B.C. HONOURS EXCELLENCE IN NURSING
The BC Coalition of Nursing Associations is proud to honour 22 exceptional individuals who have demonstrated excellence in nursing practice, research and leadership at the 2017 Nursing Awards of Excellence.
“We are so grateful for the work done by nurses across the health system, supporting patients at some of their most vulnerable and stressful times, and it is an honour to come together to celebrate their achievements,” said Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Judy Darcy, who will also serve as emcee for the gala celebration. “In this year, we are particularly grateful for the many nurses who have stepped forward to care for British Columbians through a devastating wildfire season and the ongoing overdose crisis, so often going above and beyond the call of duty to support people who need help.”
Nursing Excellence Award winners for 2017 include:
Marion Anderson, LPN – Lifetime Achievement
Melodie Hull, RPN – Lifetime Achievement
Evelyn Voyageur, RN – Lifetime Achievement
Shayla Lewendon, RN – Excellence in Nursing Administration
Jo-Ann Tait, RPN – Excellence in Nursing Administration
Lillian Mei Hung, RN – Excellence in Advancing Nursing Knowledge and Research
Kathy L. Rush, RN – Excellence in Advancing Nursing Knowledge and Research
Tracy Truant, RN – Excellence in Advancing Nursing Knowledge and Research
Barbara Astle, RN – Excellence in Nursing Education
Darlaine Jantzen, RN – Excellence in Nursing Education
Monique McLaughlin, NP (F) – Excellence in Nursing Education
Catherine Overton, LPN – Excellence in Nursing Education
Nardia Brown, LPN – Excellence in Nursing Practice
Christine Nell Coles, RN – Excellence in Nursing Practice
Heather J. Morrison, RN – Excellence in Nursing Practice
Suzan Ross, RPN – Excellence in Nursing Practice
Pranesh Shastri, LPN – Excellence in Nursing Practice
Cheyenne Johnson, RN – Innovation in Nursing
Kimberley Smith, RPN – Innovation in Nursing
Madeleine Greig, RN – Rising Star
Laura Morgan, RPN – Rising Star
Frances Wright, RN – Rising Star
This year the Quinn Fowlie Scholarship will be awarded to Journey Smith. At the age of five months, Journey was diagnosed with a severe case of hydrocephalus and right side hemiplegia. At that time her prognosis was grim and doctors believed she would never walk and would not be able to communicate. From that moment, Journey defied all the odds. She learned to walk, talk, ride her bike and soon will be graduating from high school. The Quinn Fowlie Scholarship is awarded annually to a young person who has benefitted from the support of nursing throughout their life, and in turn, has been an inspiration to the nurses who have worked with them. We are proud to provide Journey with $1,000 towards her future success.
This is the second year that B.C.’s nursing recognition awards have included nurses from all four nursing designations – Licensed Practical Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Registered Nurses, and Registered Psychiatric Nurses. Recipients are nominated and adjudicated by their peers and receive their awards at a gala ceremony held in downtown Vancouver.
The BC Coalition of Nursing Associations represents B.C.’s four professional nursing associations – the Association of Registered Nurses of BC, the Association of Registered Psychiatric Nurses of BC, the BC Nurse Practitioner Association and the Licensed Practical Nursing Association of BC – along with the organization representing B.C. Schools of Nursing, the Nursing Education Council of BC. For more information on BCCNA and its member organizations, please visit www.bccna.com.
Contact:
Andrea Burton
604.762.4743
info@bccna.com
Orchard Recovery Center Nurse Suzan Ross receives 2017 Excellence in Nursing Practice Award
2017 Nursing Awards of Excellence Recipients
Suzan Ross
RPN
Orchard Recovery Center Nurse Suzan Ross (RPN)
Suzan has been practicing as a nurse since graduating from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) in 1982. She currently works at Vista House in Vancouver, a tertiary level residential treatment program for adults across B.C. with severe and complex eating disorders. Suzan also works at the Orchard Recovery and Treatment Centre on Bowen Island, providing care and treatment for adults withdrawing and recovering from substance abuse. In addition, she volunteers with the Mobile Medical Unit, a facility established to combat the opioid overdose crisis on Vancouver’s Downtown East Side.
During Suzan’s nursing career she has worked in clinical research trials and coordinator roles at the BC Cancer Agency, and in health promotion and education programs at Vancouver General Hospital. She has also travelled extensively into rural regions of B.C. providing health promotion and education. Suzan’s current role at Vista is as staff nurse, but she often covers for the coordinator and is frequently in a leadership role within the interdisciplinary team by providing training, supervision and program coordination as well as front-line clinical care.
Suzan’s clinical practice is characterised by the respect and kindness she displays to clients and their families. She believes in holistic care, recognizing a patient in all aspects of their life rather than defining them by their illness. She will go the extra mile for a patient, advocating for them as individuals but always from within the appropriate professional framework. These values are also evident in the warmth and integrity she brings to her interactions within the health care team. Suzan provides high standards of care in psychiatric nursing, while also supporting the therapeutic nature of the program which includes counselling and one to one support in a home like setting in order to help clients recover in a patient centered way.
Suzan is noted by her colleagues as someone who is kind, humble and highly respected. She is self-aware and has strong and mature boundaries and is thereby able to deliver consistently high quality care over the span of her career.