Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH) celebrated the extraordinary contributions of its nurses and the entire care teams this week as part of National Nursing Week in Canada.
Running from May 6 to 12, this year’s theme — Changing Lives. Shaping Tomorrow — reflects the critical and lasting impact nurses have not only in hospitals, but across the health care system.
While Nursing Week highlights nurses specifically, NHH says the celebrations are also an opportunity to recognize the contributions of everyone involved in providing care — from front-line professionals to those working behind the scenes.
CEO and President Susan Walsh tells us about the impact she’s seen nurses make throughout her career.
“Care is a team effort,” said Susan Walsh, President and CEO of NHH. “At NHH, we’re proud to celebrate not only our nurses but everyone who plays a role in delivering high-quality, compassionate care to our patients and their families.”
According to VP of Integrated Care and Chief Nursing Executive Kate Zimmerman the Nursing Week committee began planning back in February to create the schedule of events to celebrate everyone at the hospital.
Events included several appreciation events throughout the week, including a staff breakfast, raffles, ice cream treats, welcoming staff as they began their shifts by hospital leadership and local MPP David Piccini, pizza for those working the night-shift, as well as a lunch and learn event sponsored by the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario.
Walsh says that while food always plays a part during Nursing Week, she really enjoys the team building activities they host.
According to Zimmerman, the highlight for her was the nursing awards ceremony.
Zimmerman tells us that this year all nominations were read which made the occasion even more special.
Walsh says that recognizing the contributions of nurses and care teams is about more than one week — it’s about building a culture of respect, recognition, and support year-round.
While other hospitals in the province are struggling to retain and attact staff, Walsh say that NHH has a relatively low vacancy rate and their turnover rate has steadily been declining. Walsh credits this to the ‘people-first’ culture they’ve worked hard to create at the hospital.
“Our people-first philosophy is an infinite game and one we’ll continue to strive to nurture year-over-year.”
(Written by: Joseph Goden)
