2021 President’s Award winners: the people and teams making a difference

Since the onset of this pandemic, Lindsay has been ever-present, being called upon to help implement and manage several new processes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to communicate these processes, under the tightest of deadlines. From the early days of screening to our vaccine rollout, Lindsay’s dedication, leadership, advocacy and empathy has inspired everyone around her.

“Through her leadership, Lindsay brings out the best in all team members that she works with. She sees the value of multidisciplinary teamwork and consistently leverages her outstanding leadership ability to bring individuals together and enable them to perform at the top of their abilities.” – Nomination excerpt 

Over the past five years, the Connected Care team has developed and executed a uniquely innovative program that has improved community transitions for children with medical complexity and their families, while simultaneously advancing and elevating care within the home and community care sector. The program has become a critical component of our virtual care strategy, especially throughout the pandemic, where the team quickly pivoted to expand virtual solutions for family caregivers and home care providers, and to support nurses working in home care, shelters and congregate care sites.

“During the pandemic, the team quickly pivoted to expand virtual solutions for family caregivers and home care providers, successfully addressing critical service gaps in home care exacerbated by the pandemic. They worked with community partners to adapt training programs and service delivery models, to ensure uninterrupted and seamless transitions for families.” - Nomination excerpt

Throughout the pandemic, the Infection Prevention and Control team has provided essential expert advice, ranging from individual patient care questions to organizational, high-impact evolving issues. They’ve partnered with internal leaders and external partners to make well-informed, aligned decisions to optimize implementation of rapidly changing practices and workflows.

“Their expertise and work support decision-making through the lens of preventing infections, exposures, and outbreaks to prevent harm while sustaining uninterrupted care and service delivery. Throughout the COVID pandemic, they have provided essential expert advice ranging from individual patient care questions to organizational, high-impact evolving issues.” — Nomination excerpt

One of the joys of working at SickKids is the inspiring people we work with. Registered Nurse Matthew Hill consistently goes above and beyond the expectations of his role in the Emergency Department (ED). His positive energy lifts the morale of staff and enhances family satisfaction in the ED, and his calmness helps to de-escalate challenging situations. Matthew’s ability to exude empathy for patients and caregivers is admirable and he is consistently kind, understanding and respectful to his colleagues, and inspires others to do the same.

“Matthew treats all members of the ED team with respect and professionalism and inspires others to do the same. It is in this safe, positive environment that the clinical team works best to provide exemplary care for its patients and families.” — Nomination excerpt

This team devotes their time to support the mental health and well-being of SickKids staff. The sheer number of interactions between staff and our Peer Support and Trauma Response team speaks to the broad reach of the program and the tremendous effort of team members to support our staff in whatever capacity they can. This support allows staff to seek comfort and understanding, often in difficult situations, and staff feel cared for and know there is a strong support system behind them.

“They leverage their own experience, knowledge and understanding of the importance of confidentiality to create an atmosphere which improves the psychological safety of colleagues, allowing staff do their jobs effectively while knowing that there is a strong system of support behind them and bringing their role as a peer to all of the work that they do within the hospital.” — Nomination excerpt

The Human Resources, Occupational Health & Safety Services, and Commercial Services Vaccination team was asked to lead extraordinarily challenging work to implement a policy that would help protect our vulnerable patient population, as well as the entire SickKids community. They worked through very complex issues and developed processes to ensure the safest possible environment for all who come to SickKids.

“This group worked through the considerations that had to be analyzed to develop the policy and its operational processes, and balanced pragmatism with perfection as we had to stand up systems and processes under very short timelines.” — Nomination excerpt