SUNDRE — A formerly annual ceremony recognizing and celebrating long-service milestones of local health-care staff was for the first time in more than two years finally able to once again be organized.
The last such event held in 2019 had at the time been hosted indoors at the Mountain View Inn & Suites.
This time, organizers, led by Joyce Wicks with the Sundre Health Professionals Attraction and Retention Committee, which operates under the umbrella of the Sundre Hospital Futures Committee, decided to switch venues over to the Greenwood Campground’s community gazebo.
About 100 people—including dignitaries such as Sundre mayor Richard Warnock, Mountain View County Reeve Angela Aalbers, and Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre MLA Jason Nixon—attended the evening ceremony on Thursday, May 26. Peggy Johnson, the county councillor who sits as a representative on the futures committee, also attended.
Gerald Ingeveld, Sundre Hospital Futures Committee chair, told the Albertan during a follow-up interview that the gathering “was excellent” and that the “weather was perfect.”
“It was just a perfect setting,” said Ingeveld.
Overall, at least 50 staff members at the hospital were recognized, he said.
“There was a pile,” he said. “We had almost three years worth of long-service awards because we haven’t done this through all of COVID.”
Of all of those being celebrated, more than half were able to attend, he said, adding many others were working a shift and were of course unable to come.
“But it was quite a blast of people,” he said. “We were able to have a good splash.”
While the staff’s years of service include their entire career time with Alberta Health Services, Ingeveld said, “They have worked principally in Sundre.”
Naturally, some also work both in Sundre and Olds, while others even take various shifts in different facilities, he added.
Long-service awards begin to be recognized after the first five years, and are again celebrated following every additional five-year interval.
The longest service award was presented to Audrey McKenzie, a registered nurse (RN) whose lengthy career in health-care spans back over the course of 40 years. Leah Hayes, a licensed practical nurse, as well as Rhonda Shute, RN, both received a 35-year service award.
The Sundre hospital’s site lead, Chantal Crawford, was the event’s emcee and she shared some thoughts about each individual staff member who was up for an award.
The futures committee brought out its large, trailer-mounted barbecue with signage for function to serve up some food, with the municipality pitching in by way of providing tables, said Ingeveld.
“They were quite involved,” he said.
Organizers generally aim to schedule the event to coincide roughly around the same time as Nurse’s Week, which was earlier last month from May 9-15, and Alberta Rural Health Week, which took place May 30 to June 3.
“It all ties in,” he said, adding that it’s important to not only recognize but also celebrate the hard work of the staff who ensure Sundre’s hospital remains viable.
“Whenever you can get staff together to do something outside of their place of work, it’s special,” he said. “They don’t get to do that. They tend to go to work and work their hearts out and just kind of drag themselves home tired. And COVID has really, really made it difficult for them.”
The ceremony was essentially their first opportunity since the pandemic started to gather and do something as a group outside of their workplace, he said.
“A lot of people took a deep breath when they were able to kind of sit together,” he said.
Additionally, he said it’s also important to extend an invitation to local and regional dignitaries so elected officials can personally see and better appreciate the strong bonds that are built among the Sundre hospital’s health-care team.
“We’re always going back to them—back to our politicians—for help,” he said, adding it’s good to show elected officials the outcome of ongoing support and assistance from the local and provincial levels of government.
The ceremony was hosted in partnership among AHS, the Sundre Hospital Futures Committee, the Sundre Hospital Staff Club, as well as the Town of Sundre, said Ingeveld, who also praised Wicks with a “big kudos” for leading the charge.
“It was just a great opportunity for a few of us in the community to do another little thank-you for those who put in those years at the hospital,” he said.
2020 Long Service awards
Five years
- Cathy Erickson, unit clerk (UC)
- Brittney Noort, Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
- Niki Farquharson, Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
- Elisha Hollar, Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
- Anna Rozenhart, Registered Nurse (RN)
- Morgan Smith, rec therapy
- Dan Russell, Occupational/Physiotherapy Assistant (OT/PT)
- Brittany Rath, lab tech
10 years
- Kayla Olmstead, Unit clerk (UC)
- D’ette Barnet, Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
- Berdee Wolfe, Nutritional Food Services (NFS)
- Kelsey Stevenett, rec therapy
- Paul Shippy, mental health
15 years
- Irma van den Hadelkamp, Registered Nurse (RN)
- Jenna Packer, lab tech
- Shannon Powell, lab tech
25 years
- Berni French, unit clerk (UC)
- Joanne Hall, lab tech
30 years
- Donna Hofseth, Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
- Cindy Andrus, Continuing Care Counsellor (CCC)
35 years
- Rhonda Shute, Registered Nurse (RN)
40 years
- Audrey McKenzie, Registered Nurse (RN)
2021 Long Service awards
Five years
- Tristan Humpf, Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
- Mojgan Hooshmand, Registered Nurse (RN)
- Kim Elford, Registered Nurse (RN)
- Susan Struthers, Health-care aid (HCA)
- Georgelaine Milot, Health-care aid (HCA)
- Shilyn Seeley, Community Health Centre (CHC)
- Deana McNeish, palliative Registered Nurse (RN)
- Brianna Taylor, combined lab and X-ray tech
10 years
- Emily Erickson, Registered Nurse (RN)
- Shari-Lyn Waiting, Nutritional Food Services (NFS)
- Amanda Simpson, combined lab and X-ray tech
- Dr. Rob Warren, physician
- Dr. Mark Wylie, physician
15 years
- Petrina Graton, Unit clerk (UC)
- Kendra Bartholow, Occupational/Physiotherapy Assistant (OT/PT)
- Krystle Phillips, Community Health Centre (CHC)
- Shelley Benner, Housekeeping
- Cora Price, Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
20 years
- Ruth Obrist, Registered Nurse (RN)
- Deb Arkell, Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
- Gillian Patenaude, Health Information Management (HIM)
- Myrna Poisant, lab tech
- Cindy Shyback, mental health
- Mary Wales, Health Information Management (HIM)
- Shelly Minor, Nutritional Food Services (NFS)
- Jose Klis, Health Information Management (HIM)
25 years
- Cathy Graville, Health-care aid (HCA)
- Kari McElhinney, Community Health Centre (CHC)
35 years
- Leah Hayes, Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
