Nursing Week Story: Commended by Peers
Nursing Week Story: Commended by Peers
Pictured Above: Brenda Lubianecki RN, Nursing Excellence Award Winner, working with a peer on the unit at Charlton Campus.
"St. Joe's is my family. The compassion, the kindness, the support we give each other. I think what we do is better than the best." -Judi Santone, Registered Nurse and Nursing Excellence Award Winner 2014
On Wednesday, May 14th St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton’s family celebrated Nursing Week with the annual Nursing Excellence Award Dinner. Each year it brings together not only our registered nurses who provide compassionate care to patients across our organization, but also their supporting team members and hospital leadership.
When nurses are honoured by their peers, they often commend their teammates, managers and mentors. When Judi Santone RN approached the podium to receive her award, she received a standing ovation. After winning a Nursing Excellence Award, she will be retiring after 43 years of dedicated service to her patients.
More than 130 nurses were nominated for an award of excellence. They all deserve to be congratulated for living the legacy of the Sisters of St. Joseph every day.
One of the winners who was commended by her peers for her leadership, compassion and mentorship was Brenda Lubianecki RN, Charge Nurse at Charlton Campus. Brenda guides the compliment of nurses who care for patients on a 43 bed unit that assists our surgical services department. In between mentoring others, Brenda manages discharge planning by ensuring that patients receive care in the community in the right place and the right time after they leave the hospital.
“Growing up I always knew I would work in a profession where I helped others,” says Brenda. “I could never have imagined I would be working at St. Joe’s for 25 years! I have so much respect for Sherry Noseworthy (Manager) and Anne Marie MacDonald (Director) and on my unit we all work great as a team.”
Like so many other nurses at St. Joe’s, including the award winners, Brenda has inspiring stories about instances when she experienced an outpouring of gratitude from the patients and families she has served. Brenda recalls one special happenstance when she was out in her Cayuga community greeting an unfamiliar City Employee who was working, and when Brenda shared her name and where she worked, the man realized he may have already heard about Brenda’s excellent nursing skills through his father. As it turned out, his father couldn’t stop singing Brenda’s praises after a stay at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton.
“What a positive coincidence it was to hear from a family member I’ve never met that a patient mentioned me by name when talking about how happy they were with their care,” says Brenda. “Knowing that my work and the effort of the nursing team extends beyond the walls of the unit and touches the lives of families and loved ones – that’s what really matters.”
As Nursing Week 2014 comes to a close we encourage our community to share a positive story about a nurse who has touched your life on Twitter : @STJOESHAMILTON #ThankANurse