Providence Health Care recognizes care excellence

By Laureen McMahon

Most people are happy just to get through their work day, but when Connie Evans, a registered nurse at Providence Health Care's Brock Fahrni Pavilion, reaches the end of a shift she often dons her other hat as a residence volunteer.

Special to The B.C. Catholic Providence Health Care Foundress Award winners gather at the PHC AGM. Staff, residents, and family members of 2ECU at Mount Saint Joseph Hospital were honoured for their "collaborative efforts to develop a culturally sensitive community."

Evans was among the honorees at this year's annual Providence Health Care Annual General Meeting on June 13.

Nominated for the PHC Mission Award for her devotion to the residents at Brock Fahrni, Evans manages, even after 33 years of nursing, to volunteer on her days off, taking on such tasks as arranging this year's Mothers' Day celebrations.

"Connie's ability to reach out to others," said Providence President and CEO Dianne Doyle, "is reflected in the fact that not only was she nominated for this award by her peers, but also by the family of a resident."

Jo-Ann Resnick, whose father has lived at Brock Fahrni for the past six years, paid tribute to Evans, who, she said, "deserves recognition for her selfless care and compassion for the loved ones that we have entrusted to her care."

Evans, a longtime St. Andrew's parishioner, trained as a nurse in the Philippines before immigrating to Toronto in 1972.

She joined the staff at Shaughnessy Hospital in 1974 and discovered she loved caring for the veterans who made up much of the hospital population. When Shaughnessy closed and the remaining vets moved into Brock Fahrni, Evans moved along with them.

A mother of two grown daughters, Evans said she has no desire to retire, as she would probably still spend much of her time organizing parties for the Brock Fahrni residents.

Before going on a holiday, she said, family members will often ask her to keep an eye on their loved ones while they are gone.

"I'm happy when I can say `yes.'" she said, with a big smile.

The Providence Foundress Award is presented annually to a Providence team from one of the eight hospitals and residences that aptly models the mission and values of the Founding Congregations, explained CEO Doyle.

This year, the award went to the staff, residents, and family members of 2ECU at Mount Saint Joseph Hospital.

"Working together," said Doyle, "they perform the difficult task of creating an Eden environment in a residential-care setting. (This care model, which is person-centred, seeks to eliminate the loneliness, boredom, and helplessness often affecting those in hospital or long-term care.)

The culturally sensitive program undertaken by the MSJ team, said Doyle, has helped to keep alive, even after 80 years, the dream of Mother Delia Tetreault, the foundress of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, who established Mount Saint Joseph Hospital to reach out to the Chinese community.

This year's winner of the PHC Mission and Research Award was Dr. Julio Montaner, who heads the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Montaner's expertise and determination to find solutions to the HIV/AIDS crisis has contributed to his recent election as President of the International AIDS Society, said Doyle.
Not only has Dr. Montaner shown a noble dedication to the mission, but his public advocacy for patients suffering from the disease has garnered him international recognition. Last year Dr. Montaner successfully lobbied the federal government to allow use of a new medical protocol for five of his most critically ill AIDS patients.

Taking the story into the public arena resulted in Health Canada approving the use of the new drugs. Today the men under Dr. Montaner's care have a vastly-improved quality of life, thanks to his determination to shed light on new treatments, said Doyle.

In accepting his award, Dr. Montaner paid tribute to the Sisters of Providence at St. Paul's, where the Centre for Excellence was founded.

"This is not about one event in the life of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in this city; this is about, in my opinion, the mandate that we were given by the sisters," he said.

"When this started it was a time when there was a lot of fear in our community, and they had the courage to step up to the plate and to give (researchers) the guidance they needed on where we should go, so this award is for them, for setting the bar high, and it is also a way to pay homage to their courage."

As President-elect of the International AIDS Society, Dr. Montaner says he intends to tell people around the world about how the B.C. Centre of Excellence through PHC "is leading the charge in so many ways to control this epidemic here and abroad."