Osler celebrates its nurses during National Nursing Week

May 23, 2014 · 0 Comments

William Osler Health System (Osler) honoured its hard-working nurses recently as part of National Nursing Week.
The week-long celebration wrapped up at Osler’s Nursing Gala, where the organization hailed its 2,300 nurses, handed out Awards of Excellence and recognized the recipients of the prestigious de Souza APN Designation.
“Our nurses play an integral role in the lives of our patients, their families and the community,” said Osler President and CEO Matthew Anderson. “We regularly hear stories about how our nurses have gone above and beyond to ensure our patients have exceptional experiences at Osler. National Nursing Week is the perfect time to celebrate these achievements and honour the men and women who deliver patient-inspired health care without boundaries.”
Throughout the week, a number of events were held for Osler nurses, including a kick-off breakfast, vendor fairs, information sessions and the popular Nursing Gala. This year’s gala honoured the Awards of Excellence winners: Osler nurses and nursing teams who have taken the organization’s promise of Going Beyond to the next level.
This year’s award recipients included: Nursing Team/Unit Award — Etobicoke General Hospital’s 8th Level Surgery and Brampton Civic Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit/Surgical Intermediate Care Unit; Clare Lemieux Caring and Compassion Award — Lorna Thompson and Fariba Mirzaei; Clinical Leadership Award — Agnieszka Prus and Veronica Adjei; Nursing Management Award — Joy Fitzgerald and Manjit Budwal; Nursing Clinical Support Award — Pamela Cybulski; TD Bursary in Clinical Excellence and Professional Development — Cathy Renaud, Nima Desai and Maria Tello.
The event also honoured Audrey Cianfarani, Lollita Rahaman and Komal Patel, three Osler nurses who received designations from the de Souza Institute, an organization that supports cancer and palliative care nurses. Cianfarani, a veteran registered practical nurse, earned the de Souza Nurse Associate Designation after completing more than 150 hours of continuing education. Rahaman and Patel became the first registered nurses to receive the prestigious de Souza APN Designation (the most difficult to obtain) after they completed course credits in cancer/palliative care, a clinical fellowship and an extensive research project.
“We are enormously proud of the accomplishments of all of our nurses and award winners,” said Osler’s Executive Vice President of Clinical Services and Chief Nursing Executive Joanne Flewwelling. “Our nurses are there every step of the way as our patients make their way through their hospital and health care experience. Thanks to their compassion, knowledge, positivity and boundless energy, we can provide high-quality care to our community. We are so thankful for all they do.”