On May 26, regional health authority CISSSO held a distinctions gala in Gatineau to celebrate the hard work of its employees and volunteers, and the Pontiac contingent came away with some wins.
CISSSO territory director Nicole Boucher-Larivière explained that the event, which has been going on for around three years, serves to highlight the hard work of the various teams and individuals in the local healthcare community. In total there were 333 nominations across the region, and Boucher-Larivière was one of 15 judges who helped make the selections.
The Pontiac ER and ICU team placed first for the team award for engagement, which Boucher-Larivière said was for their impressive work ethic and commitment to the community.
“We’re extremely short-staffed in the emergency room, like a lot of areas, but particularly in our area. There’s a lot of overtime, there’s a lot of working a couple extra hours to help your colleagues until someone else can come in,” she said. “When there’s people in the ICU that are on ventilators, it requires a much closer one-on-one presence. So they’re always the first to volunteer to stay and help out.”
Both the DSADDR–ALPHI Collaborative Team and the long-term care team were finalists in the collaboration category. Boucher-Larivière explained that the former works with people with intellectual disabilities and autism, often volunteering hours for their activities.
“There’s a committee created by the parents of these individuals that’s called ALPHI, it’s all about socializing them, making sure they have friends, they have activities, that they’re well integrated into the community, but we can only make that happen if they have professional help to put these activities on,” she said, highlighting an overnight trip that the group took to Le Patro in Mansfield. She added that the long-term care team was also recognized for their collaborative efforts. She said that having two Pontiac teams finishing in the finals in a category with roughly 70 entries was a testament to the amazing local staff.
The final team to be recognized was the palliative care volunteers, a community group that has been assisting in the hospital’s palliative care ward for years.
“Because of their presence and the amount of years this has been going on, we thought it would be important to make them shine a little bit. Sometimes it influences other groups or individuals to try and achieve that in other areas,” Boucher-Larivière said. “It sends a good message.”
In addition to the teams mentioned above, two individuals from the long-term care team were finalists in their respective categories: manager Jessica Cox for the engagement award and administrative assistant Amanda Boisvert for the compassion and respect award.
“Jessica is always coming up with new projects, new ways of having partnerships, collaborations, and increasing the quality of life in both the nursing homes in Shawville,” Boucher-Larivière said.
She added that Boisvert helps out in a variety of roles that go far beyond her job description.
“So as opposed to just doing administration, she participates in activities, she helps out families of residents, whatever they might need, she waters their plants, she takes care of little details that make a big difference,” she said. “So staff thought it would be a good idea to recognize her for going above and beyond all the time.”
