MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
June 7, 2013
LONDON, Ontario –Today at a special ceremony, Bonnie Adamson, President and Chief Executive Officer of London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) awarded five individuals with the 2013 President’s Award.
“I am honoured to recognize these extraordinary individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to improving the lives of our patients, our hospital and our community,” says Adamson.
Now in its seventh year, the President’s Award program at LHSC celebrates staff, physicians and volunteers in a number of categories. This year the following awards were presented:
- The President's Award for Community Service recognizes an individual at LHSC whose volunteer achievements have made a difference to the lives of people in our community. Janet Robinson is a long-time RN in the renal program at Victoria Hospital, and has been a dedicated volunteer with the Girl Guides of Canada for 25 years.
- The President's Awards for Living Our Core Values recognize two individuals who consistently demonstrate LHSC's values of respect, trust and collaboration - one focused on how we work together and the other on how we serve our patients. Dan Logie, coordinator of the Adult Eating Disorders Service, has been recognized by his colleagues for demonstrating our core values in "how we work together." Dr. Richard Owen, a psychiatrist with LHSC's Adult Mental Health Care Program is recognized for demonstrating LHSC's core values in "how we serve our patients.”
- Sandy Jansen, LHSC’s Director of Pharmacy is this year’s recipient of the President's Award for Leadership which recognizes an individual at LHSC who demonstrates leadership capabilities that make a significant difference to the effectiveness of our organization.
- Established to honour the leadership legacy of the late Dr. Murray Girotti, the President's Award for Physician Leadership recognizes physicians who demonstrate the leadership qualities he exemplified. Dr. Simon Levin is the section head of paediatric neurology at Children's Hospital and is this year’s recipient.
More information on each recipient is available in the attached backgrounder. You can also visit the President’s Award website for recipient bios and video remarks from their nominators.
About London Health Sciences Centre
London Health Sciences Centre has been at the forefront of medicine in Canada for 138 years and offers the broadest range of specialized clinical services in Ontario. Building on the traditions of its founding hospitals to provide compassionate care in an academic teaching setting, London Health Sciences Centre is home to Children’s Hospital, University Hospital, Victoria Hospital, the Kidney Care Centre, two family medical centres, and two research institutes – Children’s Health Research Institute and Lawson Health Research Institute. As a leader in medical discovery and health research, London Health Sciences Centre has a history of over 65 international and national firsts and attracts top clinicians and researchers from around the world. As a regional referral centre, London Health Sciences Centre cares for the most medically complex patients including critically injured adults and children in southwestern Ontario and beyond. The hospital’s nearly 15,000 staff, physicians, students and volunteers provide care for more than one million patient visits a year. For more information visit www.lhsc.on.ca
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Kelly Almond
Corporate Communications and Public Relations
London Health Sciences Centre
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Kelly.Almond@lhsc.on.ca
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Backgrounder - 2013 President's Award Recipients
Janet Robinson
2013 President's Award for Community Service
Janet Robinson is a long-time registered nurse in the renal program at Victoria Hospital and for the past 25 years she has been making a difference in the lives of countless girls and young women in the community through her dedicated volunteer efforts with the Girl Guides of Canada.
Janet has held a number of volunteer positions with Girl Guides, most recently becoming the Area Community Leader for London. Janet is described as someone these young Guiders can go to for support, reassurance and advice at any time. She truly listens to what others have to say, providing insightful opinions and giving positive feedback.
Helping to plan a number of projects, trips and initiatives over the years, Janet’s leadership skills have helped to inspire her peers and Guiders to take pride in their work, and so many of the young women who have been under her guidance are more readily prepared for the world ahead of them.
As a trainer with Girls Guides of Canada, Janet teaches what she has learned over the years so that her knowledge and talent is passed along to other Guiders. Through her positive and enthusiastic attitude toward Guiding, Janet has encouraged young women to be resourceful, courageous, and to make a difference in their community.
Dr. Richard Owen
2013 President's Award for Living Our Core Values - How We Serve Our Patients
Dr. Richard Owen joined LHSC in 2007 as a psychiatrist with LHSC’s Adult Mental Health Care Program.
