training to learners. Whenever patients are in need of urgent imaging, Lisa demonstrates prompt and efficient service to expedite their care. She never fails to support her team. She shows strong dedication and leadership when helping both patients and her colleagues alike. Lisa is described by co-workers, students and patients as funny, kind, caring, hard-working and professional.
Lisa Kovacevic - Physiotherapy Assistant, Holland Centre
Lisa’s excellence is repeatedly proven when patients 'graduate' from educational classes and they report that they have achieved their goals. One patient described it as, “Helping me to return to great!” Lisa helps foster confidence in patients to keep working hard during their physiotherapy in the hospital and at home. She is an exceptional motivator, and she is enthusiastic and passionate about her work. One colleague said, “We often have patients who come back after having a second joint replaced and specifically ask to be in the class with Lisa!” Employees like Lisa help make Sunnybrook a great place to work.
Amy O’Connor - Clinical Dietitian, Odette Cancer Program
Amy is constantly learning, growing and challenging herself, and she regularly helps others. She sees all of her patients as individuals with a different story and is very respectful of them. She has a wonderful way of connecting and developing trust with patients. During the pandemic, communication has become vitally important, and Amy strives to involve the patient's family in decision making whenever possible. As a dietitian, she manages change well, takes initiative, and is constantly evolving as an outstanding and highly-regarded performer in her field. She’s a caring, kind, and compassionate person. She has been able to connect these parts of herself to truly provide holistic, exceptional, person-centred care to patients.
Kalli Stilos - Advanced Practice Nurse, Palliative Care Consult Team, Veterans Centre
Kalli is committed to improving palliative and end-of-life care. She focuses on delivering exemplary patient care, communicating with families during times of crisis, supporting learning, mentoring others, and creating learning tools to support practice. She also studies elements of care to improve quality of life and the patient and family experience. Kalli is especially committed to working with vulnerable and marginalized patients who are dying. A letter from a patient’s family member describes her impact: “I wanted to express our deepest appreciation for the care you provided to my father during his final days. I am especially grateful to you for treating him with a humanity that made his final moments a little easier to bear.”
Caitlin Zammit - Speech Language Pathologist, Tory Trauma Program
Caitlin truly goes above and beyond in her role. Her caring and compassionate approach to helping people who, for a period are unable to eat and swallow or communicate, has made the difference in the lives of many patient and families. When Caitlin is with a patient or their family, she is present in the moment, and she carefully listens to and discusses their concerns. Her position covers several units and the caseload is often extremely high. She is able to manage the workload professionally, while treating patients and their family members with respect and compassion. She is a very valuable and respected member of the trauma team, who stands by patients for the long haul. She is committed to improving patient care and bringing trust and comfort to the patient’s experience.
