Jake’s Award

Fraser Stephenson, an inpatient physiotherapist on the brain injury rehabilitation team (BIRT), at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital has been honoured with Jake’s Award for his outstanding ability to go above and beyond while dealing with challenging situations.

Jake’s Award, named after Jacob (Jake) Trossman is awarded for exceptional healthcare providers who demonstrate Holland Bloorview’s mission to create the most meaningful future for all children, youth and families.

Fraser’s colleagues, BIRT social workers Tess Bardikoff, Yael Diamond and Emilie Morin describe him as someone who, “exemplifies the vision, mission and values of Holland Bloorview. He consistently advocates for his clients and celebrates their individuality.”

Fraser’s positive impact was demonstrated in a touching story shared by his nominators. When an inpatient client with a terminal brain tumor expressed their dream of dropping the puck at a community hockey game, Fraser dedicated his time to help make this a reality. He bonded with the client over their love of hockey, optimized the client’s rehab and cheered on as they ultimately achieved this goal. 

Jake’s mother, Marcy White, expressed her admiration of Fraser’s dedication to create meaningful experiences for clients and families. “He gave that family a very meaningful experience and they were able to create a lasting happy memory in the midst of an extremely challenging time. This is something that deserves to be recognized.”

On accepting the award, Fraser says. “I am inspired by the people I work with. My colleagues, clients and families provide me with great experiences and: opportunities to learn, teach, collaborate and solve problems. They make tough days easier and good days even better.”

Team Award

The psychopharmacology inter-professional transition clinic team are this year’s winners of the Team Award given to a clinical team who demonstrates creativity, determination and is committed to finding innovative solutions to client care. The team consists of Tamara Milicevic (pharmacist), Danielle Bovolini (registered nurse), Neelam Walji-Jivrag (registered nurse), Pam Green (nurse practitioner) and Jaden Chong (project coordinator). They were nominated by Claudia Janiszewski (pharmacist), Samantha Dyer (pharmacist) and Yu Jin Lee (pharmacist). They describe the immense success of the team:

"This group has worked tirelessly over the past two years to create a new clinical care model that utilises each clinician's full scope of practice to facilitate timely and high-quality care for clients and families. 100 percent of the families who responded to the feedback survey reported that the clinic met their needs and were either satisfied or very satisfied with the care provided.”

Clinical Excellence Award

Meanwhile, Lorry Chen is the winner of the Clinical Excellence Award that recognizes a clinician who demonstrates enthusiasm through their daily work with clients, a strong commitment to education and prioritizes collaboration in order to create a client and family-centred approach to clinical practice.  

Lorry, a dietician on the brain injury rehab team (BIRT) and the nutrition clinic was nominated by Dr. Joseph Telch, who has worked with her for over 20 years.

"Lorry has brought a wealth of clinical nutrition knowledge that has enriched care to the clients we serve,” says Joseph. “Her understanding, compassion and dedication for the wellbeing of all our clients and families has been exceptional.”

He adds, “Lorry provides ongoing education to dietetic learners, nursing students, ambulatory nursing staff and BIRT caregiver group for inpatient families. She consistently provides an evidence-based approach to clinical care with integration of current research and education into her clinical practice."

Congratulations to all our winners and thank you to everyone who submitted nominations this year. We look forward to hearing more incredible stories of impact in the years to come.