Described as going above and beyond for his patients, Dr. Owen maintains compassion and respect for people who are often stigmatized by our community. He is tenacious and persistent in helping patients solve complex and seemingly intractable problems. He is described as approaching mental health issues with a refreshing style and his sense of humour, understanding of the science, and a true belief of his ability to bring patients back to themselves is infectious.
Dr. Owen values and collaborates with everyone on the care team to benefit the mental health patient population. He was a key force in setting up the Depot Injection Clinic for outpatient mental health patients, helping clients to remain in the community for greater periods of time, functioning at higher levels and with greater autonomy.
Dr. Owen takes a team-player approach to patient care, involving the patient, family, and clinical team when planning care. His colleagues describe how he provides hope for patients while developing and refining mental health services at both LHSC and in our community to better help the needs of mental health clients.
Dan Logie
2013 President's Award for Living Our Core Values - How We Work Together
Dan Logie is the coordinator of the Adult Eating Disorders Service, a relatively new program at LHSC.
Nominated by the entire adult eating disorders team, Dan is described as a leader who is trusted and admired. His approachable manner ensures that all opinions and concerns are heard and respected.
As the coordinator of a new program, Dan had the difficult task of developing a program and team from the ground up. He has been an integral part of assembling the team and supporting them though all the challenges that accompany program development. Dan is described as having a high regard for the variety of strengths that each team member brings to the overall dynamic. His approach helps the team feel more invested and confident in the decisions being made, contributing to a spirit of collaboration throughout the team.
Dan comes to work every day with a smile on his face and his team says this enthusiasm, along with great sense of humour, is contagious. He has helped this relatively new program develop a strong foundation that has preserved and inspired the clinical team's ability to focus on patient care and quality of service. His dynamic approach fosters strong community partnerships and is helping the program grow to serve this patient population.
Sandy Jansen
2013 President's Award for Leadership
Sandy Jansen is LHSC’s Director of Pharmacy Services.
Soon after she assumed this role in 2011, Sandy identified that Pharmacy Services had cultural challenges and implemented PharmaSEE (Pharmacy Staff Engagement and Empowerment), a series of six education sessions that brought forward the issues in the department. Together, she helped the team develop a dialogue on creating a new culture, empowered staff to be engaged and taught effective communication to support a culture that is resilient and strong against internal and external pressures.
Sandy demonstrates confidence and enthusiasm on a daily basis in her interactions with staff, both within and external to pharmacy services. Through her leadership, influence and impact, the Medication Reconciliation Project had a successful implementation. The project is now recognized nationally by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, Safer Healthcare Now, and the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, making LHSC a national leader in the medication reconciliation community across Canada.
Sandy has a genuine interest in supporting and developing her team, identifying and encouraging those with potential to seek new or increased leadership opportunities. She has enabled staff that are interested in building their careers to capitalize on opportunities to gain further experience in the workplace, creating stretch opportunities that support learning and development.
Sandy is described as a driving force to influence change and someone who inspires the best in everyone around her.
Dr. Simon Levin
2013 President's Award for Physician Leadership
Dr. Simon Levin is the section head of paediatric neurology at LHSC’s Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Levin is described as having extraordinary interpersonal skills with patients, families, peers and colleagues. He is consistently positive, optimistic and respectful, whether the individual is a peer section head, or the sibling of a patient. Dr. Levin empowers parents by recognizing their expertise as those who know their child best. His philosophy is to ensure that the patient and family remain the focus of all care. The patient is always the priority, regardless of when the regular workday ends.
Dr. Levin places a high value on collaboration with other subspecialists, and members of the health-care team. Under Dr. Levin’s leadership, the section of paediatric neurology has realized a number of gains including a comprehensive regional epilepsy service and a full range of subspecialty clinics and services.
Dr. Levin’s teaching experience is highly valued amongst medical students, clinical clerks, paediatric and neurology trainees and fellows and he has many undergraduate and post-graduate teaching awards to his credit. In addition, he also served as paediatric program director for two terms.
Through his sense of humour and respect, Dr. Levin has demonstrated leadership in patient care, education and administration during his 30 years of practice.
