Richard Froese
South Peace News

A department team at the High Prairie Health Complex has been honoured with a special annual award from Alberta Health Service.

The pharmacy team won a Spirit Award of Excellence for Teamwork in a program in the north zone, states a news release from Kirsten Goruk, senior media relations advisor for AHS.

Now in its third year, the internal AHS program invites zone staff, physicians, midwives and volunteers to nominate candidates for their daily efforts to support the care of Albertans.

“Everyone was so excited,” says Laurie Lyle, pharmacy services operations manager for the west rural area of the north zone.

“It was nice to be nominated and a huge bonus to receive this award.”

Presented the award in November, the team was specifically nominated for its work to help with the planning and transition into the new High Prairie Health Complex last year.

Led by pharmacist Siobhan Gallivan, the team also includes pharmacy technician Sherri Robertson and pharmacy assistants Charis Gordey and Erica Madrilejos.

“This team is just a wonderful group of individuals who put patient care at the forefront,” Lyle says.

“It sounds so much like a cliché, but they strive every day to make a difference.

“It isn’t about them, it’s about the patients.”

Starting with initial services on April 6, the new High Prairie Health Complex was officially opened May 12.

It was a project years in the making and as with any major construction project, there were shifting timelines and changes in the plans along the way, Goruk says. As the day of the big move drew nearer, the team really came together to make sure that they were able to streamline the process and keep their patients’ needs at the top of the priorities.

“It involved lots of co-ordination with site management and the movers,” Lyle says.

“We just sat down and figured out who would do what.

“It went as smoothly as it could go; no one said no, it was what can we do, how can we help?”

The team’s motto, “Good Vibes Only”, comes from a poster Gordey found during the transition to the new High Prairie Health Complex.

It worked so well at keeping the spirits up, that their manager found mugs with the same quote, she just had to get them.

A team works best when everyone can work in tandem, playing to their strengths and trusting that everyone else is doing their best work too, so that everyone succeeds, Goruk says.

The High Prairie pharmacy team was one of three nominees who received a teamwork award.

For the first time in the program, the selection committee was able to award more than one recipient in any category if the candidates meet the nomination and scoring criteria.

Other teamwork awards were presented to the environmental services team of the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Grande Prairie and the allied health program team that serves several communities.

AHS received 13 nominations in nine categories in the awards program.

The north zone of AHS extends west to the border of British Columbia, east to Saskatchewan and south to Jasper, St. Paul and Elk Point.

Although the zone geographically covers about one third of the province, it serves about 12 per cent of the population of Alberta